My son is almost 10, which is the starting recommended age for this game. I think even kids as young as 8 could play it, as long as they are pretty coordinated. It’s probably best for teens, and even adults will be able to play. I wish you could have seen the moment I brought out the game box, because my son just about passed out. He made goofy noises, jumped up and down, and hugged the box. Seriously, he was that excited about it.

For the uninitiated, the game is a full size “skateboard” that is a game controller for the Wii – though it also comes for the PS3 and Xbox 360. It comes bundled with the game disc for anywhere between $90 and $120, depending on what deals are out there. You “ride” the skateboard to play the game – like this:

Tony Hawk Ride Game

Setting up the game was a little tricky, but not too bad. It took us a little while to figure out how to get the board game controller turned on (it went on right away the first time, but then we figured out that you have to hold the button down to get it to go on again). It was frustrating only until we figured out that it was a simple solution, which made me feel somewhat silly. :) And then you have to ‘calibrate’ the board, which my son was able to do on his own without my help, so it was pretty simple – the game walks you through it.

One the game was ready to roll, I have to say I had pretty high expectations and I was impressed more than I thought I would be.

This game is flipping cool.

Tony Hawk Ride Screenshot

There are several modes of play, from an easy ‘free skate’ to more challenging courses that require that you learn to do tricks. There also is a half-pipe mode that is entirely different than the skateboarding mode. I tried skateboarding back in the 80’s, and quickly found that my kind of coordination is NOT the kind of coordination needed to be a good skater. So I’ve never bee into it – but this game was hard to resist. After an hour or so, I kicked my son off the board so I could try it. Sadly, I’m just as uncoordinated now as I was back then. But even though I was flailing around our front room on the skateboard controller, it was still a blast and I’ve played it again since.

Tony Hawk Game Pros and Cons

Again, the game has a brain dead easy tutorial on how to do them. I do appreciate the attention to detail they paid on making sure the game was easy to learn. The setup could get complicated fast, and they have plenty of ‘experiential’ learning features that walk you through the game and skateboard tricks, step by step.

Probably the biggest drawback is that due to my kids’ allergies, we don’t have carpeting in our house. The game comes with adhesive padding for use on hard floors, but it’s clear that the controller works best on carpeting. I’ll probably end up buying a small rug for the room – one with a no-slip backing, because this thing really can slide around. Technically not that big of a deal, but enough of a deal to mention it.

The best part of the game is that my son l.o.v.e.s. it. And so do I! You couldn’t ask for a better game for kids to play when they are cooped up in the house on cold or rainy days. And there are so many different courses and play variations that it will be a very long time before the game is ‘played out’. It is most certainly great exercise, and the coolness factor is really beyond words.

Disclosure - I received this game at no cost as a review copy. I received no other compensation for this review, and the opinions are 100% mine. Additionally, now that I’ve tried the game and see how much use we will get out of it, I would totally buy it anyway. Even at the top end of $120, I think it’s completely worth the price, and at $90 I’d pay for it again in a heartbeat.