American Wasteland is the first Tony Hawk's game to support Xbox Live; online play was previously limited to the PlayStation 2 and Microsoft Windows.

[4][5] American Wasteland is the first game in the Tony Hawk's franchise that advertised and allowed the possibility for players to play in one vast level via story mode, which actually seamlessly connects a number of levels without loading times in between, along with also being the first game in the series that allows to freely commandeer stray bicycles and perform freestyle BMX techniques similar to skateboarding.

In the September 2005 edition of Game Informer, a map was shown displaying American Wasteland's Los Angeles with an insert of an overhead view of the Boston stage from Underground 2 for comparison.

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, an actual "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.

Seeking amends for landing Iggy in jail, the player character requests help from VanZandt's old friends: the Z-Boys, including Tony Alva.

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.

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.

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.

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 protagonist proceeds from the video.

Many critics also noted the general lack of evolution in the series, although many saw this as a good thing since the original gameplay was so popular to begin with and didn't need unnecessary tampering.