Topic: IMPRESSIONS: Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam

[NWR_Lindy]

Tony Hawk returns to the DS, and it's all downhill from here.

Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam for Nintendo DS using the same (excellent) engine that was used in Tony Hawk's American Sk8land.  However, this time each level is a downhill slalom instead of the typically flat cityscapes, focussing on speed and big air.  The demo I played had five different levels: Neighborhood Race, Big Air Photo, AirTime, Elimination Race, and Head to Head.    

Neighborhood Race pits you against two other skaters in a simple race to the finish.  You can pull off moves during the race to build up speed, as well as jump over certain areas as a shortcut.  It's all very wide-open.  Big Air Photo presents you with a downhill course that contains a "photo point", a special ramp that puts you into "photo mode".  Once you launch off the special ramp, the game slows down and allows you to focus on pulling off your sickest moves.  Your goal is to land a combo for a certain number of points (in this case, 10,000 points).    

AirTime has you launching off a huge ramp and trying to score as many points as possible, while Elimination Race has you trying to take out two other racers.  Head to Head is self-explanatory.    

While the build seems early, Downhill Jam seems like an interesting twist on the old Tony Hawk theme.  Its focus is more on racing and direct competition than on completing levels, and it certainly is fast.  It also features the same cartoon artwork that American Sk8land made so popular, and gameplay spans both DS screens.  I didn't notice any touch-screen functionality.  It'll be interesting to see how Activision fleshes out the game concept.