Tony Hawk's Project 8 (Activision)

Fans of the Birdman can take comfort in the fact that the eighth incarnation of the most popular skateboarding license ditches the MTV/Jackass image that plagued the Underground and American Wasteland titles and returns to the roots of the series. Gone are the thinly scripted plots and endorsement-heavy locales of Project 8's predecessors, allowing for some truly inventive levels teeming with cleverly placed trick spots and combo lines.

The aim of this chapter is to simply clear enough goals over the game's many areas in order to enter the top eight of the world skate rankings, thus earning a place in Tony Hawk's personal skating crew. Goals are accessed by approaching people dotted around each level and range from completing pre-set combos to returning your dad's golf balls from around the neighbourhood. Each mission is unique and great fun. The better your score in each mission, the higher up the world rankings you climb. As you progress you will receive new sponsorship deals resulting in a wealth of new equipment available via the skate shop. Focus mode returns and is invaluable when hitting high scores (think skate bullet time: the action slows down and allows for better balance while on rails or executing a long manual manoeuvre).

Everything about this game feels so perfectly in-place that you won't miss the lack of strong story or in-jokes that maybe a handful of Jackass fans will appreciate. You are here to skate, that's all you really need to know. This is a game for the purists of the Tony Hawk series, boasting superior graphics, sun-soaked atmospheres and the usual roster of heavyweight tunes on the soundtrack from the likes of Slayer, Mogwai and Kasabian. Project 8 is the closest to skating perfection the series has achieved since the stellar Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 and as fans of the series will tell you, it doesn't get much better than that. Welcome to skate heaven. [Dave Cook]