The game begins with the protagonist boarding a bus to
Los Angeles to escape his delinquent past. Upon arriving in
Hollywood, a group of skateboarding punks, led by Joe, punch the player character and steal his bag. The protagonist meets Mindy, a local artist, who helps him fit in through wardrobe changes and a series of skating challenges led by her friends. After, the player confronts Joe and challenges him to a skating contest for his bag, which the player wins. The protagonist observes Mindy drawing a skatepark in her sketchpad which she reveals will be a part of her magazine titled "American Wasteland", and that it is the Skate Ranch, a "locals-only" park. After the protagonist stops a local protest, Mindy decides to take the player to
Beverly Hills, where he uses his skate skills to impress the inhabitants of the ranch led by Iggy VanZandt. They agree to let him in to the skatepark, and allow him to stay after he gathers wood for a half-pipe. While the player character watches Iggy skate, the group reveals that he was previously a professional skateboarder, but he couldn't handle the publicity and dropped out of the public eye. Mindy suggests that the protagonist obtain pieces for the skate ranch, which he gets throughout the game. The player character participates in the Tony Hawk AmJam in downtown Los Angeles. The protagonist wins and is interviewed by
Tony Hawk. After the player publicly reveals his association with the presumed-dead Iggy, the LAPD arrests VanZandt for a string of past minor offenses. Seeking amends for landing Iggy in jail, the player character requests help from VanZandt's old friends: the
Z-Boys, including
Tony Alva. They agree to do so if he prove his old-school skating skills. After he does so, the Z-Boys show an old photo of "Green Pipes Point": a legendary skate run that the protagonist recognizes as now being the Skate Ranch. The player character decides to have it dug again to make up for getting Iggy arrested. To that effect, the protagonist meets Alva's oil rig worker friend Mega, who decides to help the player after the protagonist completes a series of errands for him. While Mega works on digging up the Green Pipes Point, the player learns from Mindy that Skate Ranch member Boone has been kidnapped by the "Black Widowz", his old street gang, and needs rescuing from East Los Angeles. However, the Black Widowz own the only tunnel leading to the area, leading the protagonist to join the gang to be allowed entry. After he passes the initiation tests, he enters East LA and rescues Boone. After Mega finishes digging up the Green Pipes Point, the protagonist gets a call from Iggy in jail, stating that his bail was posted and he will be leaving shortly. When the player character mentions his restoration of Green Pipes Point, Iggy is furious; he explains that he doesn't own the land that it is on, nor does he have the money to buy it. By the time Iggy leaves jail, the actual owner of the Point put the land up for auction, prompting Iggy to punch the protagonist. The player then snaps at Mindy for attempting to help out, but before he can apologize the other group members beckon him away. The group informs the player character that Tony Hawk is in the area with the belief that if he and other local pros were convinced to record a "Save Green Pipes Point" video and post it online, they could use the proceeds to save the ranch from the auction block. The player rounds up the skaters and begins recording the video, and Iggy apologizes for his past behavior. After trashing a local vacant casino as their finale to the video, the group is met by the police due to trespassing and vandalism. In order to distract the police so the rest of the gang can escape and purchase Green Pipes Point, the player character evades the cops by skating all through LA to get back to the ranch. The player succeeds in distracting the police. Iggy arrives at Green Pipes Point and successfully purchases the land. To celebrate, he throws a party, and the protagonist apologizes to Mindy for angering her and VanZandt. Mindy accepts the apology, and she shows that she has just published the first issue of her dream magazine, American Wasteland, which Iggy reveals was funded by the proceeds from the video. The protagonist and Mindy kiss. == Releases ==