Skate shows some unique ideas, however it fails to pull them all together Real Score: 7.9
First off when you put down 60 bucks on skate you gotta know a few things first.. if your the kinda guy who just wants to do insane tricks and have a more arcade feel.. then i doubt this is the game for you.. Skate takes a realistic take on the skateboarding world.. so fans of skateboarding will have to get this game.. almost every thing you do in the game is possible in real life.. So the hardcore skaters will love this game and you will finally be able to get to play your true skateboarding game.
The story takes off when you are a humble skater who is fooling around town skatebording.. Till you have to take on the dream to become a pro and have your name all over the place. This is nothing too crazy or epic but it fits what the game is trying to say. To get higher in the skating community you have to get Photo Shoots, Magazine covers, and video footage to get respect. One of the coolest thing to earn respect is sponsers.. Just like i real life there comes a time in the game where you have to sponser a company, all the big skateboarding names are here like baker,alien ware, spitfire etc.. You can get a shoe deal with Nike, a Skateboarding deal with Baker, and get wheels from Alien Ware.. You get added money if you skate for them plus everything you buy from the store from that brand is free.. so pick wisely.. make sure you have a sponser with someone you like..
In ths game you fully customize your character.. from skin tone to face, all that good stuff to make your skater look cool.. They all are neat and you can have multiple skaters under your name i believe so you can try out different things.. However unlike Tony Hawk you can't take a picture of yourself and put it on your skater.. That would have been cool, but maybe we will have that in later Skate Installments. Also your sponser play a big deal on what you wear.. Sign on a company for a boarding contract and i think you should use that board, you get money bounuses for doing so, plus you get all your sponser stuff for free.. soon you will have a sponser for your shoes, wheels, etc.. In game advertising is a bit much if you hate things like that. I actually like it, it gives you a realistic feel. Plus most of the brands are cool. Also what is very different from this game to other skatebording games is how you do tricks.. most is used on the right annolog stick. It gives it a more realistic feel and def. should be contined.. its more special then pressing buttons to grab or flip tricks.. (if you ever seen the commercials you know what i mean) the grabs are the shoulder buttons, and grinding is really neat too. depending on how your board lands depends on the trick you do.. so its more realistic.. Although this is a cool way it might have been better if they tweaked it a bit with adding some moves forgotten in the game. some have been in tony hawk games.. like the pressure flip and inverts! however i think that EA will adress that and the next skate will have both and more.. The control scheme is ambitous just like the game.. but it has minior flaws that need tweaking. When you land a trick its alot more rewarding.. for some reason when you do a crazy tony hawk trick you are left with no emotial feeling of what you did.. its mostly button mashing.. but in Skate when you land a sick trick you have a great undescribable feeling of accomplishment.. Its more realistic. i remember when i landed a trick in real skateboarding you get a real sense of accomplishment.. although its not quite the level of excitement it still feels good after you do a high or cool looking trick. Overall skate is a great new kid in town.. and its alot better then the tony hawk game this year.. tony hawk is on the downside.. but skate is the opposite and it can only get better.. that is the exciting part!
Edit- After playing the game further i have been mistaken, the game is not as good as i have raved it to be, basically it should have been good, I thought it was and assumed to much before i wrote the review. Overall its still pretty fun and i had a great time playing the game. But i would only recommend to the hardcore Skateboarders out there.. just drags too much, where it seems it would be a great story that drives you to keep playing, i never got that drive.
Breakdown
Gameplay: the best realistic skateboard game ever.. however after the first few hours it gets boring fast!
Graphics: some of the textures (grass) look kinda cheap.. however overall the game looks decent
Sound: Lots of different genres of music.. you will find one that you like.. plus the skatebording noises are very realistic
Value: If you can get past the boring missions, then you got a good value, for everyone else its not
Overall: A must buy for skating fans.. But for the average player its not that greatbr />
Final Score
7.9