Since first rolling onto PlayStations in 1999, the Tony Hawk skateboarding titles have lead the way for an entire subgenre of "extreme sports" video gaming. American Sk8land is designed to pull away from the pack, by offering a wide selection of customization choices and bringing its environments to life with new technology. Set in the "birthplace of skate culture," Los Angeles, CA, American Sk8land features trick-heavy challenges in a Grand Theft Auto-styled urban playground, through which players can travel anywhere and choose from (or ignore!) numerous story- and side-missions they find along the way.