With the holiday season quickly approaching, we have been inundated with a number of titles. The problem is that many of them are Triple A titles that we cannot put down. As a result, we are way behind on our reviews. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 is yet another example of a game that has kept me busy for many endless nights. The franchise has gotten better with each incarnation. Neversoft takes criticism seriously and each time they have addressed any issues that gamers felt needed tweaking. This holds true for THPS3. Not only have they delivered a very polished product, they have built upon the previous successes to create the deepest and most exciting skateboarding game to date. THPS3 is the new benchmark for skateboarding games in the future. Development houses surely will have to re-evaluate any current skateboard games in progress because if they can't live up to this game there is no point in even coming to the market. Add to all of this splendor, the ability to play your friends or strangers in online sessions. It doesn't get any better than this.

The visual outing here is slick but perhaps not as good as we were led to believe. The plethora of screenshots we have been bombarded with over the past number of months made this game look like nothing before it. Sure it looks a lot better than THPS2 on Dreamcast, but when in motion there a few quirks here and there. Perhaps I am being too critical. Regardless, this game purrs along by utilizing the superior capabilities of the PS2. The game runs at a constant 60 frames per second refresh rate in high resolution. I was hard pressed to find any pop-up or draw in. Neversoft also managed to squeeze in some nice special effects such as particle systems to recreate real-life elements such as blood, sparks, weather and more. Character design in THPS3 is the best it has been yet. Each skater is highly detailed both in style and skateboard selection. The 8 present level designs are varied in nature and include some of the most popular international real-world locations that are massive, realistic, living levels with interactive people and intelligent traffic. You are witness to cars stopping at intersections in such locations as Los Angeles and Tokyo. In addition to wonderful visuals, Activision went the distance once again to license an excellent soundtrack. In recent months it seems that every publisher was licensing the same songs over and over again. Activision leads the way in THPS3 by arranging an extensive assortment of musical styles from hip-hop to metal, alternative rock to retro punk. Included are high profile bands such as The Ramones, Red Hot Chili Peppers, KRS-One, Rollins Band, and many more.

As with games in this genre, the visuals are a bonus if they are good but it is the control system and overall gameplay mechanism that determines success or failure. Neversoft has hit gold for third time in the gameplay department. Only this time they have hit the jackpot. The tried and tested control scheme has returned with a few new twists. Players are now able to pull off literally hundreds of tricks and combos using the intuitive and solid control system. This is partly due to the addition of the Revert. In THPS2, the Manual allowed players who were street tricksters to keep their trick lines going to score large bonus points. Those who were vert happy were limited by the amount of air they could get. This has been remedied. Using the Revert, players come out of a vert trick and with the tap of a button are able to go directly into a Manual, with their trick string still growing. In fact, once you become skilled, you can even continue into another vert for some incredible scoring opportunities. All of this may sound confusing and to an extent it is. To fully take advantage and appreciate the exhaustive controls, players are required to put in a fair amount of practice time.

Activision has redefined and extended the concept of replay value in THPS3 that will surely raise the eyebrows of replay veterans EA Sports. This is not a one trick pony. There is so much depth in THPS3 that it should keep you busy for the next six months. For starters, THPS3 features the greatest line-up of professional skaters ever assembled. Skate as the legendary man himself Tony Hawk or as one of a blockbuster team of street and vert skaters including the likes of Elissa Steamer, Steve Caballero, Rune Glifberg, Chad Muska and more. New to the roster is Bam Margera from MTV's Jackass. In addition to the pros there are a number of hidden characters that can be unlocked. Gameplay modes are divided into single-player and multiplayer options. The usual single-player modes of free skate, single session and career mode make their return. A very informative tutorial is also available for beginners and veterans alike. The Career mode will take up the majority of your time thanks to its completely updated design giving players more character-specific goals involving interaction with pedestrians, traffic, other skaters and more. A neat objective is to find the photographer in each level and perform big tricks for them. If they are impressed they will take some shots and at the end of your run, they will feature a cover shoot which shows a sequence of photos of that amazing move. Even the points system in the career mode have been revamped. Where in THPS2 players had to collect money spread throughout different levels, this year players have to find stat coins. Obtaining these coins are generally quite challenging but after the session, players are able to allot the points to whichever of the eight skill sets they desire. Therefore, you can enhance your skater to the style that best suits your skating preference. After you have spent endless hours in the single-player modes, try taking on friends in any of the multiplayer modes which include graffiti, trick attack, horse, slap!, king of the hill and free skate. For the die-hard skaters, a fully customizable Create-a-Skater and Skatepark Editor are also included. To round off this ultimate package is the first PS2 game to offer online play against other players across North America. There are two options available, play through the Internet or through a LAN network. Since the official Sony broadband adapter is not yet available, you can use a third party modem that utilizes the USB port on the PS2. The Sony modem is due sometime next Spring and Activision promises full support once Sony is ready. We decided to give the online experience a whirl with a USB Ethernet Adapter (D-Link DSB650) and were pleasantly pleased with the experience. There are a couple of lag problems here and there and that may be attributed to the long distance call we made from Canada. Nevertheless, the online component brings the THPS franchise to new heights.

It has been a long haul watching this game go from announcement to final production but the wait has been well worth it. Neversoft and Activision have delivered everything they promised and hyped us to believe. While the graphics still have room for refinement, it is the extensive gameplay experience that makes Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 the must have title for all Playstation 2 owners this holiday season.