Skate Review

By Luke Albiges Published 25 September, 2007

Down with the sickness.

Version tested: Xbox 360

The fact that the Tony Hawk series has been running for almost a decade now has really changed the world's perception of what an extreme sports game should be.

During that time, we've seen others try in vain to edge into the market, but somehow, even the best of these (like Aggressive Inline) failed to draw people away from the annual Hawkstravaganza. But now it's time for somebody (well, a company of somebodies) to step up and change the rules. Curiously, it falls to what many see as one of the most by-the-book publishers out there.

Whereas the Tony Hawk franchise churns out arcade games loosely based on skating, EA's latest shot at toppling the market leader is skating. With the likes of Fight Night, NHL and Def Jam, EA has tried to shoehorn analog control into a good deal of its output with varying degrees of success, but for the first time here, we find something that lends itself to the mechanic perfectly. Pulling down on the right stick makes your skater crouch down in preparation for an ollie, and then a swift flick upward sends you soaring. Altering the direction of your upstroke and adjusting your weight distribution on the board before you leap triggers the various flip tricks, with some of the more complex ones being a real challenge to master - just as they would be in real life, naturally. Chuck in the triggers for grabs and you've got the vert basics down, but with a little experimentation, there's a staggering amount of variety offered by this seemingly limiting move pool.

'Skate' Screenshot 1

Grinds and manuals are also handled extremely differently to Neversoft's series, and without a designated button for grinding it becomes all about the approach and your initial ollie. Also absent is any kind of balance meter, but as long as you still have momentum, you'll seldom bail out of a grind or manual unless you hit something.

Manualing is something of an art form, requiring delicate use of either up or down on the stick upon landing to come down on just two wheels, and then a steady hand to stay that way. Once again, this feels far closer to actually trying to balance on a real board, and with everything adhering to a believable physics system, any hope you may have had about grinding, manualing or even pushing uphill goes out the window. When you do finally manage to hit a rail in reverse, you'll feel the need to run off and find somebody to high-five. Going up a rail or hubba is so tricky that its one of the most satisfying things you can do in Skate.

In this aspect, Skate is so dangerously superior to Tony Hawk's that it makes you wonder why nobody made this game sooner. Even busting tricks across the simplest of gaps fills you with a sense of pride and power that none of Tony's 50-million point combos ever can. There are no new moves to learn or stat points to collect here, and all progression comes by way of your understanding of the game's mechanics improving, mastering controls to make getting around and getting noticed that much simpler. And once you start nailing more advanced moves and lines, you'll be oh-so-thankful for the integrated video editor tool that lets you record the last twenty seconds or so of your run. You can then edit it with various effects and camera angles, and upload it and share it with the world online.

'Skate' Screenshot 3

Already, the online side of things is bursting with creativity. It's not just about scoring huge amounts of points, but rather putting together impressive lines or coming up with things that nobody else has tried. And given the size of fictional city San Vanelona, finding sweet new spots to tear up and make your own shouldn't be too troublesome.

Split into several very different areas, Skate's environment is perfectly in keeping with the down-to-earth skating mechanics. Don't expect every building to taper out into a quarter-pipe at the bottom, as though the city was built with skaters in mind. This is a totally believable area and getting from one end of the map to the other without the handy ability to teleport around to various goals and subway stations will take you about ten minutes. It's massive. It's varied too, offering quiet suburbs, huge downhill runs and built-up city areas as well as designated skate parks and 'No-skate zones'. These are patrolled by security guards who will bowl you over and fine you if they manage to catch you.

Intrepid explorers will find all manner of secret spots tucked away behind buildings, but since you've no way of getting off your board, actually getting to these can sometimes be rather taxing. Stairs and gravity conspire against you to make reaching higher spots tough without good preparation, planning and execution but it's often worth your while to see what EA has tucked away in the furthest reaches of San Van.

'Skate' Screenshot 2

Like the Tony Hawk games, Skate does occasionally stumble by throwing annoying goals at you, although only the races really fall into this category - even then, only a couple are more than a minor nuisance. If you were looking to pick holes, you could question the game's difficulty, the lacklustre character customisation and, indeed, several of the tasks. But to do so would be to do Skate wrong, as while it does occasionally hit a bum note, it does so many things absolutely perfectly that it'd be criminal to dwell on shortcomings for too long.

As a first stab at something new, EA has landed one hell of a trick for the judges - and those of us who exist outside of this tenuous analogy - to enjoy while they await the arrival of one Mr Tony Hawk to see if the Birdman has finally had his wings clipped. The demo (which went up on Live recently) certainly doesn't wow in the same way that Skate does, making declaring this the definitive extreme sports experience somewhat easier for us. Punishingly difficult but ultimately rewarding, games of Skate's caliber are a rare breed and as far as first attempts go, it's been years since we saw one this accomplished. Just... sick, man.

9 / 10

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About Luke Albiges

Read more articles from Luke by visiting the Luke Albiges archive page.

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Comments (72) Latest comment 4 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • monkey_man #1 4 years ago

    This game rocks, and is a definite improvement over the Hawks series. Don't think I'll be going back to pressing triangle for a grind after this!

    Shame it's going to be overshadowed by that other game - y'know, the shiny one with the puppets and the guns, and some sort of circle.
    Edited by 1 at 25/09/07 @ 14:16

  • foamy #2 4 years ago

    Predictable :D

  • oupe #3 4 years ago

    I disagree. I've played both demos and THPS MCMXIIV both looked and played better.

  • syphaa #4 4 years ago

    The TH series has had its day, its dead and buried!
    Skate innovates in every way plausible for a game in this genre.

    Say goodbye to 1080 backflip to 6 x 360 flips over a building to a 2 mile manual.
    THIS is where skating games should be heading! And for this to be the first in the series...its a very polished game with regards to the mechanics.

    Hope you guys enjoy it as much as I will!
    Bring on the Friday release I say! Cant wait!

    Look out for Team Vintage!
    Edited by 2 at 25/09/07 @ 14:31

  • spongebob #5 4 years ago

    I can't wait to play this. This is Halo 3 for me :)

  • mikew1985 #6 4 years ago

    @ oef!

    That is simply not true, whatever your opinion about the gameplay, the graphics, physics and animation in skate are MUCH better. As wells as the ability to I don't know... actually skate like a real person...

  • w00t #7 4 years ago

    Too. Many. Games. To. Buy.

  • Scimarad #8 4 years ago

    Really enjoyed the PS3 demo, though I don't normally play games of this type.

  • boynash101 #9 4 years ago

    Not as good as Halo 3 then :-S
    I thought the demo was OK but very very hard.
    Back to the forge.........

  • IAmBatman #10 4 years ago

    > you could question the game's difficulty

    In that it's too hard, or too easy?

  • smoothpete #11 4 years ago

    Definite buy for me, the demo was really good fun. Is it out on friday?

  • afghan_jones #12 4 years ago

    its a good time to be a 360 gamer. the golden age is upon us.

    the sense of acheivement at pulling off a trick in this game is palpable, none of that leaping 600ft into the air, pulling off 20 tricks then grinding a half mile before going into a 10 minute manual trickfest. much more realistic.

    the new hawks demo had the cool nail the trick & nail the grab thing but it got a bit awkward as i found that rather disorientating.

  • Dixons #13 4 years ago

    Really enjoyed the demo. It's a far more realistic skateboarding experience than the TH games will ever hope to be. More about chilling out, practising your lines and immersing yourself in skate culture than flying about the place like Superman.

  • mikew1985 #14 4 years ago

    Yup its out on friday. cannot wait.

  • Monkey_Puncher #15 4 years ago

    I had my doubts about how much fun a realistic skateboarding game would be, must admit though the demo really impressed me. Tony Hawks demo on the other hand was deleted from my harddrive very quickly, just felt like the same tired old franchise with a few new moves and some really shoddy glitchy graphics.

  • thepiedpiper #16 4 years ago

    it sounds good. although, 9/10's are becoming like hot dinners around these parts....not that it's bad thing per say, except for my wallet!

    now...where's the fifa 08 review? i need to know whether it's worth getting or waiting for pro evo...

  • JohnnyWashnGo #17 4 years ago

    Seen vids of this online, it looks really nice.

    A 9/10 must mean it plays as good as it looks :)

  • Spydez #18 4 years ago

    As a Skater, I can testify (from countless plays of the demo) that skate really delivers a true feeling of skateboarding. The satisfaction of nailing real life tricks is far superior to the unrealistic approach of the Hawks series!

    Even from playing the demo, this is a must buy for me and I'm glad that the review backed this up.

  • Madafunkola #19 4 years ago

    Argh!!! I'd only just decided to get Halo 3 and now this review pops up...
    Oh the decisions.
    All I know is I have to trade Heavenly Sword before it drops in value like a Northern Rock share.

  • hypernova #20 4 years ago

    Excellent, can't wait.

  • [maven] #21 4 years ago

    Any impressions / recommendations on the 360 vs. PS3 version?

    /stirs pot

  • MasterGrief #22 4 years ago

    A good EA game ???

    /Head explodes

  • Steroyd #23 4 years ago

    ah the EA syndrome create an awesome original game then milk that bitch till I hate it.

    I'm not a fan of EA's obssesion with the trick stick, but it works. *mumble*

  • Arkanite #24 4 years ago

    Whaaa? EA releasing a game that scores a 9??

  • Eraysor #25 4 years ago

    1. Aggressive Inline was brilliant, and was miles ahead of the Hawk series for its time. Easily the best freebie I've had bundled with a console ever.
    2. Skate also destroys the Hawk series.

  • neuroniky #26 4 years ago

    Mine! I think I'll be getting this instead of Halo since I'm still single player only (damn my 56k)...

  • kangarootoo #27 4 years ago

    I didn't get on with the demo, because I sucked ass at it.

    I'll have to go back to it though, as so many things about this game really appeal to me. A bit of perceverance may stick a big smile on my face.

    Now if someone can only apply the same back-to-basic ideals to a snowboarding game (Amped 3 went the wrong way for me personally), I would be as happy as a puppy with a stick.

  • kangarootoo #28 4 years ago

    @[maven]

    The PS3 version uses sixaxis tilting type stuff for moving your body weight around.

    Good use of the sixaxis has been mixed so far I think. Nothing to do with the controller itself, which is sound as a pound, but the way some devs have been applying and tuning the function has been mixed to say the least.

    EA seem to have done a good job with this, so I would expect them to do the same with the sixaxis input on the PS3 version. I'm holding out for a PS3 demo before I start thinking about a purchase.

  • Peew971 #29 4 years ago

    Didn't need the review, I was sold on the demo. But I'm glad to see it got high marks. It's not good being a 360 owner these days, it's damn expensive.

  • Pac-man-ate-my-wife #30 4 years ago

    Do people really think EA is that bad? This is the company that's the publisher of Battlefield Series, Half Life 2, Burnout, Fight Night, Tiger Woods, Rugby, FIFA, The Sims, Madden, SSX, Crysis.

    Compared to most other companies that's an enviable slate of quality titles.

  • potatoes #31 4 years ago

    kangarootoo

    there is a skate demo on the US PSN, if you know what im getting at...

    ..ahem...

    try the US yellow pages if you need an address...

  • step #32 4 years ago

    With people mentioning the lack of realism in the THPS series, what does it matter, really? It's a videogame at the end of the day, Skate goes about things differently but it doesn't make one right and the other wrong. THPS has been somewhat run into the ground with the perceived need to tack often pointless features on in order to show some sort of "improvement" each time, but unfortunately that's just how things are these days.

  • Wobble #33 4 years ago

    yay!! I can't wait for this to be delivered... C'mon Play...!
    Edited by 1 at 25/09/07 @ 15:28

  • sharky_ob #34 4 years ago

    boynash - "Not as good as Halo 3 then :-S"

    MASSIVE TWAT

  • Pac-man-ate-my-wife #35 4 years ago

    With people mentioning the lack of realism in the THPS series, what does it matter, really? It's a videogame at the end of the day, Skate goes about things differently but it doesn't make one right and the other wrong. THPS has been somewhat run into the ground with the perceived need to tack often pointless features on in order to show some sort of "improvement" each time, but unfortunately that's just how things are these days.

    Well, originally, TH was much closer to real skating that what it's become and it's stagnated. Considering it's peak is generally considered to be THPS3, it's telling that there's been 5 home console games since and none of which have captured what made the early versions special.

    It appears, to me at least, that Skate succeeds in taking things back to basics, rather than trying to shoe-in unnecessary 'improvements'.

    At the end of the day it's horses for courses, but to this horse Skate seems to have nailed it.

  • RichGL #36 4 years ago

    DAmmit why no comical captions for the images?

  • Cheapshot #37 4 years ago

    The skateboarding game I've always wanted... and it's from EA! 0_o

  • Dr.Mott #38 4 years ago

    Love the Disturbed reference in the strapline. :)

  • smelly #39 4 years ago

    YAY!!!!

    I *loved* the demo.. will be getting this over wanky halo any day of the week...

  • jonsaan #40 4 years ago

    I found it a bit 'vanilla'. I kind of like the unreality of Tony Hawks. I mean, I am shit at skateboarding in real life. It's nice to do crazy, unreal stuff in a game.

  • monkie_king #41 4 years ago

    @zerolight: are the sixaxis sticks still as godawful as the dual shock 2 ones then? I never understood why Sony never got around to sorting them out, tbh.

  • andrewwd #42 4 years ago

    The Tony Hawk's series has passed up so many opportunities to ditch all the stupid gimmickry I wont be sad to see EA steal the 'skating game' crown. The TH latest demo just showed how off the mark they are: "do you want to be a rigger, a hardcore skater or a pro?"... it's just full of absolute nonsense.

    I thought the skate demo on the other hand was excellent.

  • Dixons #43 4 years ago

    Nature of the beast though isn't it? It's not real life, it's a videogame. There are bound to be some anomalies here and there. Like in Forza where you can't total a car or get much height even if you hit the crest of a hill at high speed. I think it's a case of Skate feeling far more real than the TH games even if it's not actually 100% real itself.

  • mikew1985 #44 4 years ago

    @ Manic

    The difference with Skate is that you can actually skate realistically and get a feeling of accomplishment. In THPS you simply cannot do this.

    Want to throw down a kicflip back tail to fakie in skate? you can, but it is a challenge and you will be rewarded.

    Want to throw down a kickflip backtail to fakie in THPS... you can but its not an accomplishment, is incredibily easy(unlike in real life) doesnt feel good and is not rewarding in any way.

    For every Video of some dork pushing mongo and doing double backflips there is one of some one bombing a hill and f/s flipping a stair set. There are guys like Mazzdizzy, Zimbelbop and many more making quality realistic videos. The fact is there is a choice here that is simply not present in THPS. That is all...

  • Eighthours #45 4 years ago

    Brilliant game.

    But the person who was responsible for scheduling Skate's release up against Halo 3 and EA's own biggest franchise in Europe (FIFA) should be shot. He's effectively killed its chances at retail, which is a crime.

    Why couldn't it be released a couple of weeks ago, at the same time as it made its Stateside bow? Or, failing that, why not delay it a week or even until the PS3 version is ready in the middle of October?

    Seriously stupidly short-sighted.
    Edited by 1 at 25/09/07 @ 17:15

  • richardiox #46 4 years ago

    @Egster - have you played the full game then and can confidently say it isnt best of the best? Or do you say that as most of these recent 9+ scores have been for the 360 rather than your own chosen format?

  • Caimbeul #47 4 years ago

    Having played both demos I enjoyed both, TH being a bit more of the sme but a bit more complicated. Skate was good but even after an hour i kept finding myself instinctively trying to do tricks using the TH control method and seriously injuring my virtual sk8er boi in the process.

    I guess thats what years of playing a similar game does to you.

  • Caimbeul #48 4 years ago

    "A 9!!!


    Really EG what is with you guys lately. Where are the critical reviews where games need to at least be the best of the best to receive a 9 or 10. You guys are giving them away like too easily."

    - maybe there are just a stream of great games comming out at the moment on all formats?
    Edited by 1 at 25/09/07 @ 17:57

  • smelly #49 4 years ago

    >You guys are giving them away like too easily

    But if they didnt, the fanboys would moan saying they're "anti" one console or another

  • Dixons #50 4 years ago

    Well said richardiox. Is he honestly suggesting that high scores should be rationed out? Maybe some sort of Bell Curve applied??

  • Ajin #51 4 years ago

    I personally have to disagree with the people who say the Hawk's games are dead. Project 8 was a good step in the right direction for the series after the Underground games bent the rules of the series perhaps a little too far. Proving Ground has just taken all the elements that I like about Project 8 (Nail The Trick mostly) and added even more stuff to help build on it. Rigging is fantastic, adding ramps, and rails to other objects to help bridge a gap, and increase your score potential is really well done, and easy to use, and Nail-The-Grab really works well with the previous Nail-The-Trick too. Just holding LT when in slow-motion, and tweaking the board with both sticks feels effortless, and it really does increase the scope for high scores. Seeing demos of stuff like the Skate Lounge which allows you to build your own skatepark, and a place to hang around with your friends online is another interesting addition. I liked the Skate demo as well, so both of them are on my shopping list. I may just get TH:pG first though. Looks like it has just that little more variety, and things to do, to warrant the full price-tag.

  • secombe #52 4 years ago

    If the Wii could have a version that would be lovely...

    1) Use of the Wii Fi board
    2) Inferior graphics, obviously

    Good to go!

  • andromeda #53 4 years ago

    THis is also my halo 3.

    great review spot on.

    thsi months £35 is spoken for :)

  • DonnieDarko333 #54 4 years ago

    Looks brilliant! Although i'll be getting Tony Hawks: Proving Ground as well...purely becuase it's like a yearly ritual for me! :)

  • Guv #55 4 years ago

    Argh! You're gonna bankrupt me you bastids!

    Getting Eternal Sonata, Assasins Creed, Mass effect and I'm ashamed to say, Halo 3 (but costing me 15£ so not that big of a deal). I don't usually go for skating games but this was pretty decent.

  • weeno #56 4 years ago

    damn, there are so many games I want at the moment, not to mention those coming out in the next 2 months! The demo was awesome so I will definitely be picking this up, only question is when....

  • Danoxth #57 4 years ago

    Not owned a skating game in years so could be the perfect time for me to get back into it :)

  • Davinnicus #58 4 years ago

    So have they fixed the camera angle from the demo, 'cause half the time you couldn't line up a grind due to the view being too low. Not entirely sure I like the controls on the stick either.

  • Tomo #59 4 years ago

    The demo is absolutely fantastic.

    Insta-buy for me.

  • spindizzy #60 4 years ago

    Loved the demo ... but please, please, PLEASE can someone make a "realistic" snowboarding game based around the same sort of mechanics? SSX is just (enjoyable) nonsense - I want something more towards a sim.

  • smelly #61 4 years ago

    This game everyone should get.. now.

  • Santino #62 4 years ago

    ive played tony hawk games for like 8 years, but after around 10 hours of the skate demo now i just cant go back to buttons, it was the same deal with fight night and its stick control, it just clicks with me. the demo is all sorts of awesome, and if anybody doesn't get it straight away i suggest a little patience, it took me a good few goes to recondition myself out of all the years of TH control system. Now that i have it is so very rewarding nailing tricks.

  • tinners #63 4 years ago

    erm i know there good but no mention of the gfx in the review?

    oh well *sold!*

  • smelly #64 4 years ago

    >erm i know there good but no mention of the gfx in the review?

    Like that matters how? Look at screenshots.. IMHO graphics in reviews should only be mentioned if they're spectacularly good or spectacularly bad. Same as special effects in movie reviews.

  • Talha #65 4 years ago

    I have a feeling EA is going to garner unexpected critical acclaim this holiday season and this is just the first drop (things look promising for Crysis, FIFA 08, NFS Pro Street, Burnout Paradise, SimCity Soceities). Whatever anyone thinks, they are clearly not sitting on their thumbs.

    And by the way, starting with BioShock, I don't think I have ever seen so many high scoring games and so short a span of time. It does look like this will be the banner year for gaming.

  • 3william56 #66 4 years ago

    spindizzy - this is EA we're talking about - most environmentally friendly games company there is. Won't be long before they'll recycle this game engine for a snowboard game. Which actually sounds great, to me.

  • oerhoert #67 4 years ago

    The problem with the TH series has never been the arcade direction they've taken it in -- rather, the arcadeyness of it is exactly what makes it brilliant (at least as far as the core gameplay engine is concerned).

    Skate may be equally brilliant in completely different ways, but that doesn't invalidate TH's approach.

    *frustrated at all the moronic comments about realism being inherently better than gameyness*

  • Genji #68 4 years ago

    When my skater does a faceplant into the side of a brick wall, I want him to not get up again. When he slips on a railing and smashes his nuts, I want to see him doubled over in agonising pain.

    Now *that's* realism.

    /is pretty sick

  • Daymare #69 4 years ago

    *frustrated at all the moronic comments about realism being inherently better than gameyness*

    Agreed. Some people are probably a little bored by now with TH series - I presume that's why a fresh approach sounds and feels "better". I, of course, could be completely wrong, since I haven't played Skate (demo) nor TH games. Ever:)
    Edited by 1 at 26/09/07 @ 09:33

  • kangarootoo #70 4 years ago

    @spindizzy

    +1

  • riz23 #71 4 years ago

    Full game is even better than the demo. A really big environment that rewards exploration. It really does feel like skating. Some big hills that give you a genuine sensation of speed, and the feeling when you nail a 'realistic' line is palpable. Awesome stuff.

  • Les #72 4 years ago

    "Any impressions / recommendations on the 360 vs. PS3 version?"

    According to CVG: "The PS3 version, arguably, is a little rougher round the edges than the Xbox game, with some minor slowdown and glitches, though the texturing and detail is richer. Both versions have identical features, however, with exemplary animation, so the difference really is negligible."