Tony Hawk’s Downhill Jam
Verdict: Snow boarding without the snow.
For Nintendo DS.
Rating: 3½/5
Despite my apparently masochistic skills at various board based modes of transport I’ve always managed some satisfaction from pulling off ‘sick’ moves shortly before repeatedly kerb stomping my own virtual head through the doors of A&E.
Skateboarding games can often be a frustrating stop/start experience (skate, break an ankle, skate again), especially compared to the more fluid gameplay of snow boarding games like Amped (hurtle at great speeds, break an ankle, hurtle at great speeds again).
Tony Hawk’s Downhill Hill Jam takes skating onto the slopes in the biggest departure for the series yet with the added benefit of urban environments providing more trick friendly places than plain white, snowy vistas.
Starting off with the prerequisite character creation and Sk8r Rock, you’re introduced to the quirky, Jet Set Radio style graphics that opt for cartoon visuals instead of limited realism. Considering the hardware it’s a wise move and it lends itself to the speed and the over the top, vertigo inducing courses you race or fall down.
With a boost ability to help win races, the key gameplay hook centres around ‘more tricks = more boost’ which means to win you need to be pulling fingerlip airwalks and grind to manual combos at every opportunity. You’re trick repertoire isn’t as in-depth as usual but it provides an entry level approach to the subtleties of the 360’s Project 8 and ensures that the high speed high jinks aren’t over encumbered with fiddly controls although some trick styles are ill-suited to the new downhill ethos.
Online, Downhill Jam provides a surprisingly comprehensive experience with web support, voice chat between friends and a pick n’ mix of multiplayer modes that allow you to compete with strangers and find out how you truly suck at the game (hypothetically speaking).
Downhill Jam ultimately falls down (and breaks its ankle) with it’s limited amount of courses and frequent difficulty spikes that mean playing it in public could get you arrested for swearing.
Or at least in my case.