Gah, my reflexive "SOLD!" post was forestalled when I saw that this one might focus on downhill levels. The downhill stuff was my least favorite part of the Tony Hawk series. This might be the first TH game I wait and see on. :/
And yeah, I too don't get why people bag on THAW or the Underground games other than the usual crowd who just love to hate series with lots of sequels. The Tony Hawk games have always consistently added good improvements to the formula, and it's a damn good formula to begin with. As far as I'm concerned, going all downhill would be the first step backwards the series has taken. :/