While Tony Hawk--videogame series namesake and the patron saint of skateboarding--is getting a bit long in the tooth at the ripe old age of 39, the juggernaut that is the Tony Hawk game series continues rolling along with only a minor bearing change every year. While the name is different--no longer the Pro Skater moniker it used to go by--the basic mechanics of the series remain more or less the same with each new game in the franchise. Like Tony Hawk's Project 8 before it, the next installment--Tony Hawk's Proving Grounds--keeps a lot of the fundamentals we've come to expect. Nail the Trick mode is back, even receiving an extension and now branching out to include Nail the Grab, and Nail the Manual modes, the latter being a button combo that sees you press the two analogue buttons when ready to enter the slow-mo mode, then a right trigger hold and either a left or right analogue twiddle to land and balance your skater. GameSpot has already done an extensive preview of the game here, but after spending some more time with the game this week, there's one aspect of the title we'd like to take a closer look at.

　　One of the most exciting aspects of Proving Grounds is the Skate Lounge. Each next-gen copy of the game will ship with Skate Lounge, a feature that allows you to create and hang out in your own custom game arena. The space wouldn't be much good without skating though, so it's probably easiest to think of it as a combined virtual lounge room and skate park rolled into one. It also smacks a bit of Sony's Playstation Home since you'll be able to invite other Proving Ground players over to check out your pad, skate your ramps, and compete in custom challenges (although Activision Australia couldn't confirm if the area will allow for voice chat support when it ships). The new game will, like other Tony Hawk titles, be based on a financial backbone, earning money for completing tasks--for the bargain basement sum of $5,000 a pop you can buy themes for your space. The prison, temple, and chrome templates looked great, but the one that really wowed us was theatre, turning the entire warehouse into a darkened room with thick, luxurious looking red curtains and huge video screens. The screens were running looping demos of some of the unlockable videos from the career mode, and while Proving Grounds includes a feature-laden video recording and editing tool, at the moment it looks like you won't be able to watch them in your Skate Lounge. Using the item importer tool, you can create and drop in couches, TVs, posters, and items you've won in the career challenges. There are also a couple of odd ones, but we won't spoil the surprise.

　　Regardless of which of the three career paths you end up choosing to spend your time on--although you're not limited to just one--the Skate Lounge is your place away from the streets, and a great social space to just hang out. We're really hoping voice chat is included in the final version so you can arrange challenges, or play a friendly game of HORSE with a wager.