Pros: Awesome game, fun, addictive
Cons: too addictive...I can't wait to leave work to play!

Having played and loved Tony Hawk Pro Skater, when I heard about part 2 coming out, I instantly thought "Why would I want it?" But just a couple weeks after it's release, I found myself down at the local video game place trading THPS for part 2. And boy, was that ever a good trade.

First off graphically, this game is better than the first...the basics have stayed the same but they sharpened the look a bit and added some cool new wipeouts. Look for the "ball breaker" when falling off a rail grind, that one is good because you can feel the pain.
And also the levels look much better too, with more things to skate, grind, and pop tricks from. Even the curb on street levels is a viable option, very true to life.

With the addition of a few new professionals this game improves on an already impressive pro line-up. But the new addition of creating your own skater is where this shines. Who doesn't want to create someone who looks like them. that is the first thing I did, complete with the old 'striped' socks and cargo shorts.

The tricks in this game are great, Neversoft added tons of new tricks, and each player can customize the tricks, but button sequence and even add more tricks. More tricks are added by buying them. Money is earned in each level for completing tasks such as a high score or grinding a certain object a specific way, and this money can be used for buying new basic tricks, special tricks, boards with improved stats, or buying better stats for the ultimate skater!

Since I have not played the two player mode, I cannot comment on it.

The music in this game is great, I like it better than the all punk with the exception of Primus from the first game. This game adds in some old rap from Naughty by Nature and even the Anthrax/Public Enemy hit "Bring the Noise". I still have not had to turn off the music because I find it really cool.
As for the sound effects, they too are great, with different sounds for each different surface skated on. And even surround sound works great! you can actually hear those crazy taxi drivers and subway cars coming from behind you!

This game as a TON more secret things to strive for than part one. there are tons of new skaters which can be unlocked such as Spiderman! Also there are a couple new levels that can be unlocked which are supposedly really cool, I haven't made it there yet.

And the one really cool thing which makes this game worth a purchase is the skate park editor! This makes the lasting appeal unlimited! You can create and skate your own parks forever!!!

I can't wait to see what they can do with THPS 3 for the Playstation 2!!!!