Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 Might Get Rid Of Free Roam

After nearly four years, the Tony Hawk series is back with a bang. Fans of the legendary skater franchise are in for another treat as Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 remake hits PC and consoles this July. Following the success of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 in 2021, the last two Pro Skater games are finally getting a modern overhaul thanks to Iron Galaxy Studios.

The remake will feature old and new characters, plenty of game modes, and exciting new music. When it launches in July, this game should be an excellent return to form if we consider the success of the previous remake from 2021. However, the developers might be making a major change to the structure of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4, and it’s not something OG fans will appreciate.

What’s New In Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4?

Apart from enhanced visuals and physics, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 is unapologetically full of nostalgia. You’re getting 16 levels from the original 3 and 4, alongside new levels such as the Abandoned Waterpark shown in the trailer. There’s also a New Game+ mode, letting you replay the game without losing any progress from your previous playthrough. 

Of course, your iconic skaters such as Chad Muska, Seve Cabellero, Andrew Reynolds, Lizzie Armanto, and Tony Hawk himself are all making a comeback. We also have new skaters — Rayassa Leal, Chlow Covell, Yuto Horigome, Zion Wright, and Jamie Foy. Controversially, Bam Margera will not be appearing in the game. 

Tony Hawk’s rebellious and high-energy vibe is incomplete without its anthemic soundtrack playing behind you as you perform dope Casper Slides. While new songs are obviously expected, here is a list of some iconic tracks making a return with the remake:

• “Mass Appeal” by Gang Stars
• “Outta Here” by KRS-One
• “Amoeba” by Adolescents
• “Ace of Spades” by Motorhead
• “96 Quite Bitter Beings” by CKY
• “Not the Same” by Bodyjar

There’s obviously a lot of hype around all these new improvements and additions. But if you’ve played Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4 previously, you might remember that it has a very different career mode compared to the rest of the series. THPS4 was the first game to ditch the two-minute timer in favor of a free-roam aspect, and the remake is sadly getting rid of that.

A Look Back At Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4

In the original Pro Skater 4, you can skate around the levels freely, talk to characters to get new objectives and discover secrets without the pressure of a ticking clock. This gives you a lot of creative agency, and it worked well as the levels were bigger than ever in THPS 4. 

Some of the missions in this game were ridiculous, such as trying to grab onto a college professor’s car as it was weaving through traffic. The Escape from Alcatraz was another fun (and sometimes frustrating) goal that worked perfectly with the level’s theme. 

The game felt more like an environmental playground rather than a set of linear obstacle courses. Each area has diverse objectives, plenty of humor and personality, and an interesting narrative told through gameplay. This was highly influential, as games like Skate would go on to adapt this style of semi-open-world exploration. 

How Is The Remake Going To Handle This?

Fans of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 likely know how the story will unfold in 3 + 4. As the developers need to make the levels and gameplay from both games work cohesively, they are likely going to ditch the free-roam aspect altogether. This is obvious if you take a look at the product page mentioning the two-minute format.

If THPS 1 + 2 is anything to go by, you will be able to play all the levels from THPS 3 and 4 from separate playlists. In the standard mode, the timer will always be hanging over your head.

From a development standpoint, this makes perfect sense. The two-minute timer was a major success in THPS 1 + 2, and it’s going to provide a seamless experience in 3 + 4 as well. Creating an entirely separate experience just to cater to THPS4 is a lot of work. On the flip side, it is a bit disappointing, especially if you’re an avid fan of THPS4. Having a shared feature set certainly makes the game more cohesive, but it does strip away a bit of the identity of the last Pro Skater game. 

The two-minute format isn’t the only mode though, as there is a Free Skate mode that doesn’t have a timer at all. While you might think that this mode can easily accommodate the goals from THPS 4, that’s not the case. It’s a pure sandbox experience, meaning there are no goals or clear objectives to speak of. 

There’s also a speedrun mode, which is the exact opposite of the two-minute format. In this mode, the goal is to complete all the objectives as fast as possible. 

Is This Really That Big Of A Deal?

If you ask the above question to someone who’s a massive fan of THPS 4 (like myself), then yes, it is a big deal. The levels in this game are designed around the free-roam aspect, meaning they’re bigger, less linear, and not entirely streamlined for the two-minute format seen in the previous games. Of course, the developers understand this, and they’re likely going to change some things to make it work.

That just makes things more concerning. Are they just going to get rid of the goals, or will they have to trim some of the levels to make them smaller? Ultimately, I believe they can make it work, and for those of you who are fans of the first three Pro Skater games, you are definitely going to love it. 

Admittedly, despite my reservations about these changes, even I’m still looking forward to devoting countless hours to this remake. I’m still holding out hope that they somehow add THPS4 goals to the remake, or at least make them work seamlessly with the two-minute timer. As worried as I am about how it’s going to go down, I’m still somehow more worried about the new EA Skate.