Friday 18 January, 2008

SUMMARY
THPS4 is a skating game that stretches across several new and increasingly difficult levels filled with tricky objectives and hosted by a crew of friendly looking skater punks. The main objective is to collect all possible collectible objects, such as levels, skaters, and gear by completing more objectives in the levels, or by collecting money found strewn about the levels. The game's multi player mode is renowned for it's level of fun at parties or small get togethers.

GAMEPLAY
After busting out another hour, my mind hasn't changed much. I still think the characters are dull and need their own story lines to follow in the game, I still think that it's exactly like the other games, just with better graphics and flow, and I still think it's totally boss. The one thing that has changed is that I can see how this game can get old fast. As ridiculously cool as it is, there are just so many limits. Not only are the objectives in each level repetitive, save a few random ones that really incorporate some crazy new approach, like trying to hold on to the back of some felon's car as he speeds away from a crime scene, but what happens after I drop a few hours into the game and beat it? Similarly, the games in multi player get old. I can only whoop on my crew for so long before it just gets too easy. That kind of threw me off.

Aside from that though, after a few hours, the novelty has yet to wear off. I've gotten as far as the shipyard level since I started on Thursday afternoon, and I'm still really into it. Multi player is still fun, if a worthy opponent steps up (ha), and I'm curious to see what the next levels are like, especially the carnival. It's also a change of pace to play with a few cheats on, like moon gravity, just to get a different feel from the levels. I would imagine that a person could invest a pretty large amount of time into this game without it getting boring at any point. This game is well worth the $20 any local Target would charge, and if you haven't played it yet, you should.

Your summary and gameplay sections are good. You're missing a section on design -- entry 2 should not contain a summary, but should contain 2-5 paragraphs on your thoughts on the design of the game. Other than that, though, you've got the right idea on what to talk about in your gameplay sections.

-Gillian Smith (TA)