skate 2 Game Review - Playstation 3

OUR RATING:

8.1

GREAT

TANGIBLES:

Gameplay:		9
Visuals:		8
Audio:		8
Value:		7
Quality:		8

Why you should buy it: You loved the first and want more goodness.

Why you should rent it: You're not sold on the franchise and aren't sure if you're ready to quit the Hawk man, or you need solid evidence it's an improvement over the first (it is).

UNIQUE RATING:

8.1

SUGGESTION:

Buy It

skate 2

Written by: Daniel Phillips | Tags: skate 2, Playstation 3

January 19,2009 - Skate 2 picks up a bit after the first left off—your all-star shredder has just been released from prison to find his (or her) precious city reworked by an earthquake (we knew San Van was really in Cali). For those new to the franchise, this is the perfect time to hop aboard, since the developers used complete logic in reworking this sequel—don’t mess with what we already got right, and pop in what we left out. Since the first Skate basically reinvented the skateboard arcade game wheel, all Skate 2 needed to do was finish what it started.

There are a few obvious additions that didn’t make it into the first because of time constraints (I can walk up stairs!) and some that completely re-snarl the face of the game. You can move most objects in the world like mailboxes, rails, ramps, and dumpsters, and they’ll stay put, you can skitch while hanging on the back of cars, and you have about double the tricks (double the replay value).

If you’re waiting for us to open the can of worms, rest easy—Skate 2 basically delivers on all the bigger, better, badder fronts. The brilliance of the first’s formula subtly makes appearances, mostly in the new tricks. The control system is mapped in such a way that each button corresponds to a very logical body part or movement (buttons for hands, legs, body, and feet on board). Skate 2 only adds one button to get used to, and the mileage it gets out of the remaining few is brilliant in its simplicity. Once in the air grab the board with a trigger then remove a foot with a face button. Or to “hippy jump” over a rail while maintaining board movement (something we attempted many times to many bails in the first Skate) simply press both “leg” buttons to hop above your board.

The Skate games are simulators at heart, and they strive for realism in feeling and action, so to really get the beauty of it all, you’ve gotta play it for a while. Skate 2 will prove even more difficult a transition for Hawk vets, but it’s worth the effort—this franchise does for skateboarding what the Gran Turismo games initially did for driving—you can almost feel the board under your feet. The rushing wind on a downhill as your board gets shaky, the giddiness when you stomp an insane vert trick, and the pure devotion it takes to nail a perfect line is what the game is really about. Skate 2 just allows these moments to happen more often, and with more of your input.

There are some half-baked moments along the way—the create-a-skater being the most disappointing by far. In typical EA fashion, you’re able to use scales to alter your character’s facial features, but the resulting manipulations are so repulsive you’ll be happy you almost never see the front of your avatar. The clothing options, all licensed for “authenticity” (and cash flow) are excellent, however. You can also customize graphics for items with a separate editor. Walking on foot is sluggish and awkward, and the replay editor, much more in-depth this time around, requires you to download a pack to alter the video filters.

The online is as good as last time, though we didn’t get to explore it much with our pre-release copy. The multiplayer modes are S.K.A.T.E., Spot Battle, and Hall of Meat. In the first, you have to copy tricks or earn letters, in the second you compete for the highest scoring trick on one spot, and in the last you attempt to shatter, burst, crack, rip, sprain and annihilate yourself to earn the most points. Uploading videos to the Skate site is still lickety-split and wonderful, and the addition of tags for your video’s category is a godsend.

Skate 2 really delivers on all the buttery gnar-gnar: more tricks and insane spots to skate. While the main mission challenges are fun, we mostly end up exploring and getting into trouble (it’s like GTA IV in the way). The intro movie tops the previous, and the addition of the Jedi board grab (“come to me!”) is hysterical.

Though the graphics aren’t much of an improvement, the first game did it so well, where did we think they were going to go? The textures are still astounding and the lighting at times beautiful. Voice acting is perfect for the material with plenty of real skaters (Rob & Big included) while the sound effects (squeaking wheels, rumbling cobblestones, overheard conversations, honking cars, breaking bones) are exactly what you want. The soundtrack is unsurprisingly diverse and mostly fantastic.

In the end, it’s all about cruising a breathing, bustling, candy-coated city, eyeing a gorgeous line begging to be owned, moving some rails and ramps into place, laying down the session marker, and working your ass off until you get it right. If you loved the first, you’ll love the second, and if you hated the first, you’ll hate this one even more. This isn’t over-the-top arcade skating, but it is the closest alternative to the real thing.

New San Vanelona is an amalgam of the developers' cities of inspiration--San Francisco's colors and hills, Vancouver's metal parks and open spaces, and Barcelona's plazas and flair. Added up, it's the skater's paradise.