Tony Hawk ‘Pro Skater 5’ ‘Leak’ Teased With ‘Select Your Character’ Parody
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5 is coming to the new consoles, but that fact is jokingly being referred to as a “leak.” The bird man himself (not Michael Keaton’s recent role, but Tony Hawk) is playing along with the joke in an Instagram post, which pokes fun at the classic “select your character” screen.
This contradicts what was previously reported by the Inquisitr, as Activision claimed the franchise was dead. Ever since the technical aspects grew too tiresome to be fun anymore, fans had moved on to Electronic Arts’ Skate franchise, which turned out to be heavier on the realism.
THPS has been a phenomenon ever since its inception, touting a combination of realism and some fantasy elements, which make the world of skateboarding more enticing (like being able to jump higher than Michael Jordan after riding a rail). Some casual skaters have even claimed it as the reason they even use the board.
Skateboarding is indeed one of the most physically demanding forms of getting from one area to another in real life, since in many cases it’s easier to walk.
The bird man is apparently hoping to get fans of the classic game excited again with a real-life version of the character select screen commonly used in the series.
The Tony Hawk Pro Skater 5 tease features a guy in a full beard holding a skateboard in various poses and outfits as Rage Against the Machine’s “Guerrilla Radio” plays. This was the song that helped launch the most popular game in the series, THPS2. It was featured in the cinematic intro, while the cast of professional skateboarders each showed off what they could do using actual footage clips.
One possibility about who the person featured in the Instagram video is could be Ollie the Magic Bum, a parody character whose name was taken from THPS2‘s Venice Beach level. He was a character who could be spotted taking a nap around the level in five places and you simply had to find and jump (Ollie) over him.
Ever since then, Ollie was featured as a joke character alongside the pros.
Tony Hawk teases new game with real-life “Select Your Character” parody. http://t.co/apn9Vlfg25 pic.twitter.com/YzRJQF0cfa
— GameSpot (@gamespot) April 25, 2015
It is currently unknown what the bird man may be bringing to Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5, but fans will likely be hoping it’s more simplified like it was back in the days of the first two games. Back before it had a focus meter, a “Natas spin,” and a single player story, it was still fun.
Hopefully, the gameplay mechanics will work like they should and not remind us of what THPS HD did (the abysmally unusable wall-ride move rarely worked).
Are you excited about a possible return to franchise roots as Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5 is being planned for Xbox One and PlayStation 4?
[Image via David Becker / Getty Images]
