Tony Hawk’s American Sk8land on the Game Boy Advance is one of these innocent little games that, on its own, is fine on the platform, but when you look at other handheld devices, the game underscores the limitations of the device.

This is supposed to be a game in line with the latest Tony Hawk release of American Wasteland, but while the control scheme has been reduced to its simplest equation, the game’s graphics fail to grab and induce that sense of wonder, wincing at the crashes, and marveling at the sheer athleticism of the in-game characters.

That’s all the bad news; the good news is that Sk8land is accessible by just about anyone who can pick up a GBA. And therein lays the key to this game. You don’t have to be a grinding fool who can do kick-flips in your sleep, but you can find a measure of success here by completing tasks as assigned.

In addition to the multiplayer GameLink modes, Sk8land features two main ways to play – story and classic modes. In story mode you are given access to the city’s seamless zones, given missions by the people you meet that you must accomplish to further your skills and stature as a skater. In this mode you are able to select a character and do a bit of customization. Do not expect the range of customizations available on the bigger consoles.

In classic mode, you select one of eight pre-loaded skaters (based on real pros) and then try to score the highest point total or collect items within a time limit. If you have played a Tony Hawk game before, you know how this works – collect the letters to spell out SKATE and that sort of thing.

The story mode is not nearly as encompassing as the game presented on the other platforms. A bystander will give you a mission, and generally these are to score points by linking together tricks. It is not a bad way to score up, but it can get routine after a bit. Thankfully the zones are massive enough to allow you to work on your technique through a free-skate atmosphere.

While the control scheme works well on this title, where the game starts to drift are in the graphical presentation. This is, essentially, a two-dimensional game and as such there are times when depth perception is a hard thing to judge. The sound is decent, with a small selection of music, some repetitive voice tracks, and the pervasive sound of the skateboard boarding working against different environments punctuated by the sound made with the skater misses the trick.

And for those who are not overly knowledgeable with the game, not to worry – Tony is on hand to walk players through the basics in the short tutorial that begins the game.

American Sk8land is a nice little program that really brings little new to the series as a whole, other than supplying gamers with a seamless environment. While not gr8, the game does r8 a look-see from fans of the series. If you are a fan of Wasteland, though, this may seem a bit sparse, but those new to the series will likely have an enjoyable time.

Gameplay: 7.5
The controls are not overly complex and the world is generally seamless, all of which allows players to jump right in and start to learn the nuances of this title.

Graphics: 6.5
The camera gives an isometric view of the game, but this is still a 2D title that tries to emulate a three-dimensional feel. It’s not bad for the platform, just not overly great compared to other handheld versions.

Sound: 6.5
Nothing that truly jumps out here, but the boarding sounds are solid.

Difficulty: Medium
The game has a gentle learning curve and most of the tricks are tied to the A and B buttons working in concert with the D-pad.

Concept: 7.0
Seven areas in a seamless skating arena is a very good thing. The game, overall, though seems like a shadow of its Wasteland brethren

Multiplayer: N/A
The game does support multiplayer gaming, and there are five game modes. Players will hook up with the GameLink system. This portion of the game could not be tested at the time of the review.

Overall: 7.0
American Sk8land has a few drawbacks that perhaps underscore the limitations of the GBA more than anything else. For the platform this is a nice title that is a little gentler on gamers than previous iterations.