[6] Pro Skater 4 is a departure from the previous three games' Career mode, in which the player had a set amount of time in order to find and complete goals.

All of the combos from the previous game make an appearance, as well as some new tricks that can be performed to better navigate parks and areas.

The game also features skitching, which lets skaters hang off the back of moving vehicles.

Additionally, the player can unlock four other playable characters; Jango Fett from Star Wars, Eddie, the ubiquitous mascot of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden, Mike Vallely, who is a professional skater and wrestler, and Daisy, a female skater visually based on and voiced by Jenna Jameson.

IGN gave the Xbox version a 9/10, stating that "Tony Hawk 4 is by far the best skateboarding title around and head and shoulders above its 'me-too' competition".

[32] The PlayStation 2 version received the highest score from IGN, with a 9.3/10, commenting that though the graphics hadn't changed from its predecessor, the maps were much larger than in Pro Skater 3, along with praising the increased difficulty.