Legendary skateboarder Tony Hawk is lying at the bottom of a halfpipe in a crumpled heap. His legs are twisted one way, his arms the other, one appearing to have melted into the woodwork. He is distorted, broken and lifeless.
This scenario is one which plays out many times in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5, and it's a great description for the latest instalment of the long-running video game. It's a woeful addition to his franchise and, to put it bluntly, a slap in the face for sports games. It shouldn't be this way.
Back in 2000, Hawk's Pro Skater 2 set the bar seriously high for skateboarding games, delivering brilliant arcade action with a catalogue of super-addictive tricks and challenges that kept you wanting more. I certainly did. I lost at least a year, and probably failed several university papers, because I gave my all to that game like never before or since.
But Pro Skater 5, the tenth in Hawk's series and first major release since 2007, doesn't come close to touching its greatness. Developers Robomodo bailed on basics, like tutorials that don't work, graphics that glitch constantly and animation that sees skaters merging with structures. The problems don't end there.
