Image: Neversoft via HGG / Brett Moss
I've been playing video games pretty much nonstop ever since I got my first 360. I love arena shooters, MMOs, and MOBAs, but I'll pretty much try any kind of game.
Reviewed by Benjamin Barr
Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2 released in September 2000, and is remembered as one of the greatest skateboarding games of all time. With an incredible Metacritic score of 98%, it truly was one of the best and most iconic games of its generation. Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1+2 stays faithful to the original and provides us with all the things that made the two games so iconic.
In this article, we’re ranking each of the remastered THPS 2 maps from worst to best. We’ll start with our least favorite picks and move to the #1 best Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2 map. Enjoy!
Looking for a ranking of the best Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1 maps? Find that article here!
10/10
Chopper Drop
This is easily the worst map in THPS 2 and perhaps the entire remaster. Chopper Drop consists only of one large vert ramp and a very small area you can jump to. The fact that this level is your reward for getting the gold medal in each THPS 2 competition park is a slap in the face.
The setting is honestly really cool and its ramp is great, but there’s no replayability here. It’s just one big ramp in the middle of the ocean when it could have been so much more. If there had even been one or two more ramps, this could have been a great level.
9/10
Skate Street
Skate Street is very similar to Skate Park from THPS 1, but a little more well developed. It’s not too bad for a standard competition level — it’s enjoyable to ride around in, and the addition of two secret areas is pretty nice as well. It could be a lot better, but it could also be a lot worse.
8/10
Skate Heaven
Skate Heaven is unlocked after 100% completing each level in both the THPS 1 and 2 side of the game. It’s a genuinely beautiful level with neon lights and stylized ramps and locations. The problem, however, is that every time you miss a jump or do anything wrong, you’re going to end up falling off the map. It’s seriously too easy to fall to your death on this map, and it significantly takes away from the fun from the level.
There’s also the volcano secret area. The area is pretty cool (although not amazing), but getting into it is a nightmare. The jump you have to make to actually enter the volcano is incredibly difficult, and you only have time to make two or three attempts before time runs out. It’s a great level, but with way too many annoyances.
7/10
NY City
This is generally considered one of the better levels by the overall community, but I honestly don’t get why. It’s a good level, but there are several problems with it. For one, it’s a mess. The level is laid out in a way that’s reminiscent of School from THPS 1 — interesting, but too big and chaotic. The objectives are also pretty boring.
I can’t deny that NY City has a distinct charm that makes it better than a lot of other levels, but it’s just not interesting enough to grab my attention.
6/10
Bullring
One of the many improvements THPS 2 made over the first game was really figuring out how to make interesting competition levels. Bullring is one of the most unique levels in the game, with its loop ramp, huge vert ramp in the middle, and the bulls running around the outer sides of the park. It’s really fun to rack up insane combos going from each side of the park to the other, as everything is close enough that you can pretty easily manual your way over to any rail you want and extend your combos.
Bullring gets a lot of hate, but most of this is unwarranted. It has its issues, but they don’t outweigh the good aspects it brings to the table.
5/10
Philadelphia
Philadelphia is an excellent level. No matter what style of skateboarding you prefer, there’s something for you here. There’s a wide variety of objectives, and none of them are absurdly frustrating (which is a nice change of pace!). The main area of this map consists mostly of large gaps and grinds, but once you open the secret area, you get access to even more. This secret area reminds me a lot of the Burnside map from THPS 1, since it’s located in a dark and secluded area and focuses mostly on tight gaps you can easily chain together.
If you want a well-balanced map with a little of everything, Philadelphia might just be the best for you.
4/10
The Hangar
The Hangar is a classic map from THPS 2, much like the Warehouse level from the first game. It’s the first map in the game, and while it’s a little flashier than Warehouse, it offers a similar experience. The objectives are clearly laid out so you can progress from one side to the other and collect them all, and the secret area is just cryptic enough to inform players that they should be looking out for that kind of thing in future levels as well.
They also made a great choice in letting the chopper actually break through the ceiling, thus creating new small ramps for the player to use. The Hangar is infinitely replayable and is one of the best starter levels from any action game.
3/10
School II
School II does exactly what the first School map did, but significantly better. School II offers a much less “messy” version of this style of map, and I enjoy everything about it more. From the golf cart speeding around the level to the secret level you have to unlock before the bell rings, School II is a near perfect outdoor level. These levels usually suffer from some form of messiness or frustrating challenges, but School II avoids that. It might not be the best level in this game, but it is amongst them.
2/10
Marseille
Marseille is the perfect competition park. It is a recreation of a real skate park in Marseille, France, and provides a perfect place to attempt high scores or just relax. This level is absolutely beautiful, and the large bowl-style ramp that takes up most of its area is perfect. The secret area is also great, but it’s not what makes this map so good. The only flaw of Marseille is that it’s a competition level, so it has no objectives. There’s really nothing to dislike here other than that, though. It’s a shame we didn’t get any more maps like this in the first two games.
1/10
Venice Beach
Venice Beach is not only my favorite map from THPS 2, but the entirety of the remaster as well. There’s something absurdly addictive about this level, even though it does have its flaws. Jumping the bums and getting teleported to the start every time you go out of bounds is annoying, but it doesn’t take away from how great the level is at all.
Each section of this pretty large map feels perfectly designed. No matter how many times you play it, it feels like there’s still more to explore — it’s just so easy and fun to combo through the same sections over and over again! Venice Beach is easily the best map in Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1+2.
Join the High Ground
That finishes up both halves of our Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1+2 list! Let us know how your favorite maps ranked on our list, and don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on social media for more content like this.
Happy gaming!
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