Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

The core of Tony Hawk’s Underground 2 revolves around its fast-paced, combo-driven skater gameplay that built the series’ reputation. From the moment you step into the World Destruction Tour, performing lip tricks, grinds, and massive aerials feels smooth and intuitive. The inclusion of manuals and reverts continues to encourage chaining together elaborate combos, and the level design rewards exploration and risk-taking with hidden gaps, vert ramps, and creative lines.

THUG 2 expands on its predecessor by reintroducing the Classic Mode, allowing you two-minute runs on remade levels from earlier entries to rack up as many combo points as possible. This mode is a welcome challenge for series veterans who enjoy optimized routes and tight trick timing. The new “Create-A-Graphic” feature extends customization beyond boards and skaters by letting you design unique graffiti tags, layering text and graphics to leave your mark in-game.

Mission structure in story mode follows the familiar goal-based progression: each city assigns you a set of objectives—ranging from point thresholds and trick-specific tasks to unique destruction challenges. Completing these goals unlocks new areas, characters, vehicles, and even secret levels. While sometimes repetitive, the objectives offer a varied pace that balances pure skating skill with environmental interactivity.

Online play (on PlayStation 2) and local split-screen multiplayer modes add a competitive dimension beyond the single-player campaign. Classic multiplayer modes like Trick Attack and HORSE return alongside new minigames tailored to the World Destruction Tour theme. Whether you’re challenging a friend in split-screen or facing off against global opponents online, THUG 2’s multiplayer suites extend replayability and keep sessions fresh.

Graphics

Visually, Tony Hawk’s Underground 2 makes solid leaps from its predecessor. Character models are more detailed, with improved facial animations and clothing physics that react naturally as you skate. Each skater’s personality comes through in their attire and signature tricks, giving the roster a diverse, colorful cast that feels distinct throughout the tour.

The international locales offer varied backdrops, from the neon-drenched streets of Tokyo to the gritty graffiti alleys of Barcelona. Environmental textures are sharp enough for the era, and lighting effects—especially on night levels—add atmosphere to your runs. While some draw distances can show pop-in on distant objects, close-up details on ramps, rails, and street furniture remain crisp, ensuring that your focus on chains and combos never falters.

Environmental hazards and destructible objects enhance immersion, letting you smash through storefront windows, topple statues, and send trash cans flying in your wake. These physics-driven interactions, though occasionally inconsistent, bolster the sense of mayhem integral to the World Destruction Tour theme. The game maintains a steady frame rate during most sequences, though massive crowd scenes or heavily destructible environments can trigger slight slowdowns.

Story

Tony Hawk’s Underground 2 takes a lighthearted, tongue-in-cheek approach to storytelling, pitting Team Hawk against Team Bam in an around-the-world skating showdown dubbed the World Destruction Tour. The narrative is less about deep character arcs and more about embracing the absurdity of a no-holds-barred skate contest. Quirky cutscenes and dialogue pepper the campaign, giving each city a humorous spin as you follow your custom skater’s journey from underdog to tour champion.

The campaign structure loosely ties together the tour’s 10+ cities, with each locale offering a themed “destruction” objective—whether it’s causing a lights-out blackout in New Orleans or spray-painting landmarks in Rome. While the overarching goal is straightforward, the episodic nature of chapter-based goals keeps the story moving at a brisk pace. The rivalry with Bam Margera’s team adds just enough narrative tension to motivate your efforts without demanding too much focus away from gameplay.

Character cameos and rap-rock–infused cutscenes give the story a distinct early-2000s flavor, complete with tongue-in-cheek humor and larger-than-life personalities. Though the plot rarely aims for profundity, it succeeds at framing each level as an “event” with stakes that feel tangible. For fans of competitive skate narratives and the era’s pop culture references, THUG 2 hits the sweet spot between silly and spirited.

Overall Experience

Tony Hawk’s Underground 2 offers a high-energy experience that builds on the platform’s skating legacy while injecting fresh modes and features. The combination of robust create-a-modes—including skater, park, and graphic editors—ensures that creativity shines through both in single-player missions and multiplayer showdowns. Unlockable characters and vehicles add incentives for thorough goal completion, rewarding players who explore every nook and cranny.

Though its mission-based progression can feel slightly repetitive over extended play sessions, the varied objectives, unlockables, and hidden side quests help mitigate fatigue. The Classic Mode and online play (for PS2 owners) provide avenues for gamers craving raw score-chasing competition or head-to-head battles. On modern systems, emulation and backward compatibility options allow new players to rediscover the tour’s charm.

Graphically and mechanically, THUG 2 captures the rebellious spirit of street skating and the early 2000s skate culture. Its soundtrack—packed with punk, hip-hop, and rock anthems—fuels both nostalgia and adrenaline, making each run feel like part of a curated mixtape. While not without minor performance hiccups, the title’s sense of freedom, over-the-top challenges, and robust customization deliver an experience that’s still enjoyable two decades after its original release.

For fans of arcade-style sports games, thrill-seekers eager to master huge combos, and players who appreciate creative self-expression through customization, Tony Hawk’s Underground 2 remains a compelling pick. Its blend of energetic gameplay, memorable locales, and cheeky storytelling come together to form one of the series’ most distinctive entries—an enduring testament to why the Tony Hawk franchise became synonymous with video game skateboarding.

Retro Replay Score

7.6/10