By Jackson Vandeberg and Josh Rabinowitz for SkateboardDirectory.com.

New York * -- On November 8th, 2006 the eighth game in the Tony Hawk Pro Skater * series hit stores. The new release is offered for the Playstation * Portable, the Playstations 2 and 3, and Xbox and Xbox 360.

By all accounts the game presents a new approach to skateboard gaming, although at least one reviewer has said that this is "the worst Tony Hawk game ever made" complaining about changes in the game's controls, and how he feels this is "Tony Hawk for dummies".

Looking to continue their success with the Tony Hawk Skateboarding line of video games, the new game focusing on presenting an especially realistic simulation of the sport. The game features over a dozen of the best current skaters covering a spectrum of styles.

Represented skaters include Tony Hawk, Bob Burnquist *, Dustin Dollin *, Lyn-Z Adams * Hawkins, Nyjah Huston *, Bam Margera *, Paul Rodriguez *, Rodney Mullen *, Ryan Sheckler *, Daewon Song *, Mike Vallely * and Stevie Williams * as well as "secret and hidden" characters including Travis Barker, Jason Lee *, Kevin Staab, and Christian Hosoi *.

The game also features a soundtrack from bands including Bad Religion, The Cure, Damian Marley, The Dead Milkmen, Gnarls Barkley, Joy Division, Kool and the Gang, Nine Inch Nails, Primus, the Ramones, Slayer, Sonic Youth, Toots and the Maytals, and many others.

As in most modern sports video games, the athletes' physical styles were recorded using 'motion capturing' suits which the skaters wear while performing tricks for Activision in their studios. The game maker then uses the information recorded by their computers to simulate the skater's motions in the game.

According to Activision, the game includes a new physics engine and more realistic graphics. While the game has received mixed reviews, the new "Nail the Trick" mode, in which you control the skater and the board in slow motion, ala "the Matrix", seems to be well appreciated. The game also features a redesigned goal system with Am, Pro, and "Sick" difficulty levels.

Activision was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Santa Monica, California *. With a revenue of over $1.4B in 2005 *, the company began with cartridges for the Atari 2600 platform and coin op machines.

This article was based on information found on the Activision Website, at the IGN * "Project 8 review" at http://xbox.ign.com/articles/745/745295p1.html, and from the wikipedia entries on Activision and Tony Hawk's Project 8.

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