Skate (Xbox360)
- Publisher:
- Electronic Arts
- Developer:
- EA Black Box
- Release Date:
- 11.09.2007
- Number of players:
- n/a
- Type:
- Skateboarding
- Sport Style:
- No Contact
- Sport:
- Extreme Sports
- Extra:
- Streets
10 movies
Skate Preview
Skate. That’s the name of the game. EA’s attempt to crush the Tony Hawk series, and from the looks of it, they’re off to a good start. Sure, there’s no fancy name associated with the title, but the simple matter-of-fact period is simple enough to appreciate.
So what is there to look forward to, one could ask. Because realistically, skateboarding games haven’t been at the top of the food chain lately, and for good reason. Ever since Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2, nothing’s really been able to push the genre any farther. For the 360 rendition of Skate, EA does a number of things.
First of which is the control scheme. Anyone familiar with Tony Hawk controls knows that they’re pretty simple. One button for this kind of flip, another for a grab, etc. Skate doesn’t do that. It reverses them, in fact. The right analog stick is how tricks are performed while the face buttons work acceleration. The left stick is camera movement and the two triggers are grabs.
That’s all the controls. It takes a few minutes to get used to, but it actually is very easy to use. The fact that pushing off, braking and accelerating is all done on one side or another means that to play, only three buttons and the two sticks are required.
What took the most effort was using the trick stick. The right analog stick does everything, from ollies to kickflips to any other non-grab trick you can think of. Want to manual? Just hold the trick stick slightly up or down. Ollie? Hold it down and flick it up, and the reverse for a nollie.
Then there’s the replay editor, which we’ve been hearing quite a bit about recently. Using the 360 controller for video editing does take a bit of getting used to, but it’s intuitive and easy to use. With different camera angles, effects, and speed settings, recorded footage won’t just be junk. How exactly it will be used is still in question.
Skate looks like a ton of fun. It has so far had plenty of replay value after the level’s ‘missions’ were complete, just to skate around and get high points. Sure, the graphics aren’t superb, but they’re nothing to laugh about. The only shocking development is how not fun it is to watch failed tricks because of the body physics. Even then, the point isn’t to scrape knees. It’s to impress with thousand-point tricks.
So what is there to look forward to, one could ask. Because realistically, skateboarding games haven’t been at the top of the food chain lately, and for good reason. Ever since Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2, nothing’s really been able to push the genre any farther. For the 360 rendition of Skate, EA does a number of things.
First of which is the control scheme. Anyone familiar with Tony Hawk controls knows that they’re pretty simple. One button for this kind of flip, another for a grab, etc. Skate doesn’t do that. It reverses them, in fact. The right analog stick is how tricks are performed while the face buttons work acceleration. The left stick is camera movement and the two triggers are grabs.
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That’s all the controls. It takes a few minutes to get used to, but it actually is very easy to use. The fact that pushing off, braking and accelerating is all done on one side or another means that to play, only three buttons and the two sticks are required.
What took the most effort was using the trick stick. The right analog stick does everything, from ollies to kickflips to any other non-grab trick you can think of. Want to manual? Just hold the trick stick slightly up or down. Ollie? Hold it down and flick it up, and the reverse for a nollie.
Then there’s the replay editor, which we’ve been hearing quite a bit about recently. Using the 360 controller for video editing does take a bit of getting used to, but it’s intuitive and easy to use. With different camera angles, effects, and speed settings, recorded footage won’t just be junk. How exactly it will be used is still in question.
Skate looks like a ton of fun. It has so far had plenty of replay value after the level’s ‘missions’ were complete, just to skate around and get high points. Sure, the graphics aren’t superb, but they’re nothing to laugh about. The only shocking development is how not fun it is to watch failed tricks because of the body physics. Even then, the point isn’t to scrape knees. It’s to impress with thousand-point tricks.
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Gameplay Trailer #2
Posted 17.05.07
Length 01:11 Views 390 -
PJ Ladd Trailer
Posted 05.12.06
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Trailer
Posted 07.11.06
Length 00:56 Views 327
