Review: Skate

Hey all, Force here again with a review I had been holding out on writing because I just wanted to discuss it so bad. Since the show is still a few weeks away from starting our next season and I won’t get to discuss it, I thought I would take the time to write up a review for EA’s latest Skate.

I am happy to report that EA is truly embracing the next generation consoles instead of trying to make a game that they can port to every system on the planet. Skate was developed from the ground up for the 360 and PS3 and you can tell. The characters and city environment look fantastic. The animation in the game on your main character is pretty darn close to life like and the bails look truly nasty. One of my only gripes with the graphics is the placement of the game camera. I feel it is way to close to the character model. I really like the how the camera swings back and forth and makes the game feel like you are truly playing out a skate video come to life; I just wish I had the option to pull back the camera at times. The camera is by no means a deal breaker, but I would like to see this worked on for the inevitable sequel.

Sound in the game is also pretty decent. I really like the way you can tell what kind of surface you are rolling on simply by the sound of your wheels. The soundtrack is also good and I’m glad to hear a few familiar tracks as opposed to an entire EA “new artist” soundtrack they seem to use in so many of their sports titles. In the end, the sound isn’t something you will be bragging to your friends about, but it does get the job done.

Now we come to the make it or break it category for any new game of this type: gameplay. This category was really hit and miss for me. I really like the thought of using the right stick and the ‘flick-it’ system they have created; I just wish it was more accurate. When you first start playing Skate you really get a good feel for the controls and you are pulling off rails, ollies, flip tricks, and grabs with ease. It isn’t until late in the game you realize how brutal the controls can be. When the game is letting you pick the tricks, it plays pretty decent. When suddenly the game is calling for you to pull of multiple advanced tricks, you realize how difficult the game can be. The problem comes from the fact that when you do an advanced trick, you flick in all the same directions as a normal trick, you just have to move the stick in smaller swings. Trying to precisely pull back the right stick and flick diagonally at just the right spot is very trying at times. Some will argue (I’m looking at you Rance) that it should be hard to do difficult tricks because they are hard in real life. The problem with that argument is that no video game is a truly accurate depiction of real life, so why should it be here? I know I can’t skate worth a shit in real life, and now I can’t skate in a virtual game either. Be prepared to find yourself spending one or more hours on some tricks just trying to find the correct way to pull off the requested trick. I have no problem spending that long learning a control scheme, but the problem is that I felt like I solved each of the challenges based more on getting lucky with the trick than actually learning how to pull off the trick.

Another problem I have with the gameplay is that it is just so basic. A lot of people say that the fun in this game comes from just skating around. To me, just skating around without a goal is about as much fun as playing a Pokemon game. I like to have goals and accomplishments. In Skate most of the goals come from trying to pull off tricks that the pros call out. The others are a skating contest where most points win, trying to reach a certain high score within a 60 second time limit, and playing a game of S.K.A.T.E. (think HORSE). Once you have discovered the 4-5 basic game modes, you know what you will be doing for the next 20-30 hours. I do give props to the game designers for letting the player pick where they want to start their 60 second film goals, but aside from that the gameplay is pretty limited. This is definitely another area I want to see further expanded upon in the sequel.

The final category is fun factor, and this is a category that was also hit and miss for me. For the first few hours of the game I was really having a blast. It took me a while to get used to the camera, but once I did get used to it, I was flying all over the city pulling off tricks. The first challenges were easy and I really felt myself making a lot of progress in the game. The thing is that once that initial awe wears off, the game starts to become more work than enjoyment. Like I said, I spent over an hour on some challenges just trying to pull off one trick. After all that time I didn’t feel like my skills grew. I feel like if the controls can be tightened, this game can really shine. As it stands right now, I found my first experiences with Tony Hawk on PS1 to really outshine my initial experiences with Skate. Although I am happy to hear that Skate is selling well because this is a game I want to see more of in the future.

Just to answer the question that I know everyone wants to ask, Skate is definitely a better experience than this year’s Tony Hawk Proving Ground. I will be bringing a full review of Tony Hawk in the coming week, but you already know what you are getting with that game. So when it comes time to decide what skating game to ask the parents or wife for this year, go with Skate which really is a breath of fresh air.

Overall:
Graphics 8.5
Sound 8
Gameplay 7
Funfactor 7.5
Overall: 78%

 

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Published:
10.23.07 / 9am
Category:
Reviews