Tony Hawk SHRED: snow awesome!

Thump. Thump. Thumpthumpthump. THUMP!

It’s Saturday morning and it sounds like my kids invited an elephant over for breakfast. The thumping upstairs – as well as the cheering – gives me the clue to their video game choice of the morning; they must be playing Tony Hawk SHRED, the latest game created by Activision.

Activision releases Tony Hawk Shred

Last year, Activision launched the revolutionary game Tony Hawk RIDE. Players “ride” a fabricated skateboard with sensors on all sides through a course that is displayed on your video screen. This game used technology and coding that pushed the limits of video game design with its level of interactivity and variation.

Now Activision has done it again. They created another video game using this same innovative technology: Tony Hawk SHRED. This time, not only can you skateboard in the game, players can ride a snowboard as well. How awesome and fun is that?

Tony Hawk Foundation’s Stand Up for Skateparks

My family got the chance to play this game recently when we attended the Stand Up for Skateparks Event benefitting the Tony Hawk Foundation which raises money to build skateparks in low-income communities all over the nation. We all loved the game, and once again, my youngest son, the five-year-old set records all afternoon. The folks who helped us play the game were amazed at how well he performed some difficult moves.

Jumping the shark – not what you think!

One of the most unexpected, fun stunts we found in the game involved jumping a shark. You time your moves perfectly to soar over a huge great white shark that jumps up to grab you. My middle son conquered this part of the game and the crowd gathered around us cheered for him. Hooray! I loved snowboarding through the lobby of a ski lodge and making snowmen jump out of my way as I swished past them. My oldest son did a handstand on his skateboard. We all played the game repeatedly throughout the afternoon.

Own Tony Hawk RIDE?

While the game is similar to the predecessor Tony Hawk RIDE, the improvements, make the gaming experience even more enriched. The environments are more detailed, varied, and exciting. Players have greater options and higher levels of stunts, making it worth the investment.

If you already have Tony Hawk RIDE, you can purchase the Tony Hawk SHRED Stand-Alone Software. Your motion-sensing board is compatible with the new game. Purchasing the Tony Hawk SHRED Bundle gives you the software as well as the board so you are ready to play. The game is available for all the major gaming platforms.

Even though the game gets noisy, I smile every time my boys choose to play Tony Hawk SHRED. They are not sitting on the couch playing a passive game, they are standing up on the board moving around. This moving around causes the thumping, but, it’s my own fault for putting our media area upstairs!

EIleen loves watching her boys shred virtually as well as in real life. You can read about her family’s antics at calandroclan.com. She is the Chief Mom Connector for Mom Central. You can connect with her on twitter as @MomCentralChat and @calandro5.

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Disclosure: All expenses were paid for Eileen and her family to attend the Stand Up for Skateparks event to play Tony Hawk SHRED.

Eileen Calandro