For the last 8 years, Tony Hawk has been the only name in the video skateboarding game. Arcade-style gameplay taking the basics from real skateboarding but to an extreme level was the start of the formula, which has been refined over the years and generally improved upon(with the unfortunate exceptions of THUG2 and Project 8, which left a lot to be desired).
Now EA sports has made an entry, and rather than compete to top Tony Hawk, they’ve chosen to take a new, hardcore simulation route. Some major innovations are present, but they’re not without their share of major problems.
skate.(yes, that’s how EA chooses to spell it) focuses on the career. Completing challenges like photoshoots, races, and competitions opens up bigger and better venues. With some time and practice, players go from skating a small park to the X Games and beyond, or will, eventually, if they don’t throw the game out the window for the ridiculous difficulty cliff. This is no curve, this is a 88 degree incline that should come with climbing equipment and a bungee cord for the controllers that will inevitably be hurled at certain points of the game.
So what makes skate. skate.? Aside from the punctuational clusterfuck it causes, the control is focused on the analog sticks to trick, using a gesture system. Unfortunately, when it comes to intermediate, let alone advanced tricks, the arcane symbols one’s thumb must produce can be more difficult to achieve than Black and White’s most complex “Fuck you creature, stop eating my worshippers” command ever was. While every trick is, in theory, unlocked from the very start of the game, doing anything beyond a pop shove-it isn’t likely to happen intentionally for some time. Even a proper ollie at speed can be a challenge, often resulting in leaving the ground by three inches or launching eight feet into the air with no apparent reason what made the difference.
skate. is entirely reliant on planning ahead. Kick to build up speed, crouch and prepare the ollie, then launch into the air and pump for extra height off pipes, carefully flick the right stick and use the left stick for any body movement, and, hopefully, land. That isn’t so bad, usually. The problem is that it’s INCREDIBLY easy to bail before you even start a trick. Many goals are in areas full of pedestrians, and a slight bump will kill your speed or knock you right off the board, as well as knock the pedestrian over, leaving them in the way when you try to line up again for a trick. Not just that, but any little upward change in height will hurl you away from the board. Street curbs are vicious foes which MUST be manually ollied over, and often that attempt will end up in a grind. Which itself can lead right to a bail if you didn’t ollie high enough due to not having prepared long enough, hit the stick fast enough, or just coming on too straight when you didn’t intend to grind at all. All the bailing that will be done, and it is an exceptional amount, can turn incredibly frustrating, especially when there’s no apparent reason for it. skate. has a long way to go for user friendliness, helping players over small obstacles rather than expecting them to have ESP in order to do anything other than faceplant.
Despite the frustrations, competitions are a lot of fun. They’re hectic and among the few times the game feels truly improvised, as the vast majority of goals are pre-planned to a good extent. Most of the time, players are racing other skaters in what’s called Deathracing. Sadly, it’s nowhere near as exciting as Futurama’s Deathrolling. It’s an exercise in repetition, memorizing the course and going as fast as possible through it. Unfortunately when everyone basically moves at the same speed and it’s hard enough to just stay on the board, the event doesn’t work. Other common goals are photo or video shoots. Photo shoots have a specific place you go to, pull off a trick or two with given conditions(certain tricks, scores, objects, etc.), and move on. They’re usually in high traffic areas or simply hard to reach spots, further adding to the frustration of what should be a simple trick. Video shoots are certain conditions and goals, but the player picks the spot and has a certain amount of time to achieve them in. It’s an idea that sounds good, but too many goals need very specific locations to pull off.
Unfortunately, skate.’s control is just too unwieldy most of the time. Complex inputs combined with precarious balance don’t mix well for many complex tricks, especially anything with a grab or rotation. If it has both, be prepared to suffer. The analog control is a great idea, but it’s too loose still, and too random for most thumbs. That, combined with the difficulty of simply moving forward without falling, is enough to cause many to quit the game prematurely. On top of that, akward camera angles(a very low camera placed close to the board and off to either side) really cause trouble when it comes to judging distances and positioning relative to objects.
The game’s presentation outdoes the actual skating by far, despite the camera complaints. Though textures can look a bit blurred at times, most of the world is crisp and clear, and skaters(both original and pro) are easily recognized. The settings are great, with a real feel for each neighborhood being present. Boards look great and well worn in some cases, as they should. The audio is up to snuff as well, featuring, I can’t believe I’m saying this, good music from EA Trax. Really. It’s good. That’s not a joke. Besides the music, which isn’t heard terribly often by default, the sound of the boards and impacts resulting from failing at there use excels. The rough rumble of rolling over concrete, squeaks and scrapes as wheels slide against hard surfaces, and meaty thuds help to immerse the player in the fictional city of San Velona.
Of course, audio and video don’t make up for bad gameplay, and there’s just too much of it in skate., despite the potential that’s there. In the end, it just isn’t fun. It’s slow, overly deliberate, and frustrating as hell. The game desperately needs fine tuning and a coat of polish despite the best of intentions, and as much as Tony Hawk can learn from it, it can learn from Hawk in terms of accessibility. Specifically, seriously, stop making me bail from the slightest things. I know in reality a curb can throw you, but this isn’t reality. Reality isn’t always fun.
skate. gets 3 out of 5 canes. It’s not bad, but it’s not good. Hardcore sim gamers can find a lot to love here, arcade gamers can find a lot to loathe.
