Tony Hawk is not pleased at the critical response to the latest in the skateboarding video game series that bears his name, “Tony Hawk: RIDE”.
With critics savaging the game left, right and centre – GameSpot.com called it “an overpriced asco”, while Eurogamer.net declared “Don’t buy “RIDE” unless you want to be taken for one” – Hawk has cut out swinging, both on his Twitter feed and in an interview with The Sudbury Star. On Twitter, Hawk wrote “Most snarky critics had their minds set before ever seeing/playing the game. I’m proud of what we created; it’s innovative, responsible and fun.” Hawk elaborated even further in the newspaper interview with Steve Tilley, saying, “They (the critics) were ready to discredit it before they even tried it, and if it didn’t play exactly how they imagined it… then they passed it off. I don’t agree with people who say the board’s not responsive. I think that they’re just not giving it a fair shake. And I think a lot of them came into it with an attitude that it’s going to suck.” Hawk concluded his outburst with a defiant, “I know that “RIDE” is super fun, and I think there’s a misconception that I just stick my name on a game. I brought this idea to Activision, and I saw it through… I’ve been playing it every step of the way and I am very proud of it.”
Judging by the comments on computerandvideogames.com, however, the majority of gamers appear to agree with the critics’ reviews, one gamer noting, “The game is turd, and a very pricey turd at that.”
