Tony Hawk's Professional Skater 3+4: First Impression of the Remake

Remake and Remake are currently very “on” terms, and while it's no surprise that we'll end up seeing two of the best entries in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater series, I definitely didn't expect this package to be as powerful as a remake. From instantly recognizable THP 3 to activated controls of muscle memory, I didn’t realize that I’ve been storing over 20 years in my brain and the refreshing two-minute time limit to picking and playing, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 definitely shapes a better replay for 2025, and it allows you to keep it for a certain amount of time and put it into practice.

As the name suggests, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4 is a remake of both games with a modern makeover, a new park and skater and, most importantly, the soundtrack's explosion. It plays like a backlash when it was released on PlayStation 2, and it's obvious that it's definitely “don't fix it if it's not bankrupt”. I feel nostalgic when I revisit classic maps like Suburbia for THP 3 and 4 for college, and although these feelings certainly look much better now for obvious reasons, it still feels like my friends and I played too late on Friday night. The quirky and weirdness of THPS games still exists, and besides some modern updates to the roster and hope for new tricks and new games plus modes, this is definitely the Tony Hawk you remember from the past.

That's not to say that this is all hard elastic and smooth sidewalks, though. While Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 was very smooth, and the features that included the traditional two-minute timer worked surprisingly well, the lack of sports mode was a bit painful in the otherwise promising remake. The purists of THP may be disappointed, but after playing for about two hours, I didn't really miss a lot. Playing games respects my time and limits me in the era when each game wants me to play hundreds of hours and hours, some refreshing games. While career mode is supposed to be a cool inclusion, there is still a lot to mention here.

The gameplay felt natural – thankfully – within a few minutes I incorporated the long grinding into the grinding and chased this increasingly elusive higher score while flying on the map, trying to fill the skateboard. After a few minutes of ridiculous tripping, after tripping myself at the top, the controls quickly returned to me, and I flew around the suburbs, my heels flipped over the car, and whenever I landed in a special move, that satisfying band popped up. The new map WaterPark feels like it's always part of the original game and is easily grindled and found one of the most interesting levels of its secrets. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater addictive game loop made me want more when the timer ticked to the last few seconds, and I often find myself jumping back quickly.

In this era, it seems like every game of the early 2000s was getting a modern makeover, and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4 is shaping into a year of welcome filled with great remakes and remakes. From faithful entertainment that makes the PS2 era classics so memorable, to modern quality of life improvements, excellent soundtracks and overall love letters to early stages of the series, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4, if you're a fan of skateboarding, enjoying action sports games, or just having an action sports game, or just having fun, or just enjoying playing and fun stuff, you should be on the radar. This is probably your easiest kick-off of the year.