Stop me if you heard this one: You’re showing off at a skateboarding tournament and receiving much deserved props for pulling off some sweet moves when none other than skate god Tony Hawk suddenly appears and offers to take you with him to the ultimate skating competition. Many a great Tony Hawk Pro Skater and Underground game has started this way and the result were skating games worthy of the extreme sport itself. We’ve also seen the series make a jump to the handheld gaming crowd but for Tony Hawk’s American Sk8land for the Nintendo DS this is the first time we’re seeing portable online action. Grab a board because this is skating at its most awesome.

It seems that Tony Hawk likes what he sees and as you’re thrashing your way to glory at this year’s Mid-West skate competition he comes up to you and taps you for a skate tournament that will take place in sunny Los Angeles, California. Stepping off the bus you meet a local artist named Mindy who will not only offers advice but also points you to some challenges you’ll need to complete. Los Angeles then becomes a wide-open skater’s playground, a surprisingly huge skate land with enough ramps, grind-worthy spots and skater challenges. This is the situation you’ll find yourself in the game’s main Story mode.

When I refer to Los Angeles as a playground I mean a city complete with five recognizable areas within the city as well as Alcatraz and a warehouse. Broken up in sections, you’ll start off in the city of Hollywood and work your way to Beverly Hills, the Downtown area, East LA and an area the game calls Vans. The best part is that you don’t have to stop the game to pick another area to play in because you’ll be able to skate from Hollywood to Beverly Hills or Downtown with the blink of an eye. You’ll not only see these locales in the game’s Story mode but also in Classic mode (a mode that brings back the days of the old Tony Hawk Pro Skater games).

You’ll start Story mode by creating your skater, be it girl or boy. After selecting everything from skin color, clothing options and even different hairstyles you’ll jump into the game’s version of Hollywood. You’ll be grinding on benches outside the Chinese Theater, riding up ramps along the Walk of Fame and do flip tricks in the halls of the Kodak Theater. From there you’ll unlock Beverly Hills where you’ll be skating near the famed Beverly Hills High and, of course, through the various trendy shops on Rodeo Drive. All the while you’ll get challenges from Tony Hawk regulars Bam Margera, Bob Burnquist or Rodney Mullen. You’ll be completing goals like earning a certain amount of points, pulling off successful combos or, for example, pull of some neat aerial tricks for a local photographer. The tasks aren’t incredibly hard like the console games, which will be a big break for new Tony Hawk gamers.

Control-wise the game plays smoothly and pulling off tricks is not difficult once you get the hang of the control scheme. American Sk8land does away with the on-foot segments of recent games but you’ll still be able to tag walls and slap a sticker on the walls. As this is a Nintendo DS game the touch screen is utilized and utilized well. The bottom screen not only acts as a map in-game but you can also press any of the pre-set special moves with ease. Want to design a deck with your own drawing; well you can draw your own design with the Stylus. You can even design your own graffiti tags the same way.

As I mentioned above, the game also includes Classic mode. This mode brings back the classic ten goals per level skating action that, of course, is timed. With only two minutes to complete each goal, you’ll be collecting SKATE or COMBO letters, earn an incredibly high sick combo score and find the Secret Tapes scattered throughout the environment. The best addition, though, happens to be online play using the handhold’s Wi-Fi connection. There are a small number of ways to set up online action and much like Mario Kart DS; you’ll get a smooth multiplayer experience for your troubles. I highly suggest you read the manual before deciding on a Nintendo WFC setting. When you do manage to get online there five multiplayer modes (Free Skate, Trick Attack, Score Challenge, Combo Mambo and The Price is Wrong). It’s fun stuff to share with a friend or a stranger.

Visually, American Sk8land sports a unique cel-shaded look that is a departure for the series. It actually does work nicely and makes for a colorful game with nicely detailed environments. The game’s familiar landmarks look good and if you’ve lived in LA long enough you’ll come to recognize a number of distinguishing areas. Of course, Hollywood isn’t composed of ramps but the areas look great. The character models look decent enough as well and watching your skater pull off some cool trick or throwing a temper tantrum is a real treat.

On the sound front, though, the game surprises with some good voice clips from Tony Hawk himself as well as a number of other notable skating stars. There’s also an impressive soundtrack with licensed tunes like Green Day’s “Holiday” as well as music by Saved the Day, Frank Black, Dead Kennedys and Black Flag to name a few. The game’s sound effects are also amazingly well detailed. You’ll hear vehicles before you see them and smacking the pavement never sounded so painful.

Tony Hawk’s American Sk8land for the Nintendo DS will be destined to become a true portable skateboarding classic and the game to buy if you like your skating game nearly perfect. I wish it were a bit easier to hook up online but once you get it started the multiplayer is as good as the single-player greatness. Really, you’ll want to pick this one up right away, Nintendo DS fans.

Gameplay: 8.7
Its classic Tony Hawk Pro Skater style doesn’t take away from the game’s freshly modern free-roaming skating action filled to the brim with good challenges. The seven areas offer plenty of goals and you’ll upgrade your created skater’s skills. If that wasn’t enough the game also tosses in the old-school Classic mode.

Graphics: 8.5
The cel-shaded look actually works well for this game and its one of the sharpest-looking Nintendo DS games around. The environments are easy on the eyes and filled to the brim with detail that you’ll recognize the landmarks right away. Even the characters look great while pulling off neat air tricks and grinds.

Sound: 9.0
Surprisingly enough the game has a nice collection of licensed tunes from the likes of Green Day as well as Oingo Boingo. There are some voice clips from Tony Hawk and a number of other skaters so the game feels a bit like the console games. The rest of the game is composed of some really decent sound effects.

Difficulty: Medium
A tad easy at times, American Sk8land isn’t incredibly hard but don’t worry because there are challenges that will give your fingers a good workout. The timed Classic mode goals offer objectives that will have you attempting to make big points to unlock the next area.

Concept: 9.0
The Los Angeles area is one massive playground and much like Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland for all the major consoles it makes for an interesting local with a lot to see and do. You can create your character and even go as far as design their deck or graffiti tag. There’s even a Skate Shop to purchase better boards and the like. There’s even fun multiplayer modes and you can play online.

Multiplayer: 9.0
Yes you can play the game wirelessly with a buddy but the main attraction here is the fact that you can play the game online through a Wi-Fi connection setup and a good wireless router and an active Broadband account. Setup can be a bit complex but following the direction on the manual and with a little guidance from the game itself, you’ll be thrashing against other gamers in no time. You can even upload your replays to the Internet for bragging rights.

Overall: 8.9
One of the most impressive handheld versions of the Tony Hawk series to come to the portable gaming format, Tony Hawk’s American Sk8land is a true thrasher classic. It possesses all the things we enjoy about the console games and the best feature yet is that you can take it with you wherever you go. Whatever you do, don’t miss this game.