SKATE

Get your grind on with a startlingly realistic and satisfying skateboarding sim.

Ten years ago we saw the first of the Tony Hawk series take the industry by storm – now it’s EA’s turn to enjoy the limelight with its new title, SKATE.

The original Tony Hawk Pro Skater was a revolution in the presentation of the sport and lifestyle. Time came and went and now 10 years have passed. With this time, the Tony Hawk series’ originality and freshness has also flown by.

It was only a matter of time until there was once again competition to the monopolising and mighty Tony Hawk franchise.



With dramatic changes in the way we perceive the controls of a skateboard within a virtual world, and a return to the roots of what skateboarding is about, EA have struck hard with SKATE.

SKATE brings to the table a control system appropriately dubbed ‘FlickIt’. This control system introduces a feeling that more accurately represents skateboarding and the feel of riding a board. EA has obviously been proud of this control system, as they have openly compared it to the Tony Hawk series controls.



The reason for the controls feeling so realistic is due to the lack of ‘button bashing’. This phenomena is one that has ended up plaguing the Tony Hawk series with 500m long grinds, 30+ flip tricks and 20+ manuals all thrown into a single combo for good measure. The ‘FlickIt’ controls offer a perceived feeling of actively controlling the board’s motions with the right stick and the player’s body with the left. Combining the motions of each stick allows for a dynamic and realistic representation of the motions of skateboarding – in particular the way in which grinds are performed.

Another interesting feature is the SKATE.Reel feature. This allows for the player to capture and edit a portion of the past minute or so worth of skating. We found this particularly fun for not only enjoying the sensational motion capture, but also to relive those bone crushing, ligament snapping and ultimately devastating bails. Furthermore, if you think you’ve got a clip which is particularly hot, you can upload it to the EA SKATE.Reel servers to share with everyone online.

The game captures the motions and movement of a skater not only accurately but exceptionally. The flip tricks are so accurately represented, you could be forgiven if you thought you were watching a ‘How to skate’ video. Not only that but the grabs look genuine and the grinds truly transfer the feeling into the hands of the player. The ability to manipulate grinds, for example twisting a nose grind into a lip slide, represents the fluent motion and style of real life skateboarding.



Adding to the title’s originality and proof of the team’s dedication, the whole game is based around a fantasy city called San Vanelona. It is, without any doubt, the ultimate skate paradise – and rightly so. The city was modelled off three of the world’s most well known and respected skate Meccas: San Francisco, Vancouver and Barcelona.

The design of the urban landscape also translates into what skaters truly live to enjoy – ledges, stair sets, snake runs, picnic benches and anything they can get creative with.

This move to capture a skateboarder’s perception of the world around them, rather then modifying the world around them, i.e. such as quarter pipes instead of walls as in the Tony Hawk series, further adds validity to the fact that this game was primarily created for skateboarders and those wanting to experience the feeling of skateboarding. As such, to make the most of the landscape, you need to think like a skater. Look for lines with suitable ledges within a given length, gapping between spots to link otherwise separated lines and generally implementing the mindset of a skateboarder.

Music within the game is, to say the least, awesome. The effort has obviously been made to not only capture a variety of genres but also to represent the skaters of different generations. With tracks dating back to the seventies and eighties, through to more modern tunes, the mix is not only effective in maintaining a skate mindset but also reigns in the feeling of reminiscing on a culture that has been through many high and low points.



Ticking all the boxes in the visual department, SKATE has all the latest and greatest in graphics tech. With an abundance of sexy bloom effects, reflections and a general graphical look that lends itself to the often gritty lifestyle of skateboarding.

There are still areas to be improved and further extrapolation of ideas possible, for example the ability to get of your board and walk back up a big set of stairs that you’ve just enjoyed hurling yourself down. This is supposedly planned for a sequel.

For a first time effort and with direction and influence being fused into the game directly from some of the world’s top skateboarding professionals and also the world’s skate community, its future looks interesting and the present looks solid.

An enjoyable game for those both of the real life skate-persuasion and the casual gamer, there’s something to be found to entertain everyone.