System: Playstation 3/X-Box
Game Type: 1 Player Skill
Publisher: EA
Review: SKATE- Bound for Glory
By Zanzabar
Disclaimer: First let me start out by declaring that skating games are defiantly not my favorite type of video game so you might want to read this review keeping that in mind.
Skate is Electronic Art’s attempt to create a niche in the skateboarding genre which has been totally dominated by the Tony Hawk series. This is a series that has as its trademark, the ability to chain impossible stunts, in an impossible order, over a vast improbable landscape. For those who like that sort of thing, the series has been serviceable, even if it has grown a little ‘long in the tooth’.
Buckle up Dorothy, with Skate you now enter the real world.
First the graphics: they are excellent, but that is what a Playstation 3 or X-Box owner should come to expect nowadays. The sound is spot on and the skating environment is both realistic and reactive to the player.
Now to the important part: gameplay. When I picked up the controller I noticed a difference right off the bat. I couldn’t just push the analog stick forward to magically zoom ahead. Hey, what’s going on? I have to actually push a button to kick start my board?! And what’s this? If I don’t keep up the momentum the skater will actually slow down to a stop?! Humm…As I begin in the ‘training’ grounds, a voice-over begins to encourage me onward with tips and suggestions as to how to do the simplest of tricks. Ha! I don’t need no stinking tips! I’ll just do what I always did and…oh! Humm, that didn’t work, well…ok…maybe I should actually pay attention.
Pretty soon I was sweating over my joystick as I tried to get the sequence just right. After pulling off my first combination there was a deep sigh of relief as I flopped back into my chair, surrounded by the comforting glow of self-satisfaction. And this was just in the practice area!
The in game physics are just about the best I’ve seen for any type of game, not just a skateboarding one. The controls are intuitive and easy to grasp but far from easy to master. I found that I was unconsciously pushing myself to master just ‘one more’ aerial or another kick-flip combo, almost oblivious to my surroundings. Because of the unique way the moves mapped to the joystick, it is possible that the same moves can be accomplished by different combinations of movements. This means that no two experiences will be quite the same.
While Skate features well known professional skate personalities such as PJ Ladd and Danny Way, to me they are just ancillary to the game. I’m sure aficionados of the genre would be impressed; I just wanted to do an Ollie to an Axle Stall then transition into a Rock to Fakie! (Ack! What is happening to me?!) Well, no matter, just let me try that last combo just one more time…
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