This 2007 main game, a sports title, empowers you with deep customization and new mechanics. You can seamlessly transition between single-player and online modes, utilizing features like terrain altering/building and Bowl Carving for an advanced skating experience. The game intensifies trick execution with Nail the Grab and Nail the Manual moves. Uniquely, it includes a full Video Editor for creating custom skate films and a customizable online Skate Lounge for sessions with friends.
The central appeal of this installment lies in its expanded mechanical depth, offering players unprecedented control over their runs. A significant focus is placed on environmental interaction, introducing mechanics that allow skaters to actively alter and build terrain as they play, directly impacting trick opportunities and flow.
The game intensifies the signature "Nail the Trick" system by adding new dimensions to execution. Beyond existing maneuvers, players can now utilize Nail the Grab and Nail the Manual, demanding precise timing and control to string together complex aerial and ground combinations. This system is designed to reward mastery of fine motor control.
Beyond the physical act of skating, the experience is heavily weighted toward player creation and sharing. The title features robust customization options that extend beyond character appearance.
A standout feature is the integrated Video Editor. This toolset provides comprehensive editing capabilities, including the application of visual effects, enabling players to craft and produce high-quality skate videos showcasing their best lines and tricks directly within the game environment.
For social interaction, the game introduces a fully customizable online space known as the Skate Lounge. This serves as a personal hub where players can invite friends to skate together in a shared, personalized environment, fostering collaborative or competitive sessions.
The primary differentiator is the seamless integration of creation tools and dynamic world manipulation into the core skating loop. The ability to modify the environment on the fly, combined with the deep video editing suite, positions the game as both a performance simulator and a digital filmmaking tool.
The game offers deeper customization than previous entries, allowing players to personalize their experience significantly. This includes the ability to build and carve bowls, alongside the expanded trick mechanics, providing multiple avenues for personal expression during gameplay.
As a main release title from 2007, this game does not feature any officially released downloadable content (DLC) or expansions. There are no subsequent remakes or remasters available as of the current date.

Tony Hawk's Proving Ground is a sequel to Tony Hawk's Project 8, this time letting the player be able to choose their own storyline by making different choices during the game with the ability to skate in Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington D.C. There are four different classes of skaters (Rigger, Hardcore, Career and Street), which influences the story's direction. It also features an expanded Nail-the-Trick system with moves such as Nail-the-Grab and Nail-the Manual, Bowl Carving, Aggro Push, Skate Checking, Climbing/Exploration, Environment Altering, and Rig-a-Kit. During the game the player can get advice from professional skaters to help mold their own created skater and learn new moves and tricks and has the ability to create their own skate park. Unlike the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions, the PlayStation 2 and Wii editions do not offer online multiplayer but still share the main story. Gameplay is however much different on the PlayStation 2 using the analog controller while the Wii uses the remote and nunchuk during certain motions to pull off various tricks. There are also different characters in these versions.

The Nintendo DS version of Tony Hawk's Proving Ground was developed by Vicarious Visions. Its gameplay is very similar to the DS version of Tony Hawk’s American Sk8land. In the game's story mode, your objective is to progress as a career or hardcore skater. This entails completing various goals across three different categories: Career, Hardcore, and Neutral. By accomplishing these goals, you earn money that can be used to enhance your skate park. As you tackle enough challenges, professional skaters make appearances, and their challenges, when completed, allow you to acquire new skate park elements and advance to the next level. This version of the game incorporates certain gameplay features from the console versions. Aggro kicking enables the player to gain speed more rapidly. Some missions involve executing Gesture Tricks, where you replicate motions on the touch screen, reminiscent of the Nail The Trick feature in the console versions. Most missions are completed at different difficulty levels, and challenges are scattered throughout the levels, both of which were introduced in Project 8. However, this version lacks the open world design. The downtown areas of Philly and Baltimore are absent, and the Air & Space Museum incorporates elements of the National Mall. Additionally, several levels have been redesigned to suit the hardware, with Lansdowne being the most notable example. The Xbox 360 and PS3 versions' skate lounge is replaced by a sizable customizable skatepark.