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No other video game shaped my teenage identity like this one. I come back to this game about every 2 years and I’ve lost count of how many playthroughs I did at this point. Although the gameplay was certainly impressive to me as a child, it’s not the reason the game is still special to me today. I think the most important factor for me is the attitude to life that it conveys. The sense of freedom, the rebelliousness and the reckless attitude that are associated with both skateboarding and punk culture are perfectly captured in this game. I also love how there’s absolutely none of the glamour that often comes with media depictions of LA, but instead it seems like the government just gave up on this former retreat for the rich and famous and now it’s just run-down businesses, filthy streets and most of the residents are either homeless people, prostitutes, or gang members. The graffiti, the parkour, the freaky clothes, sleeping on the street, stealing stuff from all over the town to build a trashy DIY skatepark - everything about this game just screams underground culture and the low budget cover versions in the soundtrack + the comic style cutscenes really add to that aesthetic. Also the online mode was absolutely killer back in the day!
This game has a soul. Anytime something has soul, we can agree it makes us feel a certain way. It’s relatable, the music is awesome (I still listen to some of these tracks today) , and the characters are fun. It’s also my favorite Tony hawk game.
The Skate Club guys are a reference to the movie Fight Club, the game is based in Hollywood and other areas of L.A so of course it has a lot of movie references, the guy that blows up the subway station that gets you to East L.A, well thats Michael Douglas in the movie Falling Down, and in one of the first missions you have to jump over Ben "Whofleck" (Affleck)
To this day Unconditional by the Bravery is one of my favorite songs thanks to this game. This has always been, and will always be my favorite Tony Hawk Game.
Lol I remember having a crush on Mindy when I was a little kid 😅 But I agree this game was AMAZING back in the day! Absolutely loved the no loading screen concept as a kid because it truly blew my mind
That Nokia product placement tho. They used to be that aggressive with promoting their brand especially in the States, though that apparently did not pan out. I recall that one side quest in Disney Skate Adventure which was a blatant plug for the Nokia 5100 complete with an unskippable cutscene shilling for the phone as if it were a pack of Philip Morris cigarettes.
"check it! wallflip to natas spin" its been more than a decade since i've last heard that sentence but it's still stuck into my brain like it was yesterday. THATS why i love this game, it simply was an iconic moment for my life
i spent hundred of hours playing this game as a kid. replaying it as an adult is probably the heaviest dose of nostalgia i can experience lol. i love it so much
I think a lot of the reasons why we love the game, regardless of how important level design is in a skating/Tony hawk game, is that this game was probably the most immersive Tony hawk game at the time. It had EVERYTHING. sure it didn't do everything at a 10/10 level but it sure did have 10/10 moments. Of course gameplay on a game like this is extremely important but when it comes to video games, being an immersive experience is really All you need to be a good game. It had the huge "open" world, amazing voice acting (for a game based off punk culture obviously, it's MEANT to sound unprofessional), the memorable soundtrack, all the different custom things you could make (stickers, graffiti, board decks, etc). Imagine if this game game out with online multiplayer with lobbies up to like 12 people or something. No one would have complained about the level design or gameplay at all. I think given a few more years that could have been achieved especially in a day an age where battle passes & loo boxes weren't around yet. I think this game is a product of being too early for it's time to be appreciated and now that games are featuring all these heavy microtransactions in even single player games that you can't even play unless connected to the internet, looking back on it, this game spoiled us. Edit: forgot to mention the skate ranch. Even as a kid, I remember thinking it was weird I didn't spend a lot of time in the ranch other than to try out the gimmicky stuff and when a new piece was added, but the thing about the ranch being terrible is that I knew it was bad but I didn't care. I built it. The character I built, put stats into, saved up skating money to buy new clothing, better boards, nicer wheels, ME. I built it with the help of my friends. Just like I real life, it doesn't matter if something we spent a long time on isn't loved by everyone. We put a lot of time into it and it came from the passion of loving skating and the culture surrounding it. Also one last thing, the level design being bad is an objectively true fact but to that I say, that could also be seen as a positive in some way. If you think about the style the game is going for with everything being DIY and raw it makes sense they're are no perfect lines because that would be PERFECT. nothing in punk is perfect 😎 just a different perspective is all. :)
THAW's a fave of mine as well. It's not the most polished game of the bunch but it's definitively one of the coolest. The soundtrack (which I believe was also packaged with the game's collectors edition, not sure) was something they were much proud of and it's justified. I think THAW's appeal comes from its story, which Proving Ground might have taken some pages from but without the same strength. And then, there's the soundtrack, probably unmatched in the entire series. I think THUG 2's the more complete package but THAW's just an unique beast. Glad to see more people who can appreciate it.
PTSD Flashbacks: (20 Years of smoking) "WHAT'S UP, SKATER? COME SEE ME IF YOU NEED MORE CASH" "STICKER SLAP, MANUAL TO WALLPLANT!" -The damn wall backflip tutorial, which took me ages -Getting stranded on an Oil Rig by Omega -Using a Water Balloon Sniper/LMG to send cops to fall to their deaths 10/10 Game. Still my favourite of them.
I'm pretty sure I've said this in your other videos but American Wasteland is one of my most favorite video games, like you, it influenced my interest in music of almost every genre, I still listen to the entirety of the Tony Hawk American Wasteland soundtrack on a daily, no other Tony Hawk game or other video game at all for that matter has gotten me so involved in their soundtrack that I've actually looked up other songs by those artists
I appreciate the creativity in this game by giving it a more involved story and a real, dynamic setting that ties into it... but yeah the levels themselves don't feel great to play on and I'm sure I'm the minority on this but I was bummed the main character couldn't be a girl after they had voiced girl MCs in THUG 1 and 2. I think they were more focused on the levels being functional to the story mechanics (pieces that come out, pieces that re-appear in the ranch, areas still vaguely playable once the pieces are gone) rather than actually making things fun to play in, which hurts the entire experience so much
I remember watching you play this a while back and even though it looked janky as hell at some points it was still fun to watch the characters and some missions are really funny. Great vid as always!!
This is a very late and long comment, but it comes from the heart. I had a lot of people living in my house growing up, mostly siblings. Being the 2nd youngest of my siblings, I got a lot of hand-me-down things and they didn't trust me much with their belongings. I was honestly a very depressed kid, and when I tell you this game absolutely changed my life, it would be a complete understatement. My brother bought the game and told me I could play it, but they always took the memory cards (PS2). I would sit alone in a very cold dark basement, face in a box tv from 7am-5pm on some days, and get stuck at the same spot every day (doing impossibles down the stairs in Santa Monica. I didn't know to get speed first and failed every time). All my brothers skate but I'd always hurt myself, so this was my way of finally understanding famous skater tricks and lingo. I played Pro Skater 1 and 2, but the fact you had to play a whole level for each trick and to meet the famous folks helped it sink into my brain. The soundtrack sparked my love of music, and I'm making great progress at being a musician. It was all enough of a challenge to keep me trying again and again, and it distracted me from a lot of things I needed distracting from in that full of a house my age. The characters and bright colors brought me a lot of comfort, and it was absolutely stellar on a CRT screen. With all due respect, people can slander a game all they want or blame it for things (Resident Evil 4 is another great example of "it killed the franchise" and that's another favorite of mine), but they'll never understand the impact they have. I bought a copy for my GameCube a few years ago, with a memory card in it, and beat it over... And over.... And over.... And it was everything I needed as an adult now. Sorry for rambling, thank you so much for covering this gem.
don't worry, I'm always glad to read comments like these! It's awesome to see that this game means so much to you And for the impossible in Santa Monica, going backwards into the slope to gain speed is the way to go for me haha
Excellent soundtrack, good, albeit long, tutorial to get into Tony Hawk games, interesting areas and maps, the feeling of always working towards building the skatepark and/or learning new tricks… This game is so great.
I recently downloaded and played all of the Tony hawk games on ps2 and I can confidently say that the American wasteland story mode, gameplay, graphics, and overall content are miles beyond the other tony hawk games. I’m surprised to hear people didn’t like it.
The PS2 booting sound, EEEEAAAArrrrrrrrr......... vlooOOOooom. Was beautiful to hear again after years and it always made me the 8 year old feel like I started up a NASA machine from the future.
Yeah man...this game holds a special spot in my heart. It was a game my brothers and i connected over, we did EVERYTHING in this game, probably the first time i ever beat a game to 100% too. Tony hawks games helped form my music preferences as well lol. Idk why....but this one stand out even above underground 1 n 2.
I played this game on my GameCube 10 years ago when I was little. This game got me into Skateboarding and made me buy my first pair of Etnies. The soundtrack is also immaculate.
Great vid!! THAW was my first, and still my favorite, Tony Hawk game; I'm not sure if it's cause I lived my whole life IN LA (literally the Hollywood landmarks from the first level are walking distance from where I was raised), and seeing stuff like the old Metro bus/train liveries, Hollywood/Western station (the one that the subway tunnel to Downtown is based on), and other bits of the city memorialized in Renderware almost 20 years ago by a studio based close to where I currently live is one reason I feel such a strong connection to it. The Ruins level really creeped me out as a kid, and now my favorite movie is Miracle Mile, where LA is completely destroyed by nukes. Makes you think!!
The BMX is one reason it's my favourite, while obviously it doesnt have many story missions it did feel really fun in the tony hawks sand box. Also, gap transfers are my favourite thing in extreme sports and I feel like they tweaked them from thug2 into thaw, and they felt great. Especially with the bank transfers.
American Wasteland was the first Tony Hawk game to try something different. It takes you out of the comfort zone, and that's why it's so memorable. Was it successful? Maybe not. But the possibility was there. It feels like Vampire: The masquerade. A lot of new ideas, but not enough time to execute them properly. In the end, you get a mess of a game, but a hell of an experience.
This is probably my favorite Tony Hawk game too. It just had a great vibe to it. I'm sure if I went back and played it, I'd probably find the levels lack flow like you said, but I was never really concerned about doing big combos anyway. I just really enjoyed skating around in a more realistic way and discovering things throughout the levels. I think if you pick it apart and separate things to analyze them, you can easily find the game's flaws, but it was definitely greater than the sum of its parts. BUT THAT SOUNDTRACK THO. By this time, I was just starting to get into the punk and hardcore that continues to be what I mostly listen to this day, which of course was helped by the previous games, but I was so amped that the soundtrack consisted mainly of punk bands covering other punk bands.
Howdy BlueTag. 🤠 I remember playing the game "Tony Hawk's American Wasteland" for many hours or even days, but what started to be boring was/is also one of the same reasons which you already mentioned, basically bulding the Skatepark. But the main thing which I didn't like about this game was the lack of the possibility to make an own female character, at least in the main story. I started having my own main female character since Tony Hawk 3, and then after THUG2 it wasn't possible/available anymore, so for some reason a lot of fun went away because of this. I'm very happy that they included that option back in the Remake of Tony Hawk 1 & 2.
Tony Hawk's American Wastleland is a underrated game to me, a hidden gem in the franchise, if Vicarious Vision didn't become a subsidiary of Activision i would have loved to see this game get remade, and the thing is, with how popular the THPS 1+2 remake was they wanted to do THPS 3+4 sucks that will never be
This is actually my favorite Tony Hawk game. Yeah I definitely see some of the issues that happened later on but it’s still such an awesome game and the unrealistic way that you can do tricks just makes it better for me. Also I love that they got the voice of Terry McGinnis ( Batman Beyond ) and forgive me for not remembering her name, but she’s a voice actress that has done so many projects! Anyway, I love that those two are the main voice actors in here. This is like NFS, the more unrealistic the gameplay, the more fun it is. And I really liked the story overall. Yeah it’s kinda nonsensical & crazy, but back then, games weren’t trying to compete with movies in terms of storytelling and logic, so it was amazing for us at the time & I can happily pop it in my PS2 and play it over & over & love it all the same.
The story mode is so fun. Also this game is like the final form of all the games where it had sticker slap/wall plant, manual combos, walk/run timer. Infinite combo possibilities fleshed out from all previous games.
I loved this game because it had so many mechanics and features. Also it always felt like a pretty hard game. The manual and grind balance just weren't at all forgiving and making big combos felt like pushing a rock uphill.
I think the thing with why people like you and me and everyone else complains about this game but honestly we still love it no matter what. Is that it tried it's best to be something unique and did it to the point it fell flat in some areas (skate park) and did well in other parts. And that the open world thing really did push the norm for future skating games say like the skate series. And current ones like basically every single one has a open world at this point or at least dedicated map. And that American Wasteland wanted to stand out than just being another Tony Hawk game in the line up of the others. And even though we complain about the issues we have with it. Just the uniqueness it has brings us back to play it again like a fine wine that has aged over time and we take a sip of it over a time.
FOUND IT! Yeah, I can understand why people have other games as their favorites and I actually think there are better games, but what you said makes a lot of sense on why i like it so much
nice to see a video based on American Wasteland, whilst i didn't play the THPS series as my first exposure was Underground, 2 and then Wasteland. this soundtrack had almost every slice of genre that all players could like and get linked into proper quickly. captured everything of the Mid-2000s. enjoyed the video as always.
I loved this game so much! I think with the level design the newer games started kinda suffering cause they were packed with mechanics to keep your combo going that they didn't have to design the levels as tightly.
Multiplayer was pretty awesome . People used to mod their characters and do infinite combos online. Crazy stuff. EDIT* - It wasn't a wasteland mod it was an "Underground 2" mod and it was called "THUG PRO MOD" apparently people still play it.
It may be nostalgia for me, but I love the soundtrack and having grown up in southern california, it was really cool to play this game and be a skate god and graffiti everywhere and then go outside with my buddy and pretend we were just as good. I think its a great look into how my childhood was back in 2007 growing up in California.
American Wasteland was a banger honestly. I loved it too man, I loved it too. I used to piss my friend off SOOOO bad in King Of The Hill by getting on top of the theater
My absolute favorite tony hawk game, the setting, the gameplay, the personality the create skater were my favorite in the whole series. The first one, underground, and this one are the ones I played the most but this one is def my favorite.
The reason why this game is considered the best by so many is cuz 3 main reasons …. 1 it was the easiest which means little kids who played it have a huge nostalgia trip, 2, the time span for it meant a lot of people played it when video games were growing cuz of its release date, 3 hardcore players who just came from thug 2, immidietly recognized this game actually had a higher skill ceiling for combos cuz as you say the lines were more confusing which mean in essence they were harder and you had to be more creative. This game has some of the most absurd lines ever made by players. While it’s true the game was easy to beat, you could argue this games skill ceiling was highest among any tiny hawk game. If we look at thug pro this games overall mechanics are most similar to it then any. Other reasons to the Xbox 360 version you can still play live and run into people. The reasons go on. This games faults Lie in what a long time player had already become board of. And even with how easy it was to beat the game, there’s also the gaps that were hard as hell to get without cheats. Arguably harder then the other games to. That answer your question?
I only tried this game as an adult and I was amazed by it! I really like the bike and the more grounded story than THUG, but the wildest thing is that most areas and soundtrack are *exactly* like my childhood DS game, Tony Hawk's American Sk8land 😁 THAW is now my second favorite after THPS3!
I was exposed to THUG 2 first. IT had some impact in my life aswell. Early teens, jackass just popping up. And there was this skateboarding game that literally throws Bam Margera at you with a chainsav in the first minute. I'm pretty sure that it was then and there when I was properly intruduced to Johnny Cash with Ring of Fire playing in the menus. Yeah its safe to say it influenced me in some way :)
I remeber playing American Wasteland on PC and not being able to finish the mandatory BMX mission because of keyboard mapping issues- I was not able to perform the required trick. Only after I borrowed a gamepad controller from my friend was I able to pass the mission and carry on with the game xD Having said that, this was the last Tony Hawk game I have played until the recent 1+2 remaster. As much as I enjoyed it, Underground 2 still holds the number 1 spot in my heart ❤
One thing since I play this on the semi regular online via Insignia (the original Xbox Live replacement service). Custom tags aren't available online unfortunately, presumably to prevent people from doing dumb shit with them online. As for the game itself, I think the aesthetic and music is really what got me into this game. I've been a fan of the series since I played 2X as a kid but this one and the THUG titles are the ones the stick out to me the most due to the vibe they have. I don't know if a skating game that could come out today could ever replicate that feeling. Maybe someday.
This is my favorite tony hawk, I was 8 years old when I played it and I didn't understand any English at that time, so it took me about 1 year to finish it 😂. The funny thing is that even so it was not very difficult for me to understand the story, but it was incredible and I became a punk head ever since.
@@BlooTeg yeah a dude heard my cd as he was driving with my guitar player. He recommended it to his friend who was responsible for the game’s soundtrack. The deal was, we wouldn’t get any money but a free game each. 😂 we said Fuck yeah we want to do it. I still got my disc copy to this day😃
This is my favorite Tony hawk when I was growing up it was controversial if you said this was your favorite all my friends had their favorite THUG or THPS but this one was the one that was most influential to me
i was 5 or 6 when i played this game. i could NEVER do the parkour missions. i always had to ask my brother to help me with them. i don't even know how many times i've finished this game. it's really good
This is my favorite Tony Hawk game and after THUG 1, THUG 2 was ok too cartoonish. This game got me into more punk music adding to my playlist back in the day. This game got me believing in myself to move to California now it's officially happening in 2023 after all these years. ❤ I will need to replay this my nostalgia has never left for this game and THUG 1. Good times never die ❤
I played all the Tony Hawk games when they came out including THAW. Its not one of my top THPS games but I still love it. Just replayed the story on reTHAWed. I have a few reasons I really like it. The game and controls feel good to play. The story is unique and different from THUG1 and 2 with fun characters. The punk rock atmosphere, aesthetic and music are amazing. Sure its got flaws like I don't like how its a big tutorial and some of the goals suck. Oh and despite all my nostalgia for it Skate Ranch does suck as a level.
I also would choose this game over the others in terms of gameplay, it feels more arcadey and speedy compared to THUG 2, you can get scores more quickly because they accounted points for more things in your combo, and the game is more lighthearted with street tricks because you can do them faster, so there's a decreased chance of bailing from that. The parkour while could be improved it def gives more style to your combo, specially when you fall a high distance and your character rolls, even tho that decreases the timer when you are holding your skateboard. Being able to smack people and things with the skateboard is also great. I really really wish they had build a bigger game based on the gameplay of this one, instead of going with the direction they went. Most of THAW's problems doesn't come from it's core gameplay but rather how the main campaign is structured, as well as it's lack of content compared to THUG 2. The open world idea is really good, and the characters and setting are good for that type of game as well, it could have worked better if they had went for a game that was more challenging, that had more fun missions and overall that had more fun ideas to spice the known formula, they were releasing Tony Hawk games once a year that was not good.
THAW's story and setting had this interesting mix of being somewhat grounded in reality while also having bizarre elements like the amount of illegal actions you commit through the game without repercussions, I personally enjoy that more than having a game that's bizarre from start to finish like THUG 2, where everything is sort of a joke like at Berling you have these drunkyards, you find Bigfoot in Skatopia, you can bring hell on earth if you mess around with the cemetery, etc... I like it more when the crazy things happen on a setting that gives some opportunity for suspension of disbelief instead of it being crazy all the time. Something about seeing all those cities and maps running as normal, with that day cycle, optional chore-ish missions in the compass hud, without crazy things happening in the background, while you skate, do combos, mess around, etc... just feels very soothing to me, and gives a sandbox touch to the game.
I think this game is good, but it's issues and boring tutorial missions keep me from really coming back to it in the end. Underground will always be my favorite because nostalgia, even if I can see the issues with it
I finished this game with a broken controler on which the arrows didn't work, I had to use the joystick for tricks and manuals, I will bring this game with me in heaven or hell
