THPS 3+4 Remaster To Remove Goals, Bam Margera

With much excitement and fanfare came the announcement of a remastering for Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 this week, developed by Iron Galaxy Studios and published by Activision. The first batch of remasters (Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2) were an instant hit. Thousands of positive reviews hit Steam thanks to a faithful, thrilling revisiting of a nostalgic classic. With this in mind, Tony Hawk 3 and 4 should be a shoe-in for a stellar remaster as well, right? Well, not if you cherished Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4‘s career mode growing up, as all levels have been reworked into the original two-minute format.

Removing the goal system for the career mode in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4 deals a great blow to anyone who enjoyed this format while playing the original game in the early 2000s. It doesn’t completely feel out of place, as most of the goals in the game were already timed. However, skating around the levels and having conversations with real pro skaters and goofball personalities will sorely be missed. Another glaring omission is the removal of Bam Margera as a skater in the game, even though his brother’s band, CKY will be on the soundtrack.

It’s no secret that Bam Margera has had a troubled past, coming to a head at the start of this decade in not being a part of Jackass Forever due to struggles with alcohol/drug abuse. Despite stints in rehab and making efforts to improve his image, he will not be in the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 remake. Nevertheless, he may be modded into the PC version. If Activision keeps this line of thinking, Tony Hawk’s Underground 2 could never be remade due to his large role. Despite these choices, the game continues to generate hype and is gearing for a July 10th release.