It seems Tony Hawk has forgotten to wear his helmet, suffered a nasty face-plant and knocked himself into a state of schizophrenia. His resulting split personality has given us two games in one with very little in common, aside from both being freakin' awesome.
Last year's Tony Hawk's Underground infused anarchy and silliness into the Pro-Skater formula, and THUG 2 takes it a step further. With its caricatured look and loony objectives, the World Destruction Tour story mode feels more like MTV's Jackass than ever. But skate purists who cling to the fundamentals like Trekkies to Klingon dictionaries can grind rails in a more traditional classic mode that rivals the best of the Pro-Skater titles. May Tony never regain sanity.
SVC Chaos: SNK VS. Capcom (T) (2.5 stars)
SNK NeoGeo
Xbox
SVC Chaos' inconsistent balance of power can make it difficult to find a fair fight, and nothing makes you sound more like a pansy than telling your opponent, "You can't pick Akuma—he's too strong!" Capcom fans should get Street Fighter Anniversary Collection. SNK fans should get King of Fighters. And if you really must see them go head to head, bang the two discs together.
Choro Q (E) (2 stars)
Atlus
PlayStation 2
What do you get when you combine a racing game with a role-playing game? A CARPG. Choro Q lets you drive around town and talk to other cars, which is about as much fun as being stuck in traffic. Then it's off to the races, where you can eventually upgrade from street-sweeper speed to golf-cart speed.
Shark Tale (E) (3 stars)
Activision
GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox
Gorgeous, film-quality graphics are the highlight in this collection of widely varying mini-games. Most of the brief levels are worth the swim, but the controls often feel like you're dragging a cement block behind you, which any captured mob informant will tell you is not the preferred way to swim with the fishes.
The Dukes of Hazzard: Return of the General Lee (E) (2.5 stars)
Ubisoft
GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox
There are certainly still people who get a tingly sensation when they see an orange car with a Union Jack, but even aged Dukes fans would tire of the slow races through Hazzard County in this game. Enemy AI is unforgivably bad—I know Sheriff Roscoe is supposed to be a dimwit, but come on!
Matthew Scott Hunter has been known to mumble, "Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, start" in his sleep. E-mail him at
[email protected].