'Pretending I'm a Superman' Review: Celebrating Tony Hawk, Pro Skater's legacy and '90s skateboarding culture
Back in the day, 'Tony Hawk's Pro Skater' was one of the games that sparked a revolution in the world of gaming. Imagine writing "playing video games" as a hobby. And imagine the time when this hobby of playing Pro Skater was actually channeled to a real-life passion where children pestered their folks for a skateboard. What it led to was the much-needed recognition and support the extreme sport needed, Pro Skater was liked. Scratch that, Pro Skater was an obsession, one that was thoroughly enjoyable.
What Pro Skater did was also encompass the '70s and '80s culture of skateboarding and couple it with some kickin' songs of that period. So while watching 'Pretending I'm a Superman', it was just a rollback to the years when the game was adored and how it spawned enough editions to establish itself as one of the best video game franchises of all time.
'Pretending I'm a Superman' opens with the early history of skateboarding. The trajectory was pretty uneven, it was considered cool in one decade, it was dubbed as rebellious in the others. It brings in some prominent names such as Chad Muska and Rodney Mullen along with Hawk who speak candidly about the evolution of the sport. Essentially, the sports went from the streets and the homemade ramps to the stadiums where it actually became a much-anticipated sport.
1995 saw the debut of the X Games, where rad skateboarders ensured the tournament and the sport would blow up and gain the world's attention. These were times when Hawk changed the way skateboarding was perceived. He went on to have a decorated career in a sport that had a sine wave structure. Hawk, in Muska's words, gave people the idea of making a living out of skateboarding. The 73-minute documentary smoothly transitions from the history of the sport to the development of Pro Skater.
Skateboarding was always a part of arcade sports games, but not a lot of them hit as hard as Pro Skater. The idea of Pro Skater came with the intention to create a game modeled after Hawk, who at that time was setting the ramp on fire. Talks with Take 2 and Nintendo failed, however, Neversoft, after a decent success with 'Apocalypse' called Hawk over to talk about an idea. Hawk then went to meet Activision and says he fell in love with the demo of the game, terming it "intuitive".
With that, Pro Skater was well and truly underway and the documentary sheds light on key areas of the game's development. It added some great music to it along with some ideas taken from skateboarders who were involved in the process of creation. Conversely, what the game did was also increase the fame of the musicians who were a part of the game's score. It just ensured that having Hawk and pairing it with gameplays was a sure shot success.
If Pro Skater was a huge success, the sequel went on to be even better. Thanks to the evolution of technology, all that the publishers needed was a solid gameplay idea. In addition to the rich history of the game and Hawk, 'Pretending I'm a Superman' also delves into the camaraderie and the sense of community among skaters. The joy on their faces when they reminisce about the golden days of skateboarding is evident.
The timing of the documentary couldn't have been any more perfect. Earlier this year, a remaster of the game was announced, making it a pleasant surprise, and with a month to go before the release, this docu gives people a reason to play one of the epic skateboard games of all time. 'Pretending I'm a Superman' is like getting on a skateboard and rolling down a ramp of nostalgia. It's entertaining and worth every bit of the watch.
'Pretending I'm a Superman' releases on August 18 on VoD.