It's hard to think that at one point skateboarding games ruled the world. In the early 2000s every teenager owned at least one Tony Hawk game, with the arcade-inspired Pro Skater series in particular gaining massive commercial and critical popularity. However, after four solid games, the series was in need of a reinvention, and thus a more open and story-focused sub-franchise took its place in the mainstream. As Tony Hawk's Underground aimed for humour and spectacle over hardcore high-scores, the franchise slowly moved into a more casual market, culminating in a peripheral-clad demise a few years ago. Fortunately for long-time fans though a glorious return to the Pro Skater series was promised to be in development and was set for release last year. Stripping back the indulgence that killed the franchise previously, Pro Skater 5 seemed like an easy win for this once-great set of games. Of course, bafflingly, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5 turned out to be one of the biggest disasters of 2015. For such a simple game the initial release was buggy as hell, to the point of being virtually unplayable. Instead of giving the franchise the shot of adrenaline it needed, it proved to be the final nail in the coffin of this once revered series.
Josh has over 11 years of experience as a published writer, having worked full time as a content producer at WhatCulture for nine years. In that time he has created hundreds of articles, videos and podcast episodes for multiple channels, specialising in subjects such as gaming, horror and film & TV. He now primarily works as a senior content producer and presenter on WhatCulture Gaming where he co-hosts the WhatCulture Gaming Podcast, a top 3 most listened to gaming podcast in the UK that he co-created in 2018. Over the years he has reviewed several high-profile gaming releases, covered industry events with on-site reporting, covered breaking news, and even kicked off his interviewing career by chatting to childhood hero, Tommy Wiseau.
