It's been a number of years since a quality skateboarding game has been released. While the independently-developed Session looks to draw inspiration from EA's skate franchise, the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater series has been in a strange sort of limbo. However, while THPS might be dead Tony Hawk is making a comeback with a new skateboarding game of his own, though not in the traditional sense.

Thanks to a collaboration with Maple Media, Hawk has brought back at least some of the vision of older Tony Hawk Pro Skater games in Tony Hawk's Skate Jam. The game, however, is coming exclusively to iOS and Android, which isn't exactly what fans may be asking for. Name-wise, the new title isn't officially a part of the Pro Skater series, though Tony Hawk himself was brought on last year to help create a vision for Skate Jam that would appeal to fans both old and new.

"I want this to appeal to fans of our original series, and to new kids that play kids on their phones."

The reason the game isn't a part of the Pro Skater franchise is due to Tony Hawk's contract with Activision ending in 2015. Late that year, Activision and Robomodo released Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5, which was considered by many to be a disaster, launching as a buggy mess and obvious rush job, which included an entire revamp of the game's art style just a month before its release.

tony hawks skate jam ios

When it comes to Skate Jam, there are three playable modes available. First is Career mode, which falls in line with traditional Tony Hawk games where players progress through different parks and are able to unlock new characters and gears as they continue to play. Next is Skate Jam, allowing for online tournament play with other players, something THPS5 had numerous issues with. Finally is Free Skate, serving as a practice tool for players to hone their skills before putting them to the test in the other two game modes.

Another important note about the game is the soundtrack, something that was key in making the earlier Tony Hawk's Pro Skater games so great. Hawk mentioned the full soundtrack may not be as deep as some of his other games, but it certainly hopes to solve the problems of the previous Tony Hawk game. Maple Media has achieved that goal with a playlist offering diverse genres from electronic-based tracks to the expected punk rock tunes.

Tony Hawk's Skate Jam is available to pre-register on iOS and Android.