Set in a vast, vibrant, sunny skater paradise that never rains, snows,
thunders, or, even has nightfall, Skate takes away the gimmicky cities
in past skateboard games (can you guess which?), that always somehow
seem to feature perfectly placed ramps in random places, and brings a
new, exciting edge into skating games: realism.
Skate is the 'simulation' to Tony Hawk's 'arcade' style, that throws
away the silliness, and smacks you in the face with a harsh dose of
reality. Gone are the days of 80,000 point combos, and in are the days
of being hopeful to land a kickflip into a grind. With this change,
also brings a good deal of satisfaction on landing such things, and
makes landing long lines and impressive air even more rewarding. But of
course, not landing your tricks will introduce you to the painful
looking ragdoll physics, which can make every wipeout something to
laugh or cringe at.
The controls are something that halt a new player instantly. Being a
skateboard game, anyone who's ever played a skateboard game before this
know it down pat, with buttons being the main use. Skate throws out all
you ever knew about skateboarding controls, and introduces an
innovative new way to play; the analog stick. Strange, new and awkward
at first, repeated playing will warm you up to it, and you'll wonder
how you ever lived without it. It's a dynamic system, of course not
without its flaws, but a very interesting take on controls.
The graphics follow the next-gen formula of gritty but vibrant, dirty
but real. The camera is awkward at first, but 30 minutes into the game,
and you're already used to it. Sound is top notch, and bails are bone
crunching.
This is one of those games that deserves it's place in your library.
It's just something that's very hard to get sick of, and being such a
massive game, it'll take you months to even get a taste of what can
fully be unlocked and explored in this game.
