Without further ado, we can confirm that the remake to arguably one of the greatest games ever will be releasing on the PlayStation Store on August 28. Unfortunately though, it appears that not everyone is loving the return of Tony Hawk, with many reviews actually saying that the game falls short of recreating the magic that appeared on the original PlayStation in 2000.

If you still plan on getting the game though, it will be available before the end of the month, priced at just $15. For that low price though, there are some major features lacking in the remake, most notably the absence of the much loved create a park mode, as well as no support for split screen multiplayer either.

Releasing the game without split screen multiplayer is a pretty big sin given how much fun it was in previous Tony Hawk games. We have a feeling that fans would have even been willing to pay a little more than $15 if this feature made it, but sadly it didn’t and it leaves the lasting taste that the remake could have been a lot better.

Still though, many of the famous tracks from the original soundtracks are included, as well as some addictive new additions as well. You can’t beat cruising through Hangar or Venice Beach with Superman playing, so if anything just pick up the game for that.

Will you be picking up THPS HD on the PS3 on August 28, or have you been put off from the mixed reception for the Xbox 360 version?

We can imagine that a lot of you are not too happy about the fact that the game has been subject to another of Microsoft’s timed exclusivity agreements, but it isn’t as bad as it seems in actual fact perhaps.

Early feedback from the Xbox 360 version suggests that there are some bugs and glitches present in the game and Robomodo are looking to polish the game up before releasing the game out on PS3. However, we’re now hearing that the game is not due for release on Sony’s console ”until the end of August or early September”, so is this really just due to polishing up or is it basically when the exclusivity period runs out?

Over on the official Facebook page, it seems like an almighty debate is brewing up over the length of the delay and the fact that most of the users cannot see past Activision’s initial decision to bring the game out on Xbox 360 first, despite the original Tony Hawk series releasing on the PlayStation 1 back in the day.

The debate even forced Activision’s Social Media Manager Dan Amrich to jump in and have his say on how the PS3 gets their fair share of timed exclusive content as well. You can read through the comments here to see his statement in full – it’s quite interesting to say the least.

Firstly, what are your thoughts on the decision to release the game at the end of August or early September on PS3? Are you hoping that the extra month is spent putting split screen into the game at least?

Heading down that first Hangar ramp with No Cigar playing as the game’s soundtrack will be forever in our memories of THPS2. Thankfully, this track is included in the remake along with a selection of other classics like Superman from the first two games.

Hangar is no doubt one of the most popular levels in THPS folklore and we’re pleased to say that the conversion to HD looks pretty good, although it looks like developers Robomodo have decided to recreate the Hangar incarnation from THPS1 rather than THPS2.

All the classic props are intact – grinding the helicopter rails to open up the secret area outside, while we’re pleased to see that the original ‘gap’ sound effect has been kept from the original games too. One thing that we don’t like though is that the interface menu looks a bit bland and uninteresting.

It could have done with more colors, but it is worth noting that the gameplay is meant to be alpha, so let’s hope that the final version looks a lot better. We see a 2 minute run here and you’ll notice that the sound effect for specials are included as well – although they are highlighted by green text this time, rather than yellow from THPS2.

The game is going to cost $15 to download and there is a PC version in the pipeline as well. There’s no date on the PC version though other than ‘Summer’, so expect it to land some time after PS3 users get the game. Check out the new Hangar footage below and let us know your conclusion on the game. Will you be paying $15 for this or not?

The game is going to be available on Xbox 360 first this month, priced at a very reasonable $15 from the Xbox Live Marketplace. Aside from the regular scoring modes in single player, the game will also feature multiplayer and some of the modes that featured in the PS1 originals.

For example, big head and graffiti are making a return and we see how these modes look in HD for the first time, courtesy of developers Robomodo and Games Radar who have provided the video. If you have played graffiti before in the Tony Hawk series, you’ll know that in this popular mode, you’ll be going head to head with your opponent in trying to ‘tag’ the most territory by performing tricks on different areas in the time allocated.

Unfortunately, the clip shown gives you the view of the Games Radar player, rather than the developer, which explains why there is so much bailing and not much free flowing action to showcase the game properly. Big head mode looks pretty fun though, as you’ll see in the clip that not pulling out tricks to match your opponent will see your head slowly expand until it finally explodes if you are bad enough.

We also see another look at some of the levels shown in the game, particularly a great look at one of our favorite levels – downhill jam. Again, the player doesn’t really show off the map too well, but it at least gives you a look at how the upgraded visuals look compared to the same map from Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1.

How is the game looking to you? You can’t really argue for $15, especially since the game features half of the music from the original games. Let us know if you’ll be picking this up or not.

It turns out that just like a certain other Activision FPS, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD is the latest victim of Activision’s timed-exclusive schemes and it results in the game releasing a few weeks early on Xbox 360, with PS3 users being left in the dark.

While we’re certainly not surprised to an extent given today’s fierce industry, it is a major disappointment that Activision can’t put their contracts aside and just give the game to everyone at the same time. After all, if the game really is about ‘giving back to the fans’, Activision will be well aware that the franchise became famous on PlayStation, starting with Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 back on the PS1 in 1999.

THPS1 was an amazing game, but was arguably bettered by Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2, which arrived the following year in 2000. Once again, the game arrived on PlayStation first before arriving on other platforms and the THPS2 made its name and fame on the PS1, sending developers Neversoft and publishers Activision into dizzy heights with amazing success.

But, Activision appears to have forgotten that unfortunately. We’re not sure how much input new developers Robomodo had in this, but the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD remake is coming to Xbox 360 first on July 18. We’re well aware that this may come across as a bit harsh towards Activision, but after being loyal servants of the original three games on the PlayStation, we felt that this really needed to be said.

What are Activision’s motives for wanting the game to come out on Xbox 360 first? Do they have a personal vendetta against Sony these days that we don’t know about? We don’t like these timed-exclusive releases as much as you, but when a classic game is supposedly being remade for ‘the fans’, this is probably the worst scenario that Activision could have conjured up.

There will also be a lack of split screen mode in the game for those that are interested. What a shame.

We previously told you that Robomodo were aiming to have as many of the original soundtracks in the new game as possible and now we can tell you that a 50% ratio of old tracks have made the cut. Goldfinger by Superman is one of the well known tracks from THPS1 and you’ll be pleased to know that this has been included in the remake soundtrack.

Also featured is one of our favorites ‘Bring the Pain’ by Public Enemy and Anthrax, while other familiar tunes such as May 16 by Lagwagon and No Cigar by Millencolin are included as well. That means the rest of the tracks are brand new, so let’s hope that they have the same impact that the originals did and all become cult favorites in years to come.

It’s a shame that there isn’t more original tracks, but don’t forget that you may be able to just play tracks from your PS3 or Xbox 360 HDD whilst playing the game anyway – if you need the likes of AlleyLife bad enough. There’s still no specific release date for the game other than June, but we’re guessing that Activision and Robomodo will announce a solid date at E3. There may even be a playable demo at the event on the show floor as well – fingers crossed.

Are you happy with the soundtrack listed below, or has your favorite track been left out? We hope that this game comes to PS Vita one day, as it would mean that custom soundtracks can be played using that handy feature that the handheld has.

Full Tracklist:

Bring the Noise – Anthrax featuring Chuck D
Superman – Goldfinger
When Worlds Collide – Powerman 5000
Heavy Metal Winner – Consumed
May 16 – Lagwagon
No Cigar – Millencolin
You – Bad Religion
The Bomb – Pigeon John
We the People – Lateef the Truthspeaker
Marathon Mansion! – Pegasuses-XL
Teenage Blood – Apex Manor
Please Ask for Help – Telekinesis
Flyentology (Cassettes Won’t Listen Remix) – El-P featuring Trent Reznor
USA – Middle Class Rut

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 remains one of our favorite games ever and we just hope that Robomodo does this remake justice. On the evidence seen so far, they are certainly doing that and upon hearing that the game will be based on levels from Tony Hawk’s 1 and 2, it’s great to see that they are not leaving Tony’s Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 out either.

A recent Facebook post from Robomodo has revealed that the first batch of post-release DLC for the game will be levels from THPS3. However, they haven’t decided what levels to include in this DLC yet and are reaching out to the THPS universe to aid them with their selections.

As you may have guessed, Airport seems to be the most requested map from what we can see, although Cruise Ship and Canada are getting a fair amount of votes as well. Skater Island would be another popular choice if that is to be included as well, but pretty much all of the maps have their own qualities.

It’s nice to see Robomodo asking the community for their input as after all, the remake wouldn’t have been made without the die hard following of the previous games. We can’t wait to see what kind of secret characters will be playable in the game. Imagine seeing some of the Avengers in there? Perhaps a long shot but you never know! If you played Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3 religiously, let us know what your levels picks would be for DLC.

The game releases this Summer on Xbox 360 and PS3.

Thankfully, we’re pleased to say that we have some good news for Jet Set Radio fans. Sega has confirmed recently that they will be putting half of the original soundtrack from the Dreamcast game, into the upcoming release on Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network.

While this is good news of course, there will also be a feeling of disappointment as most of the licensed tracks from the original will not be making a second appearance. However, there’s still plenty of tracks that will be featured in the game from Jet Set Radio and most of these are courtesy of legendary composer Hideki Naganuma who brought so many classics to the first game. Fan favorites such as Dragula by Rob Zombie won’t be featured, but the game will still include licensed music such as Funky Radio by B.B Rights and Magical Girl by Guitar Vader.

So what about Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD? It seems highly unlikely that Activision will be able to come to an agreement with the countless catalog of big name artists who have contributed to the first two Tony Hawk Pro Skater games. We’re talking about the likes of Goldfinger, Rage Against the Machine, Public Enemy and Papa Roach don’t forget. What we would like to see though is Activision trying their hardest to put some of the original music in the game at least.

There’s no argument that they don’t exactly have the money to sweeten the deal with the artists, to put the original music in the game either – just look at how many million dollars they spent getting the likes of Jonah Hill and Sam Worthington to promote Modern Warfare 3. Surely they can spare some of their Call of Duty profits to put a smile on the faces of their loyal skateboard fans as well?

Below is the list of tracks that will be featured in Jet Set Radio HD, as well as the infamous soundtrack to Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 thrown in for good measure. Let us know your thoughts on the tracks that have made it into JSRHD and what tracks you would like to see in the Tony Hawk Pro Skater HD remake.

Jet Set Radio soundtrack (courtesy of Joystiq)

Funky Radio – B.B. Rights
Mischievous Boy – Castle Logical
Yellow Bream – F-Fields
Everybody Jump Around – Richard Jacques
Toronto – Electric Tooth Brush
Magical Girl – Guitar Vader
Super Brothers – Guitar Vader
Bout the City – Reps

Originals

Rock It On
Sneakman
Sweet Soul Brother
That’s Enough
Grace and Glory
Humming the Bassline
Let Mom Sleep
Moody’s Shuffle

THPS2 Soundtrack

1. “Papa Roach – Blood Brothers”
2. “Anthrax featuring Chuck D. of Public Enemy – Bring The Noise”
3. “Rage Against the Machine – Guerrilla Radio”
4. “Naughty by Nature – Pin the Tail on the Donkey”
5. “Bad Religion – You”
6. “Powerman 5000 – When Worlds Collide”
7. “Millencolin – No Cigar”
8. “The High and Mighty featuring Mos Def & Mad Skillz – B-Boy Document 99″
9. “Dub Pistols – Cyclone”
10. “Lagwagon – May 16″
11. “Styles of Beyond – Subculture”
12. “Consumed – Heavy Metal Winner”
13. “Alley Life featuring Black Planet – Out With the Old”
14. “Swingin’ Utters – Five Lessons Learned”
15. “Fu Manchu – Evil Eye”

Ask any Tony Hawk Pro Skater fan what was their favorite thing about THPS1, THPS2 and THPS3 and most of them will tell you it was the awesome soundtrack that Activision included with the games, with the standout soundtrack easily being the one that featured in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 on the PlayStation 1.

With the remake now firmly on the way, Activision and Tony Hawk are remaining very silent indeed on what sort of music will be accompanied with the game and it is looking very unlikely that we’ll be seeing the exact same tracks that featured in the older games. A good reasoning behind this is the issue over licensing as it will undoubtedly be a huge headache for Activision to contact each and every artist that featured in the old games to renew another deal for their inclusion in the remake.

We would love for this to happen of course, but we just don’t see it as being very logical from Activision’s point of view. A more likely scenario is that Activision pick some of the more current day tracks to be included with the remake, tracks which will probably still be great additions if they keep up with their standard from previous games.

Moving on to another aspect of the game, as Tony Hawk has recently said in an interview with Joystiq that levels from Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3 & 4 may be included in the remake as paid-DLC. Given Activision’s recent reputation regarding DLC, we’re not sure we like the sound of that too much, but as long as the price is reasonable – we wouldn’t have a problem paying to see some of the classic levels from THPS 3 & 4 in their brand new lick of paint.

If the soundtrack is a key aspect of the game for you, tell us what sort of tracks you would like to see in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD. Should they go retro with the soundtrack or go with modern stuff? We would love for some new Del the Funky Homosapien tracks to be in there.

As most of you will be aware, the game isn’t just a port of the classic original games, but rather a complete remake using a new engine which will take the best content from Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1,2 and three. As expected, most of your favorite maps will be returning as well, including The Hangar, Venice Beach and School II – the latter of which we now have the first screenshots on – and boy does it bring back some great memories.

The bell rings, you wait to hear what soundtrack will be played as you try and complete as many tasks as you can in two minutes – we remember it as if it was yesterday. Getting that secret tape was a little tricky at first as well, so we wonder if Activision will leave all the items in their original places, or if they will be giving School II a complete revamp. As long as the outlook of the level stays the same, we’re definitely up for some brand new gaps and tasks to complete.

The new screenshots that Activision has released look fantastic, especially the one which you can see above. We remember that particular rail was one of the three roll call gaps to complete – will Activision keep some of the famous gaps such as this in tact? School II and Venice Beach were easily our two most favorite maps from THPS2, let’s hope that Venice Beach is the next area to be unveiled in HD.

Are you looking forward to picking up this game? Let us know some of your memories from School II.

UPDATE: Well what do you know. Tony Hawk has just revealed the first gameplay for the game in a short clip, and it looks fantastic. Even better is that the gameplay shown is largely taken from the School II level as well – those SKATE letters and the secret tape are back! Check it below.