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Good: Map, touchscreen specials, control, online play/features, classic mode

Bad: Not as seamless as American Wasteland

Thanks for omitting: The on-foot aspects

After so many entries, it seems that the Tony Hawk series has run out of ideas for positive additions to the game. The Underground games became "Jackass Skateboarding" with absurd vehicles and the annoying antics of Bam Margera and his cronies. American Wasteland featured a seamless LA with no load times, but it was also crammed with unnecessary on-foot controls and some odd jumping moves. With American Sk8land, however, the series seems to take a step back towards its roots. This DS title features a heavy emphasis on skateboarding not seen since Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3.

The environments in American Sk8land are basically recreations of those seen in American Wasteland. It's still in LA, and you'll still travel to different areas of the city. Unfortunately, this transition isn't nearly as smooth as it was on the consoles. Instead of simply skating to the next area through a tunnel, you approach an arrow, the game pauses, and then you appear in the next environment.

Objectives in story mode are handled in the same fashion as the last few Tony Hawk titles. You're basically in Free Skate mode until you approach a bum, businessman or fellow skater who offers you cash for performing a specific action or pulling off a trick. Several of these don't make much sense. (I'm not sure how grinding some newspapers off a dumpster gets rid of the rats inside.) In American Wasteland, you collected random items around the city to build a skating utopia. These items were always interesting and offered some interesting gameplay possibilities. American Sk8land follows a similar, yet different path. Instead of collecting random items, you earn cash to buy new items. These items are more standard skating halfpipes and rails, and they're placed in a fairly uninteresting warehouse. The alternative to story mode is classic mode, which is once again a welcome addition. It's a throwback to the first three games, which featured 2-minute runs with several objectives.

There are no on-foot controls in this game, which is great. It's all skating and you don't have to unlock manuals, spine transfers and other moves (like you did in Wasteland). Controls are very sharp, and it's just as easy to play as the console big brothers. Certain abilities have been omitted, such as modifying tricks during a Natas Spin. It also seems more difficult to manual out of a revert. My favorite addition is the touchscreen specials. Instead of having to input a series of buttons to perform a special move, you now simply have to press an icon on the right side of the touchscreen. You'll start with one, but eventually get three fully customizable specials. Let's say you're in the middle of a long grind. All you have to do is press the touchscreen with your right thumb to pull off a high-scoring special. Focus Mode is handled similarly, albeit on the left side of the screen. The bottom screen is also extremely handy when it comes to finding objectives and cash opportunities. Unfortunately, the unnecessary "Freak Out" move is back. For those unfamiliar with this, it's a way to regain some of your lost points if you bail. This is accomplished by getting really mad and jumping on your board, for some reason. It was previously done by jamming on a button, but the DS makes it a touchscreen function. Three bars will go up and down, and you try to touch each of them at their highest peak for maximum Freak Out.

Thankfully, there are far less cutscenes in this version. The annoying Mindy character is back, as well as the always uncharismatic Tony Hawk (obviously). The good thing is that the game doesn't attempt humor nearly as much as the last three games. This juvenile skater humor was possibly the worst aspect of the last few games and I'm glad to see it toned down significantly. Graphically, this game looks completely different than any other in the series. The cel-shading looks great on the DS and I actually prefer the graphics of this title to those seen on the 360 version. Little touches have been added as well, such as the cool blue trail that follows you when doing spine transfers. I turned the music off after about an hour of playing, considering it was the same crap pop-punk that plagued the console versions. Sound effects are about on par with every other Tony Hawk title.

Online play is lag-free and features better matchmaking than Mario Kart DS, but it omits some multiplayer staples. My favorite multiplayer option in these games has always been Graffiti and it's missing from American Sk8land. It's also somewhat disappointing to only be able to skate against one other person. Despite this, there's some cool website integration that allows you to compare scores and upload board art. You can also download new goals if you're looking for more to do.

Overall, Tony Hawk's American Sk8land is a good DS title, not a great one. I definitely prefer this game to American Wasteland and it's nice to see titles taking advantage of Nintendo Wi-Fi. This would make a good purchase if you're a hardcore Tony Hawk fan who wants to take it on the go.

Graphics: B

Sound: C

First Play: B

Last Play: B-

Gameplay: B

Overall: 84%B