It appears that 2015 is going to be the year of old, milked-dry cash cows coming back from the dead. Comeback tours have already been announced for Guitar Hero and Rock Band. Now it’s The Birdman’s turn to retake the stage.
Robomodo, developer behind the excellent Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD remake from a few years ago, is back on the grind, teaming with Activision and Disruptive Games to bring Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5 to PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One later this year.
THPS5 is aiming to bring back the “old-school attitude” and “timeless, combo-driven energy and tightly designed levels” of the original Pro Skater games– the last of which came out way back in 2002–while embracing the social connectivity of modern times by featuring drop-in/drop-out online multiplayer as well as a toolset to build and share custom skate parks with the community.
In addition to a custom skater creator and Tony Hawk himself, the game will include playable pro skaters like Nyjah Huston, Riley Hawk, Aaron “Jaws” Homoki, Ishod Wair, Leticia Bufoni, Chris Cole, David Gonzalez, Andrew Reynolds, and Lizzie Armanto.
The only red flag that pops up while reading the press release is this line: “New items like power-ups and projectiles change up the core skating experience in a variety of fresh and entertaining ways.” Seriously? Power-ups and projectiles? What is this, Tony Hawk’s Pro Karting? Please keep the focus on skating and tricking, Robomodo.