Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 (GBA video game)

===Visuals and technology===

===Visuals and technology===

The game's visuals and technical aspects were the subject of praise, with ''Time Extension'' writer Jack Yarwood believing that it inspired the creation of future games with a similar approach and technology.<ref name="Timeextension"/> It was also called "the most amazing piece of technology we've ever seen on a handheld" by ''[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]]'' staff.<ref name="NG">{{cite magazine |url=https://archive.gamehistory.org/item/26ed9201-b239-49d5-b593-d53d03f65123 |magazine=[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]] |publisher=[[Imagine Media]] |title=Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 |page=68 |issue=79 |date=July 2001 |accessdate=March 31, 2025}}</ref> Martin Taylor was initially skeptical of how good the game could perform when he heard about its reveal, being surprised by how similar it felt to its console counterparts.<ref name="EG"/> Crispin Boyer was similarly positive, calling it visually stunning and noting that it had smooth movement and a superior framerate to the PlayStation version.<ref name="EGM"/> ''[[GamePro]]'' writer Dan Elektro felt that a person would find it difficult to not be impressed by the level of technical quality in the game, particularly it running at 60 frames per second and its use of animations from the PlayStation version. He felt that it constituted a "major leap forward" in handheld gaming.<ref name="GP"/> ''[[Game Informer]]'' writer Andrew Reiner praised the visuals for managing to feel three-dimensional, as well as its use of transparency to see the character when they move behind objects. He stated that the visuals left him in awe over how impressive they were.<ref name="GI"/>

The game's visuals and technical aspects were the subject of praise, with ''Time Extension'' writer Jack Yarwood believing that it inspired the creation of future games with a similar approach and technology.<ref name="Timeextension"/> It was also called "the most amazing piece of technology we've ever seen on a handheld" by ''[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]]'' staff.<ref name="NG">{{cite magazine |url=https://archive.gamehistory.org/item/26ed9201-b239-49d5-b593-d53d03f65123 |magazine=[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]] |publisher=[[Imagine Media]] |title=Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 |page=68 |issue=79 |date=July 2001 |accessdate=March 31, 2025}}</ref> Martin Taylor was initially skeptical of how good the game could perform when he heard about its reveal, being surprised by how similar it felt to its console counterparts.<ref name="EG"/> Crispin Boyer was similarly positive, calling it visually stunning and noting that it had smooth movement and a superior framerate to the PlayStation version.<ref name="EGM"/> ''[[GamePro]]'' writer Dan Elektro felt that a person would find it difficult to not be impressed by the level of technical quality in the game, particularly it running at 60 frames per second and its use of animations from the PlayStation version. He considered it a "major leap forward" in handheld gaming.<ref name="GP"/> ''[[Game Informer]]'' writer Andrew Reiner praised the visuals for managing to feel three-dimensional, as well as for its use of transparency to see the character when they move behind objects, stating that the visuals left him in awe over how impressive they were.<ref name="GI"/>

''Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2'' was considered an [[wikt:exemplar|exemplar]] of handheld conversions of console titles by multiple critics. Jonathan Metts felt that the issues of handheld conversions of console games came from a combination of hardware limitations and developers not wanting to make console-type games on handhelds. He praised Vicarious Visions for both the execution of the game on a technical level, as well as their courage for having attempted to do something like it in the first place.<ref name="NWR"/> ''[[GameSpot]]'' writer Jeff Gerstmann was similarly critical of trends regarding handheld ports, claiming that developers tended to "[duplicate] one or two key aspects of the original game and freestyle the rest" with mixed results. He felt that this game served as a benchmark for such games, as well as the best handheld skateboarding game ever made.<ref name="GS3"/> In his retrospective, ''[[Kotaku]]'' writer Luke Plunkett felt that the game had aged better visually than the console versions, remarking that games like this had to be more inventive in how it scaled down a console game compared to newer games.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://kotaku.com/i-still-cant-believe-we-got-tony-hawk-and-jet-set-radi-1843192316 |title=I Still Can't Believe We Got Tony Hawk (And Jet Set Radio) On The Game Boy Advance, And They Ruled |work=[[Kotaku]] |last=Plunkett |first=Luke |date=May 6, 2020 |accessdate=March 31, 2025}}</ref>

''Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2'' was considered an [[wikt:exemplar|exemplar]] of handheld conversions of console titles by multiple critics. Jonathan Metts felt that the issues of handheld conversions of console games came from a combination of hardware limitations and developers not wanting to make console-type games on handhelds. He praised Vicarious Visions for both the execution of the game on a technical level, as well as their courage for having attempted to do something like it in the first place.<ref name="NWR"/> ''[[GameSpot]]'' writer Jeff Gerstmann was similarly critical of trends regarding handheld ports, claiming that developers tended to "[duplicate] one or two key aspects of the original game and freestyle the rest" with mixed results. He felt that this game served as a benchmark for such games, as well as the best handheld skateboarding game ever made.<ref name="GS3"/> In his retrospective, ''[[Kotaku]]'' writer Luke Plunkett felt that the game had aged better visually than the console versions, remarking that games like this had to be more inventive in how it scaled down a console game compared to newer games.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://kotaku.com/i-still-cant-believe-we-got-tony-hawk-and-jet-set-radi-1843192316 |title=I Still Can't Believe We Got Tony Hawk (And Jet Set Radio) On The Game Boy Advance, And They Ruled |work=[[Kotaku]] |last=Plunkett |first=Luke |date=May 6, 2020 |accessdate=March 31, 2025}}</ref>