Congratulations on your in-depth review.
I've had this game for about a month now, and I'm still playing it every day. First I went through on normal and beat it pretty easily (about a day) and I was really disappointed. Then I went back through and played it on sick mode, and realized how challenging this game really was. Now I have all of the goals done on normal and sick, and I'm just playing high score mode.
Gameplay: This game plays as smoothly as any game in the Tony Hawk series, there are amazingly huge and complex levels with awesome lines. There is a new twist in the game now as you can climb off of your board and climb to places not as easily accessible before. You can also drive cars, but the execution of the driving element is so piss poor that it may as well have been left out. For a skateboarding game it actually has a decent story this time.
Control: No surprises here, if you've played any of the other Tony Hawk games, you're set in this department. Controls are solid and I see no need for a change.
Replay value: infinate, There is just so much to do. I spend hours just skating around the amazing Manhattan level finding new rooftop lines. There is a new create-a-trick feature that is just awesome. You can literally make your guy do anything. I have a backflip to 1080 handstand trick. I've beaten the entire game now and I still find mysrelf coming back every day to play it, this game just doesn't get old.
Overall: If you didn't like any other Tony Hawk games, you won't like this one. Hilghlights are the HUGE levels, the create-a-trick feature, and some awesome goals on story mode (You jump off of a high rise hotel and do a McTwist over a police chopper in one goal!)
I'll give this game a 9.5/10
It would have been a 10 if they had made the story mode a bit longer.