XBOX’s Summer of Arcade 2012 edition starts off with Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD which is a somewhat updated mash-up of some of the locations from the early days of the franchise but with a shiny new coat of paint such as an updated roster and soundtrack.

Opinion: It is also good to see that a game that I could label as having been “my game” more than a few years ago get the best HD re-tread I’ve seen to date.

THPSHD starts off on a pretty accessible foot with the presentation of the main menu and all subsequent menus; the presentation and layout changes from time to time, but for the most part the color schemes used stay the same - relatively high-contrast.

The only place players may run into a problem is while trying to increase one of the skater’s stats which can be done on the character select menu. The size is large enough to be seen comfortably, the issue is the colors used to indicate a skater’s skills don’t contrast nearly enough from current skill level to potential skill level. To make this situation worse, there isn’t nearly enough contrast between a filled circle and unfilled circle which are what are used to indicate skill level. This can be worked around by counting the amount of upgrades your player is allowed in that particular category, but it being a game, and a fairly casual game at that, should anyone have to figure out how to get around a game’s inaccessibility?

Another gap in this HD go-around of THPS is the lack of useful options with the only halfway useful inclusion being a map of the control scheme though it is not remap-able.

The player’s disability will be the biggest factor in their ability to play THPSHD; with those who have hearing impairments coming out least scathed due to this games lack of need for subtitles and its willingness to represent itself well both visually and audibly where game events are concerned. For example: when the end of the run is coming near players will either hear a countdown timer or if they’re paying attention to the clock, be able to watch it countdown. When the player completes a task, an audio cue of a record being scratched can be heard, or a brief caption which informs the player what was just completed appears to the right of the screen.

THPSHD brings very little in the way of mobile accessibility to the party. The only thing mobility impaired players can be certain of is that there are no quicktime events to have to worry about; as for anything else, it could possibly be looked upon as a button-masher without a lot of strategy wherein the player is given no choice of control scheme in order to complete goals which unlock new levels, decks and complete the game. Of course, if players are unable to unlock enough to advance in the game, there is a good chance the game may end prematurely. Unless of course the player is willing to use a cheat code to unlock automatically the things they’re unable to – I’ll include a list at the bottom of the review that can increase the accessibility of the game.

As for visuals beyond the menus, the scenery changes from location to location with some being brighter than others, and some are of a higher contrast than others. Since there is no option to affect the game’s brightness, any adjustments that need to be made will have to come from the device serving as the monitor.

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD does have plans to release additional content for THPSHD; this review only covers the content included in the game as of 7/21/12.

At a glance

Mobility 1
Button mashing
Precision needed
No remap-able keys
No mandatory quick time events
No Camera/joystick sensitivity

Visual 4
Game presented in high contrast
For the most part, game menus are easy to see/read/use.

Hearing 10
There are no subtitles in THPSHD because there is no need for them.