- Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam
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Tony Hawk’s Downhill Jam 
PS2 version cover artDeveloper(s) Wii: Toys For Bob
DS: Vicarious Visions
GBA: Visual Impact
PS2: SuperVillain StudiosPublisher(s) Activision Platform(s) Wii, Nintendo DS, Game Boy Advance, PlayStation 2 Release date(s) Genre(s) Extreme sports, racing game, strategy Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer, online multiplayer (Nintendo DS only) Rating(s) ESRB: E10+
E (Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS versions)
OFLC: G
M (PS2 version)
PEGI: 12+
3+ (Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS versions)
BBFC: 12 (PS2 and Wii versions)Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam is a video game in the Tony Hawk series. The game was a launch title for Nintendo's Wii, and is also available for the Nintendo DS, Game Boy Advance, and PlayStation 2.
As a departure from Neversoft's Tony Hawk games, Downhill Jam emphasizes gaining speed and racing opponents, as well as competing for high scores and completing goals.
Contents
Wii version
The version of Downhill Jam for Wii was developed by Toys for Bob, developer of Disney's Extreme Skate Adventure and the game adaptation of Madagascar.
As in older Tony Hawk's games, there are game modes for high scores and completing goals, but a high-speed racing mode is also included. Tricks are used in part to reach secret and alternate routes, although revert and manual tricks are absent from the game. This formula is similar to that used in the SSX series of snowboarding games.
The Wii version features a multiplayer mode with four players competing head-to-head in splitscreen. While online play was announced within early development, the final version of this game does not include online play.
Downhill Challenge
The Wii version of Downhill Jam features a single player mode called "Downhill Challenge". The story to this is Tony Hawk who puts on an event where Hawk and friends tour around the world to compete in a series of downhill skating competitions such as: Races, Slalom, "Trick", "Steal The Head", and "Elimirace".
Nintendo DS version
The Nintendo DS version was developed by Vicarious Visions, who gained much experience with the Tony Hawk franchise by adapting almost every previous version for GBA as well as Tony Hawk's American Sk8land for Nintendo DS.
The DS version has six tracks, each four times larger than a typical level from Tony Hawk's American Sk8land. The DS version has a similar character set to the Wii version, as well as the ability to create a character and customize his or her appearance, stats, and special tricks.
The DS version maintains a traditional Tony Hawk control scheme, and much of the same trick set from Sk8land. However, flip tricks can now be held like grab tricks, reverts are eliminated, and the bert slide has been optimized for downhill racing. Additionally a combo buffer has been implemented. When a combo is broken, the player has a few seconds (a buffer) to start a trick again and save the combo. The player is allowed 20 buffers per combo, making the maximum score of 100 million points per combo still difficult to obtain.
Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam for the DS does not support online play anymore as the servers are not being supported anymore.
Story mode
In its story, you recruit skaters into your skate crew and battle a rival crew run by Antonio Segul (a reference to Tony Hawk, being a bird's name), an oldschool skater trapped in the 80s.
GBA and PS2 version
The GBA version of the game was developed by Visual Impact and the PlayStation 2 version was developed by SuperVillain Studios. Neither game was developed by Neversoft. The PlayStation 2 version shares a big similarity with the Wii version of this game, sharing its graphics, levels, and characters, except that this version includes three extra characters.
Reviews
DS
- Metacritic: 76/100[1]
- IGN: 87
- Official Nintendo Magazine UK: 83
- Games Radar: 80
- GameSpy: 80
- Worth Playing: 78
- Nintendo Power: 75
- GameDaily: 70
- 1UP: 70
- GameSpot: 6.6/10
- EuroGamer: 60
Wii
- Metacritic: 69/100[2]
- Official Nintendo Magazine UK: 8.5/10
- Games Radar: 80/100
- GameSpy: 80/100
- Electronic Gaming Monthly: 7.5/10
- Nintendo Power: 7.5/10
- 1UP: 7.5/10
- Yahoo! Games: 7.0/10
- IGN: 7.0/10
- Play Magazine: 70/100
- GameTrailers: 68/100
- GamePro: 65/100
- GameSpot: 6/10
- EuroGamer: 5/10
- Game Informer: 50/100
- Edge Magazine: 5/10
- G4 TV: 2/5
PlayStation 2
- Metacritic: 62/100[3]
- Games Radar: 60
- GameSpot: 5.9
- IGN: 5.5
References
- ^ Metacritic: Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam DS, http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/ds/tonyhawksdownhilljam?q=downhill%20jam, retrieved 2007-05-18
- ^ Metacritic: Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam Wii, http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/wii/tonyhawksdownhilljam?q=downhill%20jam, retrieved 2007-05-18
- ^ Metacritic: Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam PS2, http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/ps2/tonyhawksdownhilljam?q=downhill%20jam, retrieved 2007-05-18
External links
- Activision
- Official Website
- Downhill Jam at Tony Hawk Games Wiki
- Tony Hawk’s Downhill Jam at IGN
- Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam DS Community
- Interview with Toby Schadt (Lead Developer)
Main series Tony Hawk's Pro Skater · 2 · 3 · 4 · Underground · Underground 2 · American Wasteland · Project 8 · Proving Ground · Ride · ShredSpin-offs Related games Related articles Categories:- 2006 video games
- Activision games
- Game Boy Advance games
- Nintendo DS games
- Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection games
- Skateboarding video games
- Wii games
- PlayStation 2 games
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