Tony Hawk 4 featuring per-level open world mode and character missions. Innovation on the challenge system. Slightly below the third but very solid. The trick list and soundtrack are excellent. A must for franchise fans.
Your verdict
Category
Sports1 player12+
Description
Fourth franchise entry that drops the time constraint to offer open-ended goals to complete in any order across varied environments. Published by Activision, released in 2002 in the United States and Europe. Features new spots including a college campus, a trailer park, and Hawaii, timer-free Goals missions, the ability to dismount the skateboard, and the series' iconic characters.
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 review
4/5
Art direction
★★★★★
"Striking"
4/5
Music
★★★★★
"Excellent"
1/5
Story
★★★★★
"Anecdotal"
Clothing takes on an unusual importance here: every skater wears real brands, from the logo on the shirt to the grip pattern, and the unlockable wardrobe unfolds like a catalogue. The boards themselves are collected as objects, each with its own underside artwork.
The compilation mixes punk, hip-hop and ska in short tracks lasting exactly one run, with no intro and no ending, like a mixtape. The console also lets you substitute your own music copied onto the hard drive, so the soundtrack stops being imposed and becomes a personal choice.
Gameplay
"Masterful"
Dropping the timer for objectives doled out in free roam gives more breathing room to exploring vast levels brimming with ideas. The combo system stays gloriously rich, carried by snappy, precise controls. A few missions age less gracefully, but the freedom to trace your own lines and the flow of skating remain a very much living pleasure.
Fun
"From the very first seconds"
The levels open up like little playgrounds where you take on challenges on the fly, with no menu or imposed timer: this new freedom energises an already perfect formula. Chaining sprawling combos remains a joy of precision and flow. More generous, more clever, this entry extends the joy of arcade skating with flair and overflowing replay value.
An accomplished Neversoft entry, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 opens its levels into free playgrounds and further refines the series' acrobatic scoring. Become fairly rare on Xbox, its interest lies in this status as a major arcade-skating milestone rather than wide distribution. A safe bet for fans of board play with demanding scoring.
Is Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 still worth playing in 2026?
Released in 2002, Neversoft's sequel drops the two minute heat format and offers open levels punctuated with objectives triggered on demand. The revert remains king, the combo system grows again and the punk and rap soundtrack stays a showcase. Memorable levels like Alcatraz and College show real ambition. A few objectives slightly disrupt the fluidity of the arcade formula. Recommended today for arcade skate fans, for Neversoft nostalgics and for anyone keen to see the precise moment when the series tipped toward a more narrative model on console hardware.
