The Tony Hawk’s franchise should be well known by the vast majority of those viewing Electronic Theatre. Having established itself on the PlayStation, the series has graced every major format since. While the quality of the titles released in the series has varied drastically, there has often been little more than minor refinement, as opposed to fully reconditioning the series. The first entrant the series released for the Next-Generation, Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland, was merely a glossy port of the PlayStation2’s simultaneously release, whereas this year’s edition, Tony Hawk’s Project 8, blows-away any attempts of replication on previous generation machines. This, in itself, could have lead to the Wii’s original, and exclusive, output in the way of Tony Hawk’s Downhill Jam, simply because Wii isn’t powerful enough to handle the latest expedition, and the PlayStation2’s version would simply other nothing to Nintendo’s innovative new system.

            Tony Hawk’s Downhill Jam is a wholly new take on the series’ inherent formula, to say the least. The Grind Meter, Grabs, Spins and Flip Tricks return with little alteration, with the exception of a change in Face Button co-ordination and the Grind Meter being relatively easy to control by comparison. However, the gameplay of the title has been altered dramatically. As opposed to the series origins (now referred to as “Classic Mode”) or the Free-Roaming exercises the series has been partial to over the last three years, instead, Tony Hawk’s Downhill Jam chooses to change pace and offer a closer comparison to the likes of 1080 Avalanche.

            All of the Courses, as noted by the title, are downhill. A variety of tasks is set, most commonly a simple Race, as a series of ten Courses are played through. For each Course completed successfully, the player will receive Rank Points which, when having reached the required amount, will unlock a new Tier of an additional ten Courses. Other tasks include knocking-down the required amount of pedestrians, reaching a High Score or Slalom, in which the player has to pass through as many of the signified markers as possible, and all tasks require the player to accomplish the mission whilst still completing the Course.

            The variety of Courses is pleasing, if limited, with a grand scale to many of the locations, regardless of the fact that the player is intended to head in one direction only. Taking place with scenic views of the Presidential Quarters and downtown San Francisco, amongst others, each of the Courses features a huge array of shortcuts, huge jumps and trick opportunities.

            Performing tricks during a run will not only fill a Special Meter in the traditional Tony Hawk’s manner, but also a Boost Meter. Allowing the player to store up to three Boosts, performing decent tricks is vital for success on the later Courses. Flip Tricks and Grinds are performed using the 1 Button, whilst Ollie’s and Grab Tricks are controlled via the 2 Button. Attacks on pedestrians or your competition are performed by pressing the D-Pad in the corresponding direction, whilst steering your board uses the Accelerometers within the Wii Remote.  The Motion Sensing of the Wii Remote is as reliable as you would hope in a title of this calibre, and adds some weight to the argument of the Wii Remote as a well-crafted Control System.

            The characters available, much like the courses, provide a great deal of scope. The only playable character in any way inspired by real-life professional skaters would be Tony Hawk himself. This may be disconcerting to regulars of the franchise; however, it would be more objectionable had the title featured real-world skaters given the loose relationship the title has with the actuality of the sport.

            Graphically, the title is marred not by the development team as such, but more in relation to the development procedure adhered to at the time of production. Given the early birth of the title in Wii’s Launch Line-Up, it’s expected that the title was to be of a lower visual standard than the titles due to arrive early next year, however, the title even wavers slightly when compared to the GameCube’s most aurally pleasing releases. The sound quality simply mirrors that of the visuals, whilst providing a reasonable soundtrack.

            Tony Hawk’s Downhill Jam, despite its issues, is very much an enjoyable experience and a nice expansion on the formula of the Tony Hawk’s franchise. While the title may not draw any more fans to the Wii userbase, nor necessarily force Tony Hawk’s fans to purchase a Wii for a taste of the series’ new direction, it is a good indication of what can be accomplished by Third-Parties in a limited amount of time with Wii. Certainly, the title is short of breaking any new boundaries; however it would be criminal to suggest that Tony Hawk’s Downhill Jam is disposable because of this.