Tony Hawk's Proving Ground (Xbox 360)

Tony Hawk's Proving Ground is the ninth instalment in this epic series, but in the wake of EA's Skate with its refreshing control scheme, is there really any need for yet another Tony Hawks game? Moving the setting to a more grimy environment seems like a good start, settling for a huge urban sprawl with more than enough places to session. Thank fuck we've lost the roller coasters and the Ewok village.

The playing mechanic remains basically the same: mash the buttons and push in any direction and you'll pull off some sick moves. But thankfully there's the more refined Nail The Trick feature they added in Project 8, which allows you to drop in to slow-mo and control the feet of your skater during airtime. This still remains the game's crowning glory and it has been upgraded to include Nail The Grab and Nail The Manual.

This time round there are three types of skater disciplines: Career, Rigger and Hardcore. Career is all about looking good and scoring high. This path unlocks the NTT, NTG and NTM features, which are the best thing this game has to offer, so it's best to spend your skill points on this path. Riggers bring their own gear along, opening up a rigging palette where you can place home-made ramps and rails anywhere on the map, which sadly feels a bit lost in a world which already has plenty to offer. Hardcore skaters are in it for the rush. Clear huge gaps, nail giant airs and beat the crap out of anyone who dares to stand your their way.

Sadly not the best skating game these days, it seems a shame that, even with all its great features, THPG seems to have made little progression since the first in its never-ending franchise.

Released on 2nd November 2007 by Activision.

Written by Nick Gripton.