Throw your kneepads away and stop scaring old dears in the street who are simply trying to get on with their shopping, because if this game from Z-axis works out all right, you'll soon be able to do all your skateboarding on the PlayStation.
Gideon Kibblewhite

Skateboards are back in fashion, aren't they?
Were they ever out of fashion?

Probably not. But you can't go even into town these days without being run over by one of the blighters.
Indeed. And perhaps that's why Z-axis have come up with Thrasher: Skate and Destroy - it's obviously a ploy to keep skaters off the streets. After all, there hasn't been a decent skate 'em up since the days of 720 and Skate or Die.

Blimey, you are old, aren't you...
I'll ignore that. The game sticks you in 16 different environments, including San Francisco (of course) and New York. Most are street levels, though there are a few tournament levels, which look more like an actual skate park.

Where does the 'destroy' bit come in?
All right, all right, I'm coming to that. At the beginning of each level you're allowed to explore and do a bit of freeskating...

...'Find your wheels', you mean.
Exactly. Then to pass the level you must gain enough points in a two minute trick run before you're allowed to hot-wheel it for the exit.

Is that it?
Not at all. You see, if you fail to reach a sufficient points score in time, the cops arrive on the scene, much like they do in 720. The view then suddenly switches to a cop's eye perspective, and what do the cops see? You high-tailing it out of there, doing cheeky stunts along the way in an attempt to gain bonus points.