The current market
The Tony Hawks Skateboarding games have up until now been the only skate games on the market. So when EA announced they would be releasing there own skateboarding game with a completely redesigned control system, the hype was incredible. Skateboarders worldwide had never ... Read review
Your Lines, Your Style.Flickit Control: The True Feel Of Skating:Skate how you want. With ... more
Flickit controls, it's just like being on a board.Create Your Skate. Reel:Without footage, it's fiction. Skate.Reel lets you capture your moves, create videos and...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: Out of stock
Lapjacks are high quality self adhesive skins that enable you to personalise and protect ... more
any one of hundreds of products. Lapjacks are the skin of choice for companies from the BBC to Toshiba and now you can choose from thousands of designs or create o...
Postage & Packaging: £2.95 Availability: Usually dispatched within 6-10 business days...
Players make their way to New San Vanelona in this sequel to the back-to-basics skating ... more
title from EA.The original Skate was a breath of fresh air for skating titles, bringing players back to the more natural, down-to-earth style of real-world skating....
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: Out of stock
It's been five long years since your mysterious disappearance from the skate scene, and ... more
much has changed in the wake of "the disaster-too-gnarly-to-be-named." The massive devastation left large swaths of San Vanelona completely destroyed. After the ...
Postage & Packaging: free Super Saver Delivery Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
It's been five long years since your mysterious disappearance from the skate scene, and ... more
much has changed in the wake of "the disaster-too-gnarly-to-be-named." The massive devastation left large swaths of San Vanelona completely destroyed. After the ...
Postage & Packaging: £1.94 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Advantages: Refreshing, innovative "flickit" controls, sense of achievement, fantastic online community. Disadvantages: several glitches, occasionally drops frames (especially in online play).
...until now been the only skate games on the market. So when EA announced they would be releasing there own skateboarding game with a completely redesigned control system, the hype was incredible. Skateboarders worldwide had never been offered anything more than the quirky, often unrealistic game play of Tony Hawks, however EA Skate. was set to put that right.
=== '''How Skate. stacks up''' ===
The Question is... did it ... ...should get outside and go Skate for real!
=== '''About the game''' ===
The game is set in San Vanelona, a fictional city, however featuring recreated spots from across the globe. unlike Tony Hawks you don't start with stats that you have to increase, or with a limited trick book: You are as good as YOU (the player) are and have all the tricks at your disposal to begin with, now you have to go and see if you can pull ... more
The current market
The Tony Hawks Skateboarding games have up until now been the only skate games on the market. So when EA announced they would be releasing there own skateboarding game with a completely redesigned control system, the hype was incredible. Skateboarders worldwide had never been offered anything more than the quirky, often unrealistic game play of Tony Hawks, however EA Skate. was set to put that right.
How Skate. stacks up
The Question is... did it achieve its goal? The answer is most definately yes. Completely redesigning the typical Skateboard controls of Tony Hawk, EA got professional skaters on the team from the start to create something completely fresh and original. Together they created the "Flickit" control system. This used both Anologue sticks to accurately control the body and the board seperately, instead of the furious button tapping sequences using the D-pad.
The "Flickit" controls
So how does the "Flickit" system work? The idea is to use the right analogue stick as if it where your feet on the board. For example to do an ollie you would the stick down to crouch before flicking it straight up to pop it. If you wanted to do a 180 degree spin with that you would simply guide your skater round with the left stick in the desired direction, releasing it when the spin is completed. This is as close as gaming comes to actually going out and skateboarding for real. It looks and feels authentic and you feel a real sense of achievement after pulling off difficult tricks, as if you really had just busted one for the first time. To do a kickflip for example, you would pull the stick down, before flicking it into the top right corner (I am a goofy skater, if you are regular you would flick into the top left corner), similarly to how you would in real life. The great thing about the "Flickit" system is that the game doesn't give you the opportunity to button tap in the sense that Tony Hawks did: sure you can squiggle the stick around and hope for the best, however you will achieve so much more and get further by checking the trick book provided in the pause menu and practicing tricks until you have them dialed. Again EA has managed to recreate the essence of progression that Skaters have to go through. EA skate. is such an authentic Skating experience and if you expect more than this you really should get outside and go Skate for real!
About the game
The game is set in San Vanelona, a fictional city, however featuring recreated spots from across the globe. unlike Tony Hawks you don't start with stats that you have to increase, or with a limited trick book: You are as good as YOU (the player) are and have all the tricks at your disposal to begin with, now you have to go and see if you can pull them off! After creating your skater and a quick tutorial you are in the thick of it, your mission: to get some coverage, become pro and get hooked up with some sponsors. You do this by completing goals: be it impress pros by completing their challenges, meeting the demands of a photo shoot or beating the locals in a game of S.K.A.T.E. Slowly but surely you progress as a Skater and will have to make your own descisions: Like what deck sponsor your going to go for and who's shoes your gunna ride in. This degree of choice again makes you feel as if you have really achieved something and personalises the game. If you skateboard in real life, often players tend to look for makes that they are familiar with or use themselves, further personalising the players experience.
Replay Editor
Another great aspect of the game is the ongoing 30 second replay editor. Constantly the game "memorises" your last 30 seconds of footage. If you land anything your particularly proud of and want bragging rights over your friends, then using the replay editor you can edit the clip by changing the speed and camera angle of any section. The editor has some really simple tools that makes this possible and encourages you to spend time playing around with your footage. You can even add some funky effects like adding sepia or 80's colouring to your clips. With the maximum time being 30 seconds, players can perfect a well oiled run (a sequence of tricks) before uploading online for others to watch and rate.
Skate. online
This brings me on to Skate. online. Already having thousands of members worldwide, Skate. online is a great way to test your ability against people from across the globe. From the online screen you can choose to play in a rated game, where you can play competitively to improve your online rank, or just take it easy with a friendly match. Meeting new players, you can become friends with skaters and invite them them to a private session by sending them messages. A helpful screen will tell you who is online and who's not, so the more friends you have the better! This is a great way to play against your friends and compete for bragging rights! On the online community you can browse people's uploaded clips and photos, rating them if you wish or you can upload your own and see what people think of you! With PS3 online gaming being completely free, Skate. online is a fantastic addition to the game, especially if you have completed the career mode and are sill wanting more! (believe me you will!)
The not so good
However there is a great weakness to the online gaming. As the players participating will be relying on their internet service speed to provide a good quality gaming experience, anybody with a slow internet connection speed will "lag" the system. This could be in the form of jittery, slow movement, the sound and picture becoming out of sync. This greatly effects the online experience and will often cause frustrated players leave an online session. However most players (speaking from experience) seem to have appropiate connection speeds and if you are unlucky enough to join a game where "lag" is present, I suggest leaving and joining another game.
Though the game has many strengths, their are certain areas that could be improved. Whilst creating your skater, you can only choose from a handful of hair styles, facial hair and colours. Although too much choice is often a bad thing, if you want your skater to stand out of the crowd, perhaps a few more variations would help.
The game also has several glitches in it. For example, skating into a fence at a certain angle could unexpectably catapult your player flying through the air. Although at the majority of times this does not effect game play, it puts a small black mark on the proffesionalism of the EA team. There are many online videos where people have uploaded their own spectacular glitches. I suggest you take a look if you don't fully understand what I am saying. Although it maybe fun discovering these errors within the game, it takes the focus away from the skating, which I feel is what this game should be all about.
Another area, perhaps where the most improvement, is need is the soundtrack. Whilst there are a few cool tracks to skate along to, I found alot of the music was unsuitable and not to "the average skaters" taste. It needed more tracks from bands like "Band of Horses" (Their song "The Funeral" is featured in the game, however is mostly played in the create a skater menu) and some more ambient music: The rock anthems simply reminded me of the repititious "ace of spades" that was played almost every other song in the Tony Hawks games. If a little more time was spent in this area I'm sure the sequal (cross your fingers) could nail this area of the game.
Summary
Whilst the game does have a few faults, the completely refreshing gameplay is to be praised. Skate. is already miles ahead of the predictable Tony Hawks games. There is so much potential for this to be a popular serie; and after seeing how much they got right in the first one, just imagine what could follow. Until then I await unpatiently. Now go play Skate.!
Advantages: Unique and fun controls - Great graphics - Able to upload footage - Replay value Disadvantages: Frame rate issues - Not the best Multiplayer - Long loading times
...===
Another large asset of skate is the ability to share your best skating videos with your friends over the internet. At any time during the game, just after you have pulled of a great looking trick you can pause the game and edit up to the last 30 seconds of footage. You can change the camera angle, the speed and the effects before uploading it onto skate reel. This can be accessed from in the game or on their website where you can watch and rate ... ...Graphics ===
The graphics in skate are beautiful. From the leaves on the trees to the material of the grip tape on your board this stands to be one of the best looking sports games on the PS3 and XBOX 360. Although there is some frame rate issues the graphics still look stunning. When you are going fast down a hill you see your clothes flap in the wind and when you bail (fall off your board) you feel every cracked bone as the character moves so ...
Revilo118 18.08.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Skate (PS3)
Advantages: New controls help game feel more realistic. Completing tasks feels like a real achievement. Disadvantages: May take a while to get used to controls. Also not lots of different gameplay options.
...to feel at home with skate and feel comfortable during gameplay.
The graphics are very realistic and use the next gen technology very well, also the Gameplay is very smooth.
Once the controls have been mastered and the career mode is complete, there is little else this game offers, however due to the nature of these controls, skate can still consume many of your free hours.
As a rookie to this genre skate is a fantastic game, and the control system ... ...Give it a try. I feel sure that all skateboarding fans will love this game, but expect the the next game to be bigger and better.
Prices for this game can vary, although i suggest if you are able to wait a few days, I would use ebay. As with most things ebay seems to host the best prices for skate, and available stock. ...
craigers1401 31.10.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Skate (PS3)
Advantages: Amazing Gameplay/online/soundtrack everything Disadvantages: Some bad framerate online.
What can you say about this game. Nothing! You will be speachless all the way through playing it. It is the best game I have played so far on the PS3 barr none! It is simply amazing. The controls are just perfect. No more button smashing. The controller just seems like an extension of your body. For example the right analogue stick controls how you want the board to move so if you want to do an ollie you have to flick the stick down then up as you ... ...flick the stick out instead of up. Then the left analouge stick controls your body and stance so if you want to do a 360 you hold it left or right accordingly or back or forward to do a flip. Then you have the R2 and L2 buttons acting as arms to by pressing one you grab the board then you can modify this by either moving the board with the right stick or using circle etc. The graphics are simply brilliant. Possibly the best yet on the PS3. But its ...
tdholland 01.11.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Skate (PS3)
Advantages: Really well thought-out learning curve, great fun to play Disadvantages: Controls are sometimes a little tricky
...most of my time. Skate takes a different approach to the Tony Hawk games that I’d experienced before on my old PS2. Instead of accruing ‘skill points’ as you progress through the game, allowing your player to olly higher, skate faster and generally fall flat on his face less frequently, the onus is on you, the player, to hone your skills, going from a clumsy half-wit to a centre-fold pro over the course of the numerous and varied challenges that ... ...you can’t be bothered to skate to a location). On the downside, the city does sometimes feel a little sparse – you can skate for a while and get the feeling there isn’t really much to play with. Also, some of the later missions involve point-to-point races against other skaters which are more than a little annoying, and don’t really feel like they belong in an otherwise completely chilled out gaming experience. The controls are generally intuitive ...
nialbusby 29.07.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Skate (PS3)
Advantages: Great Environment, great feeling and atmosphere, fantastic challenges, great free-roam feature... BRILL Disadvantages: NONE WHAT SO EVER
Skate like a real skater- the superb Skate (EA).
Skate is a revolutionary skating game which puts Tony Hawks to shame. Set in the sunny fictional city of San Velona, you perform various skating challenges throughout the city, in which you can free-roam the whole space with NO LOADING screens.
Unlike its competitors such as the Tony Hawks series, Skate uses a completely different control system to perform your tricks. Instead of quickly pressing ... ...to control the skateboard. E.g. To perform an Ollie, you move the stick quickly down then up. In the game, timing is everything in your tricks. I had a small problem getting used to the way of performing tricks but once you do, the pleasure is all yours as you feel completey in the game, closer to being an actual skater.
Some tricks are hard to perform but with practice, are quickly mastered as you progress to professional in the game. Great Environment, ...
3Techguys 22.01.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Skate (PS3)
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Advantages: Amazing audiovisual performance, Blu-ray drive and future-proof hardware Disadvantages: Price,weak launch lineup, smudge-prone exterior and a few technical glitches
the ps3 is good piece of machinery that plays very good the graphics are exellent and using it is as easy as eating pie i write this review from having a ps3 before getting it i was told it over heats like hell it does not at all this consol also sounds like a pussy cat purring when turned on where as the xbox sound like its destroying its self but any way this is about the ps3 as soon as i got it i turned it on played ea skate and just said wow i thought i was watching real life the controllers are easy to use and feel alot easyier then the ps2 even though they look the same the fact that its wireless is a nice touch you dont end up tangled up in wires and also you dont have to get up to turn it off you can do it all by the the controller althogh the massive delays the ps3 is finally top consol at last any ways this i come to ...
Advantages: MOST REALISTIC GAME!!! Disadvantages: NO DISADVANTAGES!!!
Now if you thought skate for play station 3 and x box 360 was realistig then skate it (for wii) is going to blow you off other games.
Skate it is named the most realistic skate game so far and one of the top 5 in all categories. The price is a little more expensive than skate (for play station 3 and x box 360), but that diference is worth it, trust me i know because my cousin owns it and y own skate for ps3 and i prefere skate it for wii.
the grafics of the game are a little worse than skate for play station 3, but that diference dosent matter.
its highly recomended by me and by the people that had bought it.
so if you liked my review please vote!!!.
remember this game is a must try. ...
matiskater 10.12.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful Review of Skate It (Wii)
The Xbox 360 Game Skate is a one of a kind. Along with its outstanding graphics with a pretty good story line. I love this game because its so fun to play and you never really get bored with it. if you love snowboarding or skateboarding the this is the game for you. Skate is also avalible on playstation 3 for those who dont own an xbox 360. even if you dont know the first thing about skateboarding this game makes it so easy to do tricks due to the flick it controls. skate features lots of real life proffesional skateboarders such as danny way, mark corrol and many more. i recomend this game to anyone who loves skateboarding or any sports wich ar similar to skateboarding. ...
skate is the closest thing to skateboarding without actually putting your feet on a board. With innovative controls that take advantage of the dual analog sticks, the power of the next gen hardware, and the ability to sculpt tricks that define your own style, skate delivers an authentic boarding mecca like no other videogame.
Individual style combined with physics-driven animations promise that no two tricks will ever be the same. And there\'s plenty of room to pull off those tricks - San Vanelona challenges you to explore, find, and own the best spots. You can even capture footage to create and show off your style with friends across the world - because without footage, it\'s fiction.
