We've all had hours of fun multiplying our score with trick after trick in the acclaimed Tony Hawk's series. The frustration, when you decided you could manual for just a little longer to get to the next ramp, only to lose all your points and fall flat on your face, well, it was all part of the fun. But where are the hours of agonising physical therapy? What happens when you miss dropping in from an aeroplane onto a half-pipe the size of a paddling pool? The broken bones, the weeping loved ones? The lost sponsorship deals because you busted that pretty face of yours? You'd have to be as mad as a carton of toads to careen down a hill at one hundred miles an hour with no obvious braking mechanism. But by golly, we love those toads and the mad, dangerous stuff they do in that carton. And it's all so you don't have to. More recent titles have got it a little closer to the truth, not just in the Tony Hawk's brand games, but with games like Skate. The tricks are dialled down from eleven, to ones which, though nearly impossible, are actually achievable by some skilled humans on the planet. Make no mistake, this is a highly dangerous sport. A few words to any young 'uns out there who want to imitate some of the crazy stuff that happens in these games: gravity is not your friend. Gravity wants to see you fail. Gravity will slap you down to the asphalt before letting you airwalk. Still, keep filming yourself landing with poles between your legs or there would be nothing on the internet but cats.
