Pro skateboarder Tony Hawk has jumped to the defence of Activision’s Tony Hawk: Ride, criticising reviewers he believes judged the game before even playing it.

Officially announced in May and released last month in the US and last week in the UK, Ride introduced a wireless, motion sensing skateboard controller enabling gamers “to physically play" the title.

While Activision forecast that the game and new peripheral would represent “a massive step forward for the franchise and the gaming industry as a whole", the Robomodo and Buzz Monkey developed title has been ill received by critics, garnering Metascores of 47 (PS3), 48 (360) and 61 (Wii).

"Most snarky critics had their minds set before ever seeing/playing the game,” said Hawk on his Twitter feed. “I'm proud of what we created; it's innovative, responsive & fun.”

He went on to tell The Sudbury Star: "I don't agree with people who say the board's not responsive. I think that they're just not giving it a fair shake. And I think a lot of them came into it with an attitude that it's going to suck.

"I know that (Ride) is super fun, and I think there's a misconception that I just stick my name on a game," Hawk added. "I brought this idea to Activision, and I saw it through."

Earlier today UK sales monitor GfK Chart-Track said that the pricey game (it retails for around £90 / $119) had missed out on a place on the all formats chart top 40.

The NPD Group is expected to release US sales data for the month of November after market close this Thursday, which should give us a picture of how the title’s performed at North American retail.