Tony Hawk's American Wasteland E3 2005 Preshow Report

Activision has taken the wraps off of the latest game in the Tony Hawk universe, Tony Hawk's American Wasteland. The game, presumably being developed by series creator Neversoft, is planned to hit all three current generation consoles, but an Xbox 360 version of the game is also in the works. This version was briefly shown on Microsoft's MTV special, along with some very brief words from Tony Hawk himself.

The big twist for American Wasteland is that the game will take place in one large, seamless world. The world, said to be a version of Los Angeles, won't stop for loading time. The physical gameplay looks largely the same, with plenty of grinding, kick and grab tricks, the ever-popular natas spin that was introduced in THUG2, and manuals. However, the game will also allow players to ride BMX bikes. No word on if this means that the Tony Hawk and Mat Hoffman series of games are finally merging, or if this means that professional BMX riders will be in the game. Additionally, this will mark the first time that the series has had online support on a home console outside of the PS2, as the game will have Xbox Live support. No clarification was given on whether this means that just the Xbox 360 version will be online, or if the Xbox version will also contain online support.

Tony Hawk's American Wasteland is scheduled for release on multiple current-generation game consoles during the fourth quarter of this year, though it's currently unknown if, specifically, the Xbox 360 will also be released this year.