Having been built from the ground up, Robomodo was tasked with recreating the perfection that Neversoft achieved in their systems: the right speed, the right gravity, the right spin, the right everything. All of these variables add up to the sublime flow of classic Tony Hawk. Without them, you have THPS HD. The gravity feels odd, the game is slow, it takes way too long to recover, you’ll frequently glitch out into space after bailing, and encounter lots of frustrating moments due to changes the game made over the originals. Above all, the game just isn’t fun. It’s frustrating.
I love these games, which makes it so sad to see Activision and Robomodo tarnish Neversoft’s legacy. An HD upgrade should make a game look and feel as good as you remember it. Instead, Tony Hawk Pro Skater HD made me wonder why I ever liked this series. In a world where THPS 2X is still readily available for less than $10 on eBay, it’s hard to give this HD downgrade any sort of recommendation. The original games earned our nostalgia, while this release abuses it. It's short on content, quality, and personality. This is not the Tony Hawk I remember spending middle-school summers with.
