Play Tony Hawk's American Sk8land Online

Summary

Tony Hawk's American Sk8land feels like a portable slice of the console hit American Wasteland, wrapped in bright cel‑shaded graphics that Vicarious Visions carried over from the Game Boy Advance titles. The top DS screen shows the skate action while the bottom touch screen doubles as a live map and a quick‑access panel for tricks, letting me tap icons to pull off flips without pausing the flow. I also love that the stylus lets me sketch custom board art and the built‑in mic records my own sound bites, adding a personal soundtrack to each session. When it launched, it was the first third‑party DS game to tap into Nintendo Wi‑Fi Connection, opening up Trick Attack, Score Challenge, Combo Mambo and even a quirky "The Price is Wrong" mode for online competition. Beyond the leaderboards, the service let me swap graffiti, board designs, replays and high scores, and it periodically pushed new challenges to keep the grind fresh. The DS version drops the on‑foot walking mechanic from the console, but it compensates by letting me halt completely and spin the camera around, giving a tidy way to line up that next perfect grind.

Storyline

The story of Tony Hawk's American Sk8land follows a young up‑and‑coming skateboarder from the Midwest who dominates a local contest. Impressed, Tony Hawk invites the rider to Los Angeles to experience the West Coast skate scene. There they meet Mindy, a skate‑enthusiast and aspiring comic artist who dreams of publishing a comic called American Sk8teland, named after Tony’s old favorite skatepark. Together they discover the park in ruins and decide to restore it to its former glory.

As renovations progress, professional skaters lend a hand and Mindy learns a publishing office in East L.A. will distribute her comic—if she can provide a story about the park’s comeback. Tony then reveals the park’s owner has accepted an offer to sell, giving the crew two weeks to match it before demolition. The team races against time, repairing the park while rallying support from the skate community.

After assisting Rodney Mullen with a flat‑land demo, the group films the pros performing tricks around the newly rebuilt park. Tony convinces the newcomer to land a Japan 900 to cap the demo, and the resulting video becomes a hit. The success funds Tony’s purchase of the skatepark and gives Mindy the material she needs to launch her comic.