NOT SO LONG AGO the PlayStation was besieged with snowboarding games, most of which consisted of limited gameplay and dire graphics (there were some exceptions of course). We are now facing an onslaught of skateboarding games, but thankfully Tony Hawk's Skateboarding has set a very high standard that all other developers must match up to. Sony have stepped up to the half pipe with Grind Session, and have seen fit to base the gameplay very close to Tony Hawk's title, albeit perhaps a little bit too similar.
First impressions of Grind Session are favourable, with a nice FMV intro showing the featured real-life skaters in action. After entering the game proper the player will find some excellent features, well designed skating areas and some nice secrets. The "courses" are also multi-tiered, which means a skilful jump in the right place and the player can find themselves up in the rafters, or riding along an upstairs balcony. Use of both tiers often leads to some awesome combos, and while they can be hard to master the game's great control system will allow the player to perform these tricks after a bit of practice. For example at one point I managed to skid the edge of a platform which allowed me to hurtle down onto a jump ramp. The extra velocity I got allowed me to jump onto a girder on the upper tier, which I then road along to an upstairs meat locker. After manoeuvring around all the hanging beef bodies I then dove out of the window (shattering glass everywhere) and landed in a half-pipe downstairs to perform a nice three-sixty degree spin as I came out the other side. Of course I landed on my face right at the end of the move, but it looked great all the same.
Those players who have experienced Tony Hawk's Skateboarding will get déjà vu as soon as they start a new game. The graphics, sound and controls are so similar you'd be hard pressed not to believe that the developers had nicked the code from Tony's game. What this does provide is instant playability for those who have played Tony Hawk, as well as making the game easy to learn for those players who are new to the genre. The game is definitely designed with new gamers in mind as the skills performed have a certain amount of automatic correction involved. To explain what I mean, you can take a skid-rail at a completely wrong angle and the game will switch your perspective so your boarder is railing in the right direction. You can also come off a jump at the wrong angle, but while expecting the inevitable crunch as you land on the concrete below a slight tweak of the controller will have your skater land flat on his board instead of his back. This makes the game very playable, but also slightly unrealistic.
As well as the pre-set skaters (Cara-Beth Burnside, Jon Cardiel, Ed Templeton and Pigpen among others) the player can also create their own skater. Their chosen character then has to progress through the game to unlock the skating courses ranging across the United States (based on real areas). Other modes apart from Tournament include practice, endurance and free skate, which allows you to while away your time performing all manner of crazy stunts on your chosen course (as long as you have unlocked it of course). To help with the atmosphere the music is provided by a number of bands from the alternative circuit (much like the music featured in Skate and Destroy).
As well as a respectable multi player mode, Grind Session provides all that any skating fan would want from a game. Unfortunately Tony Hawk's Skateboarding has already provided all this, and the developers haven't really added much more to expand on that idea. Budding vandals can also smash windows and knock over barrels, so the younger tykes are also catered for to a certain extent. The main problem Sony are likely to face is when Tony Hawk 2 is released, this game may be shrouded in obscurity before gamers have realised it's full potential. Grind Session is a great game, but not necessary if you already own Tony Hawk's Skateboarding.
