Game Name - skate.
Developer - EA Black Box
Genre - Skateboarding Sports
Rating - T
Release Date - September 14th, 2007
Platerforms - Xbox 360, Playstation 3
Game Overview
EA's "skate." is based around a skateboarder you create yourself. What makes the game great is the fact that tricks, or even ollies are not performed with buttons, but with the right thumbstick. Holding the thumbstick down, then flicking it up with pop an ollie. Flick it up faster to get more air. Flick down then up toward the toe side of your board with do a heelflip since your heel slides off in that direction. Each thumbstick manuver simulates how you would do it in real life. The game sticks to realism by having ragdoll physics, no insane impossible stunts, and accurate tricks. Grind by simply landing on a rail or ledge. Depending on the way you twist your legs before landing is how you will grind.
The basic point of the game is to well... skate! Your goals are to get photo shoots, and to beat challenges for 2 magazine companies. You gain publicity as you complete challenges. These challenges include making skate videos, photo shoots, S-K-A-T-E challenges (Like H-O-R-S-E), skate jams and best trick competitions, and death races (high speed downhill races). When your publicity bar fills up, you get a new magazine shoot where you get put into a progressively more important page of a skate magazine (eventually the cover of both). Challenges reward money which you can use to buy new clothes, decks, trucks, wheels, and shoes. Eventually after you comeplete both magazines, you get an invitation the the X-Games, and you can compete in both Vert and Street competitions. After this, all that is left to do is finish all the challenges you never got a chance to do before.
After getting certain amounts of publicity, you get offered sponsership deals. You can get a skateboard, wheel, shoe, and truck sponsers. When sponsered by one of the many companies available, every item available by that company in skate shops are free for you to buy. Also, if you use your sponser's equipment during competitions, you gain cash bonuses from the companies for giving them publicity.
Aside from those challenges, there are skate "spots" that you can own. Pretty much they are useful skate areas, which you can own by finishing a challenge on the spot. Once you own a spot, you can then fast travel to it using your map.
Lastly, one thing that makes this game shine is it's video editing. Every last 30 seconds of your skating is always on record. You can then pause and go to edit film. You can cut it up into segments, slo-mo some segments, change camera angle, and add camera filters for special effects. Then you can save them and make your own little skate movies.
1.
Audio - 8
The sound effects in this game are great. It makes you feel like you are really skateboarding. From the pop of an ollie, to the spinning of the board, rolling wheels, grinding noises, and even amient background noise, it sounds and feels real. The only downside to this game is the soundtrack is lacking. Your best off just playing with the music set to off.
2.
Graphics - 10
Graphics in this game are superb. The lighting effects make it look amazing and the textures are great. As you grind, your board graphic chips and scratches, to a point of where it becomes un-reconizeable. And it will never reset unless you buy a new board. Rolling around in grass or dirty areas will eventually put a line of dirt going around your wheels.
3.
Controls - 10
The contrals are tight. Period. The handling is spot on, and the unique control and button scheme, although different, and may take about 5 minutes of getting used to, feels very comfortable.
4.
Content - 9
There is a lot to do in this game. And if you are going to beat all the challenges it is going to take a long time. But on the downside, it can get repetative. All of the challenges are the same, with increased point requirements.
5.
Replayability - 6
The game has mior replay value. After you beat it once, there is no reason at all to beat it again. Nothing new, nothing unlocked, all the same challenges. Only replay value here is when you get bored and just feel like skating in freeskate, or making movies.
6.
Multiplayer - 7
Nothing great here. It has xbox live, but it is lacking. Live is pretty much the same exact thing as freeskate, or the single player challenges, just with other people. Not too much fun usually. But it can be fun playing in freeskate with friends.
7.
Customization - 10
Besides the whole fact that everything about your character is customizeable, the sponserships are also great and unique. You choose which sponser you want for each piece of equipment (I went with Zero skateboards, Spitfire wheels, Independent trucks, and Etnies shoes). And there are many different pieces of equipement going from trucks to wheels to decks.
8.
Getting Into It - 9
The game is easy to get into and can get addicting at times. The only downside is if you have been playing Tony Hawk for the past 10 years, getting used to the controls for the game can be a little challenging.
9.
Innovation - 10
The game puts realism back into skateboarding. Everything about it is real. Its all new to skateboarding games, since all other skateing games are just fantasy skateing games with no gravity.
10.
Options - 8
Not many choices. You got singleplayer, you got freeskate (which is the EXACT same thing as singleplayer, without goals, which by the way are optional in SP), and you got a lacking multiplayer.
OVERALL SCORE
8.7 out of
10.
Final Comment
skate. is a fun game for anyone who is a fan of skateboarding. If you like realism in your games, this one is a breath of fresh air to the genre. I would definately recommend you pick this game up if your crazy about skateboarding, or at least rent it if your not. Always worth a try.
Møk3
