The New 'Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5' Trailer Could Look Better

I'm happy that Activision is publishing another Tony Hawk's Pro Skater game, and that it's calling it Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5. The title indicates that the game will pick up where Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 left off in 2002, before the series spun out of control with sprawling, confusing skateboarding epics like Underground and American Wasteland, and motion controls-based disasters like Ride.

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5 seems like it will focus on fast, totally unrealistic but totally fun skateboarding, with crazy combos, mile-long grinds, and gravity defying gaps. It certainly feels like the world is ready for another one of those, and if a giant publisher like Activision is getting behind the game, there's probably an audience out there waiting for it.

The problem is that, at least based on what we've seen so far, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5 isn't looking too hot. Granted, this is based mostly on the quality of the graphics, which are not what you'd expect from a PlayStation 4 and Xbox One game in 2015.

YouTube commenters are pretty angry, as you can imagine. Here are some gems that might reflect that disappointment you're feeling after watching the trailer above:

The issue here most certainly has something to do with the fact that Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5 is being published on the older generation of consoles as well, the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, and when you put them side by side, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5 doesn't look all that different than Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD, which came out in 2012.

If Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5 recaptures the appeal of those early games, graphics honestly won't make that big of a difference either way, but Robomodo, which is developing Tony Hawk Pro Skater 5, doesn't have the best history with The Birdman.

It's responsible for both of the motion controls-based games, Ride and Shred, while reviews for Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD, which aimed to recreate the magic of the original, were mixed.

Still, one should never lose hope. As long as Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5 lets me do a pop shove-it 360 off a roof of a building and land into a frontside 50-50 grind while some guilty pleasure pop punk plays in the background, I'll be happy.