I can haz propz??/


Bioshock? No. No, no, no, my friend. The Orange Box? Maybe. Call of Duty 4? Perhaps. Maybe even a sports game could have taken the Game of the Year title in 2007. No, I'm not talking about John Madden 199- er...2008. I am talking about EA's other anticipated effort, skate.

And yet not many people chose it. Hardly anyone even considered it. This one fell by the wayside since everyone was looking too hard at all the excellent shooters that came out this year [1]. But as far as playability goes, I think skate. should have been on more year end GOTY lists.

In addition to toppling the Tony Hawk empire of skateboarding games, essentially steering the genre from arcade towards simulation territory (which isn't always a good thing, but here it gives the competition a huge advantage) skate boasts a brand new control scheme which broadens the player's tricks to the limits of his or her imagination

"I think skate. should have been on more year end GOTY lists."


It takes close to perfect and near inhuman timing to pull of some of the tricks and stunts in this game, and while I am sure more than a few controllers have been flung at basement and rec room walls because of this, it is also what makes the game fun. There is no better feeling than landing a 5k point trick, or a series of grinds and manuals to complete a film challenge. Similar to the way I felt in Portal and Half-Life when ever I solved one of the puzzles that advance you through the game. skate. does have a steep learning curve, and the tricks are easy to learn but difficult to master. That unparalleled sensation of mastery and achievement is the reason I pick up my controller in the first place.

skate. also had that really cool video editing thing. When the game came out I would whittle time away at work by sitting on Ea's online skate theater and watch other people's various triumphs and failures they felt were fit to record. There are just enough options to make it possible to edit a piece of footy into very different and creative aways. The is another example of the new ground that was paved when skate came on the scene.



And what about those visuals? Skate is a lovely game, and not just because of it's playability, but also the graphics. The settings and animations are completely life like, and the level of detail is astounding. The way the sunlight hits the sidewalk and gleams off of your board, the little willows that begin to drift through the air when you remain stagnant for long enough, and of course the ragdoll physics. The sound is incredible as well. The chunk of your board slipping off a curb and into the street, the passing by cars and offhand pedestrian comments really immerse you into to the skaterverse of San Vanelona.

I think this game was massively overlooked in 2007. Once the hype died down, this game was totally forgotten about, or perhaps over shadowed by something else. Its a shame because this one is a real gem. Am I the only one still playing it?







[1]Let it be known that we are only talking about Xbox 360 titles, the only console that matters.[1]