Few games come along and genuinely inspire a full-in cultural movement, but as thousands of us ventured outside to try our hands at real skateboarding (only to fail miserably), it was a testament to how enjoyable this portrayed the sport, that for a good few years at the close of the 90s and into the 2000s, we were completely enraptured with replicating it. And for good reason, Neversoft's extremely arcade-feeling attempt at the genre was a resounding success. Tricks and riders could be customised, the tracks themselves felt like they had endless amounts of things to see and do, and the actual feel of gameplay encouraged and dared you to go faster, rack up higher combos and challenge yourself to see what you were capable of; just like the real thing. THPS 2 and 3 would go on to be even greater games that this first take, but for everything Tony Hawk's accomplished and proved could be done with such an underrated extreme sport as skateboarding, that was mighty special indeed.
