The announcement of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2 remake/remaster has many fans of the series and skating genre excited. The return of some of the most revered skating games has been a cause for celebration, but has also been met with slight hesitation as to what will change. Recent news shows that those fears were somewhat warranted as one of the most crucial elements of the games is shifting.
Confirmed today, the soundtrack to Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2 will not feature all of the tracks that were in the original 1999 and 2000 games. The good news that the number of cut songs is not as significant as many feared, with only five being removed.
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater Remasters Feature Older Skaters
The confirmed five songs are "Cyco Vision" by Suicidal Tendencies, "Committed" by Unsane, "B-Boy Document '99" by The High & Mighty, "Out With The Old" by Alley Life and finally "Bring the Noise" by Anthrax & Public Enemy. While it is disappointing that these songs did not make the cut, there was some early indications this would be the case. Publisher Activision's media team uploaded a Spotify playlist featuring the songs that would be in the game. The aforementioned five songs were not part of that playlist leaving many to correctly assume that they would be the cut.
The soundtrack to the Pro Skater games is considered by many to be one of the most crucial elements. When Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2 was first announced, many immediately questioned if the soundtrack would be changed. It is no secret that music licensing has been one of the bigger problems in rereleasing games. There are many games that have had their re-releases altered or even stopped due to music licenses expiring or changing. Even games that are simply available for purchase are hit with massive removals of songs. Notoriously, Grand Theft Auto 4 lost 50 songs across its radio stations ten years after launch due to the license agreements. The fact that Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2 is only seeing five songs removed is considerably better than what many fans feared.
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2 has been met with an increasingly positive reception as more gameplay videos are released. One such video is the man himself Tony Hawk playing the new remaster with actor Jack Black via the latter's YouTube channel. While the soundtrack will unfortunately be featuring some cuts, including one of the best tracks with "Bring the Noise," many of the classics associated with the game are still very much there. Players will still be able to grind to Goldfinger's "Superman" and that is worth its weight in gold.
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 and 2 releases September 4 on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
Source: Kotaku
