SKATE Review

By Jason Nimer

I did not want to like SKATE and before I played it, I had a dozen prefabricated reasons for feeling how I thought I would. I've never been fan of EA or their products and Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1 and 2 are among my all-time favorite games. In fact, I was so into THPS 2 that it may or may not have contributed to me failing Statistics 1001. Granted, I felt the THPS series died the moment THPS 3 hit store shelves, but Venice, Warehouse, School and Bullring all hold special places in my memory. When EA announced SKATE, I brushed it off. When SKATE came out, I stuck to my guns. Then I played it. I'm sorry Mr. Hawk. We had some good times, but welcome to Dumpsville. Population: You.

The THPS series was never about realism. Even the best skaters in the world probably couldn't pull some of the combo lines my friends and I invented/discovered. Regardless, the game and its first sequel were great, but they were a gamer's skating game. SKATE is the opposite; it is very much an actual skater's skating game. Everything about SKATE, from the oft-discussed controls to the environments to the smallest "only a skater would notice that" details, make this the new standard for not just skating games, but all extreme sports games yet to be released. …and all this praise from someone who was determined to hate the game. It really is that good.

To discuss SKATE, one must first forget everything they know about the Tony Hawk games, especially the control scheme. On more than one occasion, my parents watched my hands as I played THPS 2 and became infuriated. Not because they didn't like the games I played, but because if my hands could move that fast and that skillfully, then "Why in the hell did you quit piano lessons?!" That is a direct quote, by the way. The THPS series did demand nerves of steel and reflexes to match, with quick button and directional presses to perfectly execute the game's craziest combos. SKATE throws all that out the window.

In what has been dubbed the Flickit! dual analog control system, players will feel less like they are playing a game and more like they're actually controlling a skater on the streets. Where THPS demanded players execute tricks in the same way they would control Blanka, E. Honda or Guile, SKATE uses only the analog sticks to execute quick flips and spins of your skateboard. This lends itself to a much more realistic experience. Something that would seem mundane in a THPS title becomes an amazing, praise-worthy accomplishment. For example, turning a kickflip in THPS only requires a simple press and release of a button. In SKATE, you need to judge your speed, your angle, your environment and if the board will actually have the time to turn before you land on it.

The controls might sound complicated and unwieldy, but that is more because of my inability to explain just how well they work. Old school THPS fans will be mystified and stymied at first, but after only a minute or two of practice, they'll be skating like old pros. Too often we see games kick standard control conventions just to be different, but SKATE gets away with it because, to put it plainly, EA has defied expectations and built a better mousetrap. In the same way that the recent Metroid Prime 3: Corruption deep-sixed every first person shooter with dual analog control by switching to the Wii-mote and nunchuk, SKATE has all but guaranteed that the "triangle, up, down" grind combo will never again be used successfully in a skating game.

SKATE also manages to do something right that no Tony Hawk game ever quite pulled off - the character creation mode. The THPS series, and later, the Underground and Project 8 games, all had at least a rudimentary character creation mode (except perhaps the first couple of games…my memory isn't what it used to be…), but it never felt as though you had much control over what your skater actually looked like. Slapping a pink Mohawk on a guy in board shorts is only fun for a while; especially when every custom skater created all shared the same sloping brow, dead eyes and what came to be known around my house as the "caveman-core" look.

If the THPS skater creation mode is a Nash skateboard bought on layaway at Wal-Mart, then SKATE's creation mode is a custom built Chad Muska deck with $100 trucks and some shiny new wheels. SKATE actually gives you enough control over your skater's physical appearance that with some patience, you can actually make your skater look like you. EA's addition of real skate companies and their licensed merchandise (shoes, boards, clothes, etc.) gives SKATE a whole extra layer of realism. I carried a Black Label backpack for most of my high school and college years, so naturally, my personal skater needed to be decked out from head to toe in Black Label gear.

SKATE has a few drawbacks, but nothing even comes close to ruining the fun. The Career Mode is fairly short, but depending on what kind of player you are, you may not even notice. Some will blaze through the Career Mode in an afternoon and put the game down. Most will get through the Career Mode and continue playing, for the sheer joy of finding new combos, new lines and new ways to impress their friends. This is just one more aspect that makes SKATE a game for skaters. Personally, I found the Career Mode to be an obstacle standing in the way of how I actually wanted to play the game.

Another complaint is that the online portion of the game could have used a few more weeks of tweaking to make it perfect. Other skaters are frequently "laggy" and often simply disappear from the playing field. It isn't all that annoying in practice, but mostly because the most entertaining part of SKATE's online play is simply trading videos of your awesome tricks and lines with others worldwide, having them rate your tricks and, in turn, doing the same for them. A quick glance at the EA SKATE site or message board will show just how popular this has gotten.

By now, you'll no doubt be wondering about the other aspects of SKATE, namely the graphics and sound. Both get the job done, but neither is particularly earth shaking or spectacular. The graphics are without a doubt some of the best seen in any sports or skating game, but a few small problems mar the overall look. Some surfaces appear blurry and every so often you'll run into some slowdown and/or pop up issues.