Tony Hawk bitter about Ride scores

By Robert Purchese Published 7 December, 2009

"Snarky" critics were unfairly hostile.

Legendary skateboarder Tony Hawk is upset about the low scores that Ride has been given at review. He thinks critics had unfair preconceptions.

"Most snarky critics had their minds set before ever seeing/playing the game. I'm proud of what we created; it's innovative, responsive & fun," tweeted Hawk.

The game's global review score average is 49 per cent according to Metacritic.

Eurogamer exhaustively analysed the game Activision is asking a hundred quid for across four pages. Drop in to our Tony Hawk: Ride review for the full verdict.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (53) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Monkey_Puncher #1 2 years ago

    Taxi for Mr Hawk!

  • Darren #2 2 years ago

    Oh c'mon... even if Tony Hawk thought the game was deserving of all the criticism he's never going to admit it publicly, not when he gets royalties from every copy of the game sold.

  • jonsaan #3 2 years ago

    All the previews I read of this were remarkably positive as it goes. Especially the first looks from E3.
    Edited by 1 at 07/12/09 @ 12:11

  • OllyJ #4 2 years ago

    Tony, mate, I haven't played RIDE I probably (as in definately) never buy it, I played THPS because I like video games, NOT because I liked skating so thanks for taking away what was one of the most cherished series I grew up with and one that I fear I will never play again.

    Do the right thing and use your clout to get Tony Hawk Live/PSN greenlit and give the world back the "Class A" addiction of classic Tony Hawk!!

  • ZuluHero #5 2 years ago

    Eurogamer, you made Tony Hawk cry.

  • onezeonx #6 2 years ago

    I've tried it

    and can confirm it sucks balls!

  • Apostle #7 2 years ago

    Knee-jerk isn't quite fair, but it was a reaction to Skate clearly taking the lead in the skateboarding genre. I just wonder though, whether there was/is still a place for a button-combo skate game like THPS, but maybe the control system needed to be refined and taken back a notch or two. I think most people love THPS 1 and 2, but then it all got a bit sillly.

  • sneetch #8 2 years ago

    "Most snarky critics had their minds set before ever seeing/playing the game."

    This just in: Tony Hawk develops psychic powers! Able to read critics minds and see into their very souls!

    "I'm proud of what we created; it's innovative, responsive & fun,"

    This just in: man proud of own work!

  • insincere_dave #9 2 years ago

    That's what happens when you try and hawk a sub-standard game at a inflated price I suppose.

  • udat #10 2 years ago

    "own work"? Man proud of "own name, licensed to dickweeds" more like...

  • lennon #11 2 years ago

    THPS was brilliant because it was easy to get into but difficult to master. The later games (SKATE included) have just gotten to complicated and I agree with OllyJ get the original out on XBLA with leaderboards and i would be there like a shot. I wonder if they would make more money from that as well?

  • OllyJ #12 2 years ago

    " just wonder though, whether there was/is still a place for a button-combo skate game like THPS"

    Well yes I reckon on Live/PSN there is, even writing that saddens me though, what has gaming become? does everything have to be massively complex to be worth the price? Is complex controls and realism more important than fun and longevity ?

    Street Fighter 4 says you can still be simple and appealing AND give out months and months of gameplay.

    I do see in a couple of years time (and a little bit right now) a real resurgence of simple games, personally i'm sick to the teeth of fucking sandbox/openworld/collect 1000 of this/speak to this twat/run across the city/freedom! games. Give me a platform to jump to and a jump button and i'm happy.
    Edited by 1 at 07/12/09 @ 12:32

  • WinterSnowblind #13 2 years ago

    I agree that many people decided they didn't like it before trying it..

    But wasn't this the case with Guitar Hero and many other games? If it actually worked well and was good, that would have been evident fairly quickly and people wouldn't have continued to bad mouth it, ESPECIALLY reviewers. Just watch the Giant Bomb quick look, the guy had been playing it for a couple of hours before and is still struggling with the basics.

  • smernicki #14 2 years ago

    i thought thps 3 was the best- the balance between reality and fantasy was just right, after that it just got too stupid IMO, went a bit too jackass

    i enjoyed project 8, but then skate came on the scene...

    i think if they could capture what made 2 & 3 so good then there'd be room for another THPS game on the market, but i think they need to accept that EA have got the realistic end of the scale wrapped up quite nicely with the Skate games

  • gav_and_the_gavster #15 2 years ago

    Tony, Tony, Tony...if the experience is worth the asking price, people will buy it and if not then it's not. Looking at it from a value angle, your game is not good value. I can pay a few quid for hours of fun on Trials, get second hand copies of many triple AAA games from COD, Gears of War, Crackdown, Zelda:TP the list goes on. Why would I spend £100 on your game over those when all I care about is value for money. For example I bought games like Just Cause at a price I believed would represent it's value based on reviews I read and the demo I played...and I got my money's worth. I didn't buy it on day one at full price but what I bought it for reflected the experience it gave me. I WILL buy your game when it is available for the right £££ based on my own and other's judgements.

  • Psiloc #16 2 years ago

    TBF they had to try something new. Just a shame what they tried turned out to be a pile.

  • metalangel #17 2 years ago

    Oh please, he's forgotten saying this (from previous EG news item)

    >>>Apparently the birdman thinks that there's room for improvement in the current game, which came out in the US last week and will be released in Europe on 4th December, especially in the way you "transition from the vert mode to the street mode".

    "I'm sure there's more of a seamless way to do that, but we had to separate it for this first one, just because we wanted to get it finished and get it tight," he explained.

  • BigAl-1992 #18 2 years ago

    I've tried it, and I can back up onezeonx claim that it's utter bollocks. It's unresponsive, hard to balance on, steering is completely impossible and hurt my feet after two hours on it.

  • menage #19 2 years ago

    That's why they didn't send out review copy's of course. Those snarky critics.

  • Golgo #20 2 years ago

    What's 'snarky'? Is it a skateboarding term that those crazy kids use nowadays, like 'gnarly'? And 'groovy' and 'daddy-o'?

  • andromeda #21 2 years ago

    Its a shame Tony had to come out with this bollocks.
    He's actually a really decent chap if you;ve ever seen him interviewed, he didnt need this bad publicity.

    leave it alone now Tony, just force AV to remake THPS2 with a glitzy new engine and online mode.

    No more snarky then..

  • Bazfrag #22 2 years ago

    "All the previews I read of this were remarkably positive as it goes. Especially the first looks from E3."

    Most previews are staged at e3 behind closed doors, and are not a genuine hands on with the game. I cannot believe anyone did go hands on with this shitpickle because the hands probably wouldn't register!

    The series died after thps3, at least for me. The skill based score attack gameplay is what I consider true videogaming to be. Not gta with skateboarding, and certainly not a half finished, uncontrollable, cynical advert fest.
    Edited by 2 at 07/12/09 @ 13:21

  • jefranklin18 #23 2 years ago

    Given my complete lack of coordinaton prevented me from standing on a skateboard as a kid without shredding some patch of skin, I am not tempted to try to reproduce that experience in my adulthood, thank you very much. I suspect that I am not the only one...

  • el_pollo_diablo #24 2 years ago

    Even if he stood up and started making excuses for Pinochet I'd still, STILL find it impossible in my heart to dislike Tony Hawk.

  • sneetch #25 2 years ago

    @Bazfrag
    "Shitpickle" is my new favourite word. :)

  • Beano #26 2 years ago

    Tony Hawk unhappy with Ride reviews? Surprise!

    What's next... Activision boss Robert Kotick complaining about Ride sales and blaiming Sony for the failure?

  • hardtech #27 2 years ago

    @ Beano

    Personally, I wouldn't put it past him.

  • gjgjg #28 2 years ago

    preconceptions based on decline in quality in the series?

  • neems #29 2 years ago

    Presumably Tony can hop on the controller, pull out a back flip stale fish hot pants McGillicuddy face plant crotch grab 720, and then wonder why everybody thinks it's hard to control.

    It probably sells well in the pro-skater community. At a £100 a pop, they could make 2 or 3 grand there.

  • jim1975 #30 2 years ago

    i always though he was better when he did the voices of the vending machines in Red Dwarf

  • hardtech #31 2 years ago

    @ Jim1975

    Don't forget Talkie Toaster as well

  • Bazfrag #32 2 years ago

    @Sneetch

    Shitpickle is not my word unfortunately :( He was a guest reviewer on James Rolfe's A.V.G.N. It suits this game though!

  • freakzilla #33 2 years ago

    I think he's the one who hasn't played it lol.

  • videogangs #34 2 years ago

    I'll wait for Ride 2 so I can get the £350,000 70ft megaramp peripheral bundled in too.

  • SpaceMidget75 Verified Senior Software Developer, Minerva Computer Services #35 2 years ago

    I actually prefer THPS2/3 to the Skate games BECAUSE of the button combos. Buttons are easy to press (obviously) which means that new players could get stuck right in, yet it still offered plenty for the expert with more complicated button combos and plenty of timing related skills.

    Wiggling sticks around seemed like a great idea at the time but in the end I longed for the ease and pleasure of the early TH games.

    Smaller maps also meant that you could really learn them well which adds to the sense of accomplishment.

    This game should have been an uber version of the first 3 games with support for a fancy new controller AND a standard controller. There's some right idiots in the boardroom of these big games companies now.
    Edited by 1 at 07/12/09 @ 15:20

  • kangarootoo #36 2 years ago

    "He thinks critics had unfair preconceptions"

    I.e. preconceptions that the game would be fun and worth £100.

  • OllyJ #37 2 years ago

    @spacemidget

    I agree with everything you said. not having controller support is fucking criminal.

  • malexous #38 2 years ago

    @OllyJ

    The Wii offers the type of gameplay you long for.

  • octavedoctor #39 2 years ago

    Project 8 was a return to the glory days..

    I agree they should be knocking out mini XBLA/PSN versions where you can download new skate parks and people can upload ones they've made in an editor.

    Tbh... I've always loved mashing x/square/whatever to do my tricks.. :)

  • consignia #40 2 years ago

    Project 8 was a return to the glory days..

    In what way?

  • kongzi #41 2 years ago

    " I'm proud of what we created; it's innovative, responsive & fun," tweeted Hawk"

    I myself have had some great, innovative, responsive fun out of just standing in front of people's windows, watching them make an ass out of themselves on the Wii when it first came out. The response when they finally noticed you after 30 minutes was pretty fun. Indeed idiot we all just saw you dance in front of your tv, on your own. We even had this idea to videotape them, but it got old before we actually got around to it. Maybe this'll give a new boost to the project, if people buy the game, that is.

  • paulf #42 2 years ago

    activision rip

  • Bazfrag #43 2 years ago

    I wish..

  • beastmaster #44 2 years ago

    Let's see a vid of him performing the moves then. Prove it works. We still won't buy.

  • JayeM #45 2 years ago

    Tony Hawk's Pro Skater Classic on XBLA please. Take the best levels and music from 1-4.

  • Lusterpurge #46 2 years ago

    Surely he's not calling Ellie a "snarky critic"!

  • X3Entente #47 2 years ago

    On youtube theres yet more COP15 climate change viral bullshite with none other than the hawkster himself telling the kids (cos hes down with them) about the threat of climate change, and how its imperative we participate in more viral campaigning dross in order to save the planet. Ironic isnt it considering all the tony hawk ride boards that are abouit to be thrown into landfills,

  • gnrlstuart #48 2 years ago

    i had high hopes for this actually, but after playing the game which my clueless casual gamer friend bought, i can confirm it plays like absolute ass.

  • tufty #49 2 years ago

    There's usually a couple of snarky critics for evey game, but Tony, when they all sound snarky, maybe they are right and you are wrong...

  • kongzi #50 2 years ago

    hahah that just made me sound like some weird stalker there..sorry bout that. We did that for an art project about people's relationship to machines. People sort of bond with technology, but they also feel ashamed about it somehow. That's what's holding back this kind of games: we all feel slightly ridiculous playing guitar hero, which is also part of the fun. The same thing happens when people are inside of a car (eg. roadrage in normally passive people). That kind of mechanic is interesting and pretty much unheard of before. In my work I'm really interested in that. It's also interesting to see how this particular game somehow missed the point of that. So that's where that previous statement comes from, it was just a little rough around the edges, like a pandemic game, ya know.

  • metalangel #51 2 years ago

    I want a game that works on a normal controller, with BUTTONS, not sticks (this is why I'm not keen on EA's recent NHL and FIFA games either). No fucking standing up doing stupid gestures and moves and shit on a pretend deck either. Just a joypad.

  • HandOfBeadle #52 2 years ago

    Tony Hawk: Pride.





    (No, it's not the LGB expansion pack.)

  • Caspar_Esq. #53 2 years ago

    Its true that everyone had very negative preconceptions and that that isn't very fair. Doesn't mean it isn't rubbish though.