More than a year ago I penned a metaphor in the pages of Portland’s
sexiest weekly paper comparing the original Skate to the
majestic cheetah. Activision’s Tony Hawk Pro Skater series was
an ailing wildebeest, I alluded, and EA Black Box’s Skate was
the speedy jungle cat that ran it down and tore out its throat. I stand
by that assertion, but if Skate was a cheetah, Skate 2 is
a robotic velociraptor covered in spikes and electricity that chases
Activision’s lumbering wildebeest, disembowels it, and defiles the
corpse in ways both unholy and physically impossible.
Skate‘s perfectly tuned skateboarding action returns for the
sequel with enough additions to choke a fictional cybernetic dinosaur.
Players can now leave their boards behind and wander the streets on
foot, create and share customized skate parks, record video and take
photos of their best tricks (and bails), and spend months exploring the
game’s ridiculously comprehensive gameplay modes (all of which have
complementary online multiplayer).
Special mention goes out to Skate 2‘s soundtrack. From
classic R&B to old school punk and mid-’80s butt rock, even the
ironically enjoyable tracks perfectly suit the on-screen action.
If there’s one flaw in Skate 2, it’s that the game is
prohibitively difficult to newcomers. Whereas Tony Hawk players
can be quite successful simply mashing buttons, Skate fans must
practice and learn the game’s nuances to complete the game’s quests.
Personally, I prefer the more cerebral skateboarding of the EA game
versus its competitor, but don’t expect your local six-year-old to be
wowed.
That said, everything else about Skate 2 is exactly what a
skateboarding game should be. The culture, the aesthetic, and the
genuine feel of skateboarding are as perfectly represented as they have
ever been in any game, and even those without a collection of Bones
Brigade VHS tapes will utterly adore this one.
I picked up the demo. I hated it the first time. Then I learned the controls.
Then I agreed with you. The game is really good. You should give me your review copy so that I can play the full game.
Buy the game you cheap bastard! You’ll be blown away with how much content it has in it. Think Grand Theft Auto IV style open world mission structure, but with at least 50% more stuff to do. Totally worth the $60.
My dream game is a mixture of GTA, Skate, and Bushido Blade, but in the meantime, I’ll take my Skate 2. I was hooked on the first demo, the first game, and the second demo.
Thank god it’s finally come out, even if I had to relinquish control for awhile to my wife’s relentless quest for fertile seeds in Prince of Persia. The first few challenges past the demo challenges were pretty hectic, and I can already see that I’m going to have to step up my game to even beat Shingo at s.k.a.t.e. this time around. Sad. Also, EA’s servers seem overwhelmed tonight, which is probably a good sign for the game, but I really want to try out the online multiplayer.
@Graham: You could always trade in some games to help pay for it, it will totally be worth it. (I also noticed that you never find the first Skate used, which is a testament to its awesomeness.)