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People have been very hard on "Tony Hawk’s Ride" and understandably so. For $120 you would expect this to be an amazing game experience, this game is only partially that. The idea behind the game is damned impressive. You’ve got a skate deck for your controller. The controller itself looks and feels like a great piece of hardware. There are four motion sensors on the board- one on each side to pick up your movement. Then the board itself is thick and sturdy. In the game the board acts as your lone controller. You gain speed by scooting your foot on the side of the  board. You also steer by leaning back and forth on the board. You do flip tricks, manuals and grabs- pretty much how you’d expect to do them, by lifting and flicking the nose or the tail of the board or covering the sensors with your hands.

The game is a little thin. The controls don’t always work like they’re supposed to. Sometimes motions will be picked up when you’re not doing anything and other times your motions won’t get picked up at all. That’s a little frustrating. Other aspects that are a little frustrating are just the general lack of depth in gameplay. Free-skate areas are small, the career mode is dumb, and generally the gameplay isn’t deep at all.

Two things need to meet in the middle for this game to be more of a success. That's for future versions or this version. People who play this game need to understand that it’s a new controller, a new concept and a whole new way to game really. They need to understand that the first time out with a game that’s ambitious as this isn’t going to perfect or really close to perfect. Sometimes you have to be into the idea of something just as much as playing the game. Here you’re probably expected to be a little too into that idea but it’s a situation where it is what it is. That said, Activision’s $120 price tag on this game is probably a little too pricey. I have no idea how much the hardware is worth, but if there were a way to make this $80 or even $100,, people might not be so hard on the game. There’s potential here, that’s for sure, but this game might be disastrous enough for a sequel not to get a chance.