Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4

THPS4 wasn't my first Tony Hawk game, but it was the first one that grabbed me as a kid. Skating around the open levels finding the challenges for myself, then doing them one at a time was far more pleasing to my nine-year-old mind in 2002 than the previous games' format. With the perspective of time, however, I wish this game hadn't changed the format at all.
THPS1-3 gave you a list of objectives to complete within two minutes. Each one you complete ticks it off the list, allowing you to focus on a different one next time. By having every objective active at once, you can notice the SKATE letters you need to collect while going for the high score. You'll notice where a bunch of things are, giving you an idea of what to go for in your next two-minute chunk.
These objectives return in THPS4, but they're all activated independently of eachother. The SKATE letters are only active when you talk to the guy who gives the SKATE letters objective. You still have two minutes to get the letters or the high score, but it's all separate.
Now this isn't to say that they just took THPS3 and separated the objectives. THPS4 has some more unique objectives that wouldn't have worked in the old format. Most of these, however, aren't good. Anyone who's played THPS4 can tell you all about snake run slalom in Kona, which is extremely difficult for all the wrong reasons. Bam Margera's loop-de-loop jump onto a target and his downhill shopping cart adventure are more examples of poor challenges they now had the freedom to make.
It's not all bad, of course. The Escape from Alcatraz mission is THPS4 at its best, testing your level knowledge and abilities in a way that would not have worked in the standard two minutes.

At the end of the day, though, it all comes down to how each level feels to skate. THPS3 was a classic because every single one of its levels was an instant classic. When the worst level in your game is Suburbia, you're doing pretty damn well for yourself.
THPS4 starts off brilliantly. College, San Francisco, and Alcatraz are all-time great Tony Hawk levels. Kona is a fine skatepark level, but after that, it falls apart. The Shipyard is claustrophobic with items everywhere and no flow at all. London is the opposite, with large sections where it feels like there's nothing to do. The Zoo is the finale level, and is completely dependent on its setpiece missions and animal gimmicks. The Zoo simply isn't a place I'd want to skate at again once the missions are complete.

THPS4 is a game worth playing, and was impressive when it came out. It's an awkward transitional game between the perfect arcade fun of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 and the ambitious story-based approach of Tony Hawk's Underground. It's a good time with some great levels, but it's extremely frontloaded.