"Whoa, bro, that hill is too gnarly to skate." If you find yourself saying this often, don't worry, the first Tony Hawk game came out almost eight years ago. You're getting older so it isn't fear, just the wisdom of the ages that's keeping you from bombing that hill you used to skate when you were a few years younger. And besides, your right thumb just can't hit the X button like it used to.

Now, however, with a month to go before the release of Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam on PS2, it's time to man up and face the fact hurtling down the street at you with no elbow pads: It's just a videogame, and videogame characters don't have to worry about getting old, falling down and scraping their faces off of the moist pavement after trying to ollie an SUV. Especially Tony Hawk. That's right, take off your helmet and click on the Images tab up above to check out the new screens.

Above: Tony Hawk always wears elbow pads because safety is cool

See you're not so old. You have at least one more Hawk game in you, right? With a little practice, your right thumb will be back in shape in no time, and you'll be racing down the steepest, craziest hills from San Francisco to Machu Picchu.

Of course, mowing down the tourists of Machu Picchu on a skateboard is neat, but you can already do that on your DS and Wii, you say? Well the new port of Downhill Jam adds plenty of PS2 exclusive gameplay, including the multiplayer modes, Race, Trick Attack and Slalom and new challenge modes like Airtime, Mayhem or Yard Sale. There are even ten new events just for the PS2 version, which you can take on as one of the three new skaters, a customized racer or even the Hawkman, himself.

April 13, 2007