Skate's innovative gameplay and expert design blow its competitors out of the water.
As opposed to Tony Hawk's, skate. is all about realism and simulation, instead of insane jackass stunts. skate. uses a great physics engine, and flickit controls. Using the right analog stick allows your skater to manipulate the board, just as a normal skater would. Certain motions made using the stick, result in different tedious tricks. The flickit system is fresh, innovative, smooth, and natural. It is the most perfect control scheme possibly ever in the history of gaming. No joke.
San Vanelona is the featured city in skate., and it's full of sweet rails, and steep streets for you to get cool lines off of. Of course, there are also plenty of cars and pedestrians to get in your way, but it just adds to the organic feel of the world. Instead of grinding on a telephone wire, you'll be grinding on a curb, or on a handrail. San Vanelona is wide open, with four different subsections. The Suburbs is where you'll find the community center skate park, as well as plenty of backyard pools to get your air on. The Rez is full of steep streets, with lots of jumps. Here's where speed freaks will get their own. Downtown is the financial district, with 30 stair rails, but also lost of security to try to stop you. Finally, Old Town is where you'll find all the skate plazas, as well as the dry dam, where all the best races are held. The city is huge, and whatever your style, you'll find something to fit you.
Graphically, skate. is a gorgeous game. The lighting effects are fantastic, and the animations made by your skater are seemless. Unfortunately, there are a few drops in framerate, and many of the textures are blurry. You'd think that'd make the game hideous, but it really doesn't. skate. has a great art style that keeps everything looking great.
skate. isn't just a street skater, as there are plenty of places to get sweet air. The triggers allow you to grab wither side of the board, and the right analog stick tweaks your grab in air. Pressing the brake button can take your feet off the board, so you can do a christ air, or a no foot air. The vert system is really deep, and just as feash as the flickit system.
Jumping and grinding are really innovative and simplified. Flicking the right stick down then up allows you to ollie, and simply jumping on a rail at a good angle will allow you to grind. It's much more simple and realized than pressing a button when prompted.
As you can tell, I love the trick system. Surrounding that, there are a ton of game modes to use it in. Career mode allows you to create your own skater, and try to become famous. Throughout San Vanelona, you need to get coverage in the Skateboard Mag, or Thrasher Magazine. Once you've obtained the cover to each magazine, you get to go to the X Games. There are tournaments to win, and cool spots to own, as well as pros to show up. All the challenges are very difficult,but very rewarding to do. if you never give up, you will love career mode. The X Games are announced by Sal Massakela. This is the best use of an ESPN license in the history of gaming. No Joke. There's also the big air ramp at the X Games, which is really cool, and you'll get a ton of air here. If you get gold at the X Games, that's about as rewarding the game will get. It will take about 3 - 6 hours to do that, but you can still go out an unlock all the skaters and places to skate.
There's a good online mode, with races and spot challenges to do, as well as playing a game of S.K.A.T.E. against others. You can also do this offline in "Party Mode" There's a lot of ways to utilize the controls in skate., and it is unbelievably fun to do.
The soundtrack in skate. is one of the better ones by EA. There are over a dozen pros you meet through the game, and they are all voiced perfectly. skate. is such an authentic game that way. The actual sounds of skating are top notch, and were nailed 100%.
skate. has very little flaws. The framerate isn't perfect, the camera is sometimes a bit clunky, and the game can be unfairly difficult. But those are the only flaws. There you go.
As for difference between both versions: The 360 version runs quite a bit smoother, and has better coloring, but the Ps3 version is sharper. It really just comes down to which console you have, and if you have both, then just flip a coin.
skate. is the best skateboarding game ever made. There isn't enough good to say about this game. It really surprised me, as my expectations were skeptical going into playing. Once I played for awhile, i got sucked in. skate. is the most fresh and innovative idea in a long time. Not only is it a great skating game, it also happens to be one of the best games of 2007, in my opinion. Congratulations EA Black Box, you've won my confidence all over again.