Tony Hawk goes urban open world, skating across Los Angeles. More narrative staging, missions sometimes heavy-handed but the skate feel stays intact. Without matching Underground 2, still pleasant for anyone wanting a free skate stroll.
Your verdict
Category
Sports1 player12+
Description
Skateboarders race and perform tricks in this Neversoft GameCube Tony Hawk's American Wasteland. Published by Activision, released in the United States in October 2005. Open-world skateboard game with the whole of LA to explore, varied tricks and skater customisation story.
Tony Hawk's American Wasteland review
4/5
Art direction
★★★★★
"Striking"
MAX
Music
★★★★★
"Legendary"
2/5
Story
★★★★★
"Classic"
American Wasteland links its areas into an open Los Angeles with no apparent load times, from glitzy Beverly Hills to the city's punk wastelands. The art direction blends urban realism with a skate-punk aesthetic, with tags, decayed settings and saturated colors. The whole extends the series' street identity to the scale of an entire metropolis. Ambitious, coherent level art.
Raging punk, rock and hip-hop string together to match the rebellious spirit of the open city. The selection, calibrated for the flow of combos, charges every trick with a cocky energy. This nervy playlist, in the pure tradition of the series, accompanies the skating with undimmed bite.
Gameplay
"Excellent"
Fun
"From the very first seconds"
A whole city to roam in one go, with no loading: you chain grinds, manuals and insane tricks in pursuit of the perfect combo. The freedom to carve your own path and the fluidity of movement deliver a constant high. A punk-rock soundtrack and style to spare round it off. Generous arcade skating, made for creative wandering.
Addictiveness
"Obsessive"
Linking tricks into one endless combo across an open city constantly pushes you to chase the perfect line and the next score. Challenges, collectibles and skater upgrades chain short goals with instant rewards. The formula starts to spin in circles and the world lacks surprises, but the pleasure of working the grind keeps a real hold.
Is Tony Hawk's American Wasteland still worth playing in 2026?
Released in 2005, this Activision entry pushes the series' skate formula towards an open world with no apparent loading, linking the districts of Los Angeles in a single traversal. The chained tricks, the extended combos and the freedom of movement keep the energy that made the license a success. The added BMX varies the sensations a little. The presentation dates and the open structure sometimes dilutes the rhythm, yet fans of arcade extreme sport and of Tony Hawk find a generous playground, built for scoring.
