Review 

Skate 2
Xbox 360
By Coxster

I spend a lot of time over at the Australian gamer forums and we were all discussing how good skate 2 is.  As we were discussing this I asked if anyone knew when the next Tony Hawk game was going to be released. Miracle (forum handle) informed me that the Tony Hawk games had been dropped from the Activision roster and that long time developer Neversoft would no longer be making them.  I have to say that I was so shocked at how quickly the Tony Hawk franchise was dropped, but I’m not surprised when you look at its competition – skate 2.

The first skate was a breath of fresh air as far as skateboarding videogames go.  For a long time the Tony Hawk games were starting to wear out their welcome, obviously complacent in a market that garnered little competition.  That all changed as soon as skate came along.  Not only did it treat the sport with some maturity and realism, it controlled remarkably well and happened to look fantastic. The sequel is no different and improves upon the groundwork laid down by the first one.

The game starts with you getting out of prison, a poor excuse for being able to create your skater – both male and female – that you’ll be using for this epic skate adventure.  If you’re a veteran o f original you’ll immediately be familiar with the setup offered here.  The moves, tricks and controls are just like in the first one except there are some improvements.  Now you can actually get off your board and although it feels a tad clunky you can run around and get to spots that would be tricky to get to with your feet planted on the board the entire time.  Another cool new feature is that you can move objects to create your own jumps and drops and if you’re looking for a way to make the perfect line for maximum multiplier points, this feature will appeal to you most.  It actually goes a long way changing the way you interact with the environment.  Instead of it being a static landscape you can skate on, you can actually set about creating your own experience.  Not too shabby EA!

I have to tell you though, that if this is your first time playing a skate game, skate comes with a hefty learning curve that is going to change the way that you play this type of game.  Skate 2 continues to set high standards with both the camera and controls.  The camera sits in a nice ‘roadie run’ position and since it comes with the fish eye effect it really feels like you’re watching a skating video. I did notice that the camera can get stuck, especially when you’re doing a lot of vert skating, but overall it’s pretty rock solid.

The sense of speed is also well represented but getting off your board feels a little rough around the edges.  I can see that this is only a means to an end as getting to every place in the city is impossible on your board, but it is merely functional and lacks the cosmetic flair that the rest of the game holds, making this feature stick out like a sore thumb.  For what it was included to do though, it functions well. There are a heap of new tricks this time around, for the first time you can do handplants, no complies (something I used to be quite good at when I was about 15…not so much now) and other assorted grabs that were omitted in the first game.  All of the moves are still delegated to the right analogue stick which functions perfectly.  For some reason when you flick the stick to pull off a trick, it feels natural and quite easy to do.  While it is easy to control, mastering the moves is another thing altogether as skate can be just as frustrating as it can be rewarding. One moment I was pulling off perfect lines, jumping over areas and drops with the greatest of ease, and then the next I was swearing at the screen as I couldn’t master one small move.  The sense of satisfaction you get when you finally do master those moves is one of the reasons I love playing videogames so damn much.

One of the most innovatively fun additions is the Thrasher Hall of Meat mode.  You can deliberately bail at anytime and foolishly pose as you do so.  Nothing is funnier than doing a ridiculous jump only to push away from your board and strike a pose before landing on your face as your body slams into a concrete wall.  You can get points that accumulate depending on how badly you hurt yourself and don’t be fooled; this is some of the best fun you can have in the game.  A skating game that rewards you for playing well, and then, rewards you for playing badly on purpose? Sign me up!

A problem I had with this game was that the first one was heavy on making the player explore the city and the different locations.  It became quite addictive to search every corner of the map looking for new locations and spots to tear up.  While you can still do that here, there is a new system that will have you teleporting around the map trying to complete tasks one after the other.  That might appeal to players who don’t have a lot of time or patience but it can really shorten the lifespan of the game plus hurt your chances to pick up your skills as you skate around the city.

Maybe it’s just me but I almost felt like NPC’s in the game were throw back voice over actors for 1990 TMNT.  The first one didn’t go too far over the top with the DUDE!speek and this one feels little try hard in places.  Don’t let that distract you from the skating action though.  All gimmicks aside, the action is fast and fluid and damn near perfect in my books.  The graphics are bloody gorgeous as well.  Minus one or two textures and some of the cars look like they are from a PS3 game, but the city and the character models look amazing!  The locations are varied and then there are so many tricks and potential spots to find and master that this is pretty much the only skating game you’ll need for the next twelve months.  I didn’t delve too deeply into the multiplayer modes because every time I tried the EA servers wouldn’t connect.  I have no idea why but on other EA games I have no problem whatsoever. I guess it’s probably a problem that needs to be patch or something but the moments when I did get in there, like the first one, it delivers a fantastic experience to cruise around with your mates and skate together.  There really is nothing like it.  You can set up your own lines and see who can nail them the best, make your own challenges, hell you can even see who does the most gruesome bail.   This is what the first skate delivers and its sequel doesn’t disappoint.

Overall:

Even if you’re not into skating, I can’t help but recommend skate 2 to you.  It’s just about perfect and even it’s shortcomings don’t let it down all that much.  There are some grating characters and the voice actor work isn’t that good but everything from the gameplay to the graphics to controls all feel wonderfully done.  There is a huge chunk of game here and it’s going to take you a while to get through everything, but even when you do you can just skate and skate and skate…and that is ultimately what it’s all about.  More than a game, this one actually delivers an experience.

(EDIT: I recently heard that EA has dropped Black Box, the developers of skate.  First Tony Hawk and now skate?  What are we going to do now?)

 Have you played this game? Why not submit your own review on Arcade Horror here?

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