Assemble you’re crew and start tearing up the streets of San Vanelona
Format: PS3, Xbox 360 (version played) Dev: EA Black Box Pub: EA Out: 14/05/10 Players: 1, 2-6 online
I’ll admit that it’s been a while since I’ve played a skating game. The release of the original Skate was past the time when a skating game registered on my radar. Sure I’d heard about how it was meant to be better than Tony Hawk’s, more realistic and the like, but my focus had long since shifted to other genres. I’ve still enjoyed the odd session of one Tony Hawk’s game or another when nostalgia struck, So approaching Skate 3 I was admittedly a little out of my depth.
I was never any good at real skating. I took it up for a month or two with a cheap board from a supermarket, but gave up when I realised I couldn’t even perform the most basic of tricks, the ollie, and didn’t have a real inclination to learn. Luckily the ollie is a trick that you will learn pretty quickly on Skate 3. Move the right stick down and then flick it up again. Perhaps not as easy as Tony Hawk’s, but definitely more intuitive. The Skate series is definitely one that tries to bring the level of finesse and skill needed for skateboarding into games, rather than the more arcade-like offerings of the Tony Hawk games. The moves can be tricky to pick up but once you start to get a mastery over them it feels rewarding.
Changes to the single-player are mostly incremental. The main new feature is undeniably the expanded multiplayer that allows players to team up. You can team up with other players online and play the game co-operatively, completing the challenges as a skating team. There are greater controls with the editing software: create parks with an open canvass, design custom logos with greater design tools and create footage with an expanded Skate.Reel. Oh, and there’s obviously a bucket-load of new tricks for you to land.
Skate 3 is a game that offers a lot to fans of the genre, whether you like customising your experience or just grinding a kerb. Players that have been playing the series for a while may struggle to find much new to the game however. If EA start to annualise the franchise it may not be long before Skate shares the same fate as Tony Hawk’s.
Adam Dixon
Tags: ea, skate, skateboarding, Sports
