Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 (Sony PlayStation review)

Developer: Neversoft, Shaba Games
Publisher: Activision
Released: 2001

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 is an extreme sports game and the follow-up to the 2000 sequel on the Sony PlayStation.

+ The locations are both typical (e.g. L.A.) and inventive (e.g. Airport) which creates a nice mix of disparate environments.

+ Level objectives are enjoyable and include simple fetch quests, alongside more cryptic and trick-based goals.

+ Provides a complimentary experience to those who've played the PS2 version (2001), as it includes exclusive objectives.

+ Collecting stat points by scouring the levels encourages you to explore and upgrade your skater to your preferred style.

+ The addition of the revert allows for much longer combos and opens up the gameplay possibilities in fresh ways.

+ Excellent fusion of music tracks to suit all tastes and seamlessly blends rock, punk and hip hop into a killer soundtrack.

- Winning all three competitions is arguably too easy, as the CPU skater scores aren't difficult to beat.

Conker's Bad Fur Day (N64 review)

Developer: Rare
Publisher: Rare
Released: 2001

Conker's Bad Fur Day is a 3D action-platformer and the final Rare developed game for the Nintendo 64.

+ Lots of scenic / gameplay variety, and the graphics are outstanding with detailed textures and a great draw distance.

+ Follows a more linear format than previous 3D Rare platformers which keeps the story moving along briskly.

+ Humour is South Park-esque and will have you laughing out loud at its inappropriate jokes that often break the fourth wall.

+ Includes an impressive amount of audio and cut-scenes, and the ending is surprisingly emotional.

- Arduous tasks feel like busy work rather than something that the developers intended to stimulate and entertain players.

- Despite its linear nature, the game doesn't offer enough hints regarding where to visit to trigger the next plot point.

- Camera is atrocious and always seems to work against you by refusing to give the best view of your surroundings.

18 Wheeler: American Pro Trucker (Sega Dreamcast review)

Developer: CRI
Publisher: Sega
Released: 2001

18 Wheeler: American Pro Trucker is a racing game that was first released in the Arcade in 1999.

+ Each route is scenic and aesthetically pleasing, while the track design tests your skills by mixing in wide and narrow lanes.

+ Routes have intersections where you can choose between two paths, and the various lorry loads increase the challenge. 

+ Locating and smashing into certain vehicles for extra time acts as a great risk-reward mechanic to keep the tension high.

+ Slip-streaming is gratifying and (despite their size) the vehicles are easy to manoeuvre around tight bends.

+ Parking mode's skill-based challenges are fun and the mini-games help you to improve your weaving / cornering.

- A.I. of your rival trucker features aggressive rubber banding and at times they randomly stop in the middle of the road.

- Only contains four routes, so it's over rather quickly and there's little to keep your attention once you've seen the credits.

Headhunter (Sega Dreamcast review)

Developer: Amuze
Publisher: Sega
Released: 2001

Headhunter is a third-person action game that was also released on the PlayStation 2 (2002).

+ Many standout moments, particularly the tense bomb defusal mission where you race around the city against the clock.

+ The duck and cover mechanics are terrific and the ability to peek around corners gives you total accuracy.

+ The puzzles help to break up the action and the bike sections add a new element to the Metal Gear Solid inspired gameplay.

+ The Leila tests feature beneficial mini-games that allow players to improve their skills in all areas.

+ Engaging story, bountiful cut-scenes, dramatic music that compliments the action, and some of the system's best visuals.

- Includes various game-breaking bugs that will force you to reload a previous save.

- Camera can be problematic at times without a second analog stick to fine-tune viewing angles.

Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble (Game Boy Color review)

Developer: HAL Laboratory, Nintendo R&D2
Publisher: Nintendo
Released: 2001

Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble is a platform game that uses the cartridge's built-in tilt sensors.

It consists of eight worlds (with four courses each) and your mission is to reclaim the stars of Dreamland that were stolen by the evil King Dedede. You control Kirby by tilting the console as he rolls around the levels, while flicking the handheld upwards causes you to jump. Button A is action-based allowing you to shoot when flying or paddle when on a raft. The amount of gameplay variety on offer is stunning, as while one minute you'll be travelling over land, the next you'll be airborne shooting down enemies, before shortly entering a castle with minor puzzle elements. The latter are especially interesting, as the concept of collecting keys to open locked doors in this particular scenic setting is very reminiscent of The Legend of Zelda (1987, NES) and it's a really fun throwback that works well. The controls are surprisingly responsive, and while they can be a little sensitive at times, using the built-in motion capabilities makes for a more immersive and unique experience. Saying that, tilting the console away from your line of sight can be problematic and this is no more apparent than when you have to flick upwards to jump as it temporarily obscures your vision until the handheld is back at eye level. Also, the bosses are underwhelming and unlike the preceding action stages each battle is fought in almost exactly the same way. On a plus though, there are five entertaining mini-games that make great use of the tilt sensors, and the cartridge includes three save slots.

Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble features highly engaging gameplay and the tilt controls are well implemented and feel vital rather than gimmicky. Additionally, the level design is sublime and it's a credit to the developers that they managed to constantly surprise players with new ideas, even deep into the adventure.

Random trivia: In 2001, a sequel called Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble 2 was announced for the Nintendo GameCube, but was ultimately cancelled.

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 (N64 review)

Developer: Edge of Reality, Neversoft
Publisher: Activision
Released: 2001

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 is an extreme sports game that was first released on the Sony PlayStation in 2000.

The levels have been increased in this sequel from six to ten and include locations such as New York City, Venice Beach and a Bullring in Mexico. The objectives have also been raised to ten per level with much more variety and trick-specific goals. The main control innovation is the introduction of manuals; these are performed by quickly pressing Up then Down on the d-pad and they allow you to link tricks together for much bigger scores. This seemingly minor addition opens up gameplay possibilities as it connects the levels and trick objects together in a way that felt much more isolated in the first game. Using the C buttons to activate tricks is a little uncomfortable, as you need to grip the N64 controller at an awkward angle when using the d-pad; however, once you adjust the gameplay is just as enticing as ever and landing tricks with precision is never an issue. The smooth, consistent frame-rate (apart from in the Bullring level) is also partly responsible for this. The levels are solidly designed and figuring out how to access hidden areas or Secret Tapes is a real joy that never gets old. The biggest reason to play this port is that load times are almost non-existent. However, although the music has always played a huge part in the THPS experience, here it's very low in the mix and many of the tracks either lack vocals or are heavily edited. Likewise, this port is missing many of the skater videos that Dreamcast and PS1 owners enjoyed when completing the game with certain characters. The draw distance isn't the best too which leads to pop-in that makes it harder to locate some items.

From a gameplay perspective, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 successfully captures the magic of the PS1 original and it's held up remarkably well. Saying that, this does feel like a slightly neutered port and although it's still a fantastic game you'd be doing yourself a great disservice by playing this cartridge version due to its various omissions.

Random trivia: Another sequel called Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 was released on the Nintendo 64 in 2002.