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Just the other day, it seemed EA Black Box came out with Skate. I remember playing it not all that long ago, and being pretty impressed by the analog only controls. I was a fan of the first few Tony Hawk's, but it was always kind of a chore to hit those Mortal Kombat-like button sequences to do tricks.

By looking at the success of EA Black Box's Skate, it looks like I wasn't the only one to think that, and now the videogame world will be treated to Skate 2. When, who knows? Unlike the game-a-year factory that EA usually is, the team working on Skate 2 has no set release date. They're taking their time to make sure that Skate 2 will live up to their first success.

Learn more about Skate 2 after the jump.

Things have changed since the time of the first Skate. The city is now run by the large corporation that is rebuilding San Vanelona. As any good skate punk knows, big corporations hate skaters.

What this means is that the authorities are no longer content with chasing you off or writing you tickets. Expect to be treated as full-on criminal for your skating antics with "The Man" physically taking you down if he catches you.

Essentialy, that's the gist of the story. But, really, how much story do you need? The first Skate moved the control scheme away from long button combos to the analog stick, giving the game a more organic feel to it. Skate 2 continues in this direction by fleshing out the tricks, and finally allowing you to -- hooray! -- remove your feet from the skate board. Not only does this feature open up a slew of new tricks, it also allows for you to do footplants.

By having the ability to remove one or both of your feet, the player can pretty much footplant on anything. Footplants, kind of like the manual in Tony Hawk games, will allow you to link one set of tricks to another. In addition to the footplants and the set of trick that you can do with them, you're also now able to do handplants. This is controlled by the shoulder button, but as you can see in the video, only helps to give the game a more truer skateboarding experience.

Another way that the team is hoping to create a sense of realism is by making items in the game movable. Items such as picnic tables, garbage cans, and anything else that looks like it can be moved, can be placed by your skater on foot. As a person who used to skate, this is probably one of my more favorite features. As any skater knows, the world isn't designed for skating; and with this feature, you can move the table in front of that ramp and make your own trick, just like in real life.



Finally, not to be satisfied by all the new gameplay enhancements, the Black Box crew also felt like giving you all new locales for you second run through San Verona. Yep. All the places to skate are, as I'm told, brand new to the game.

So with all that goodness, it looks the fans of the first Skate can rest a little easier. EA Black Box seems to be hitting all the right stops, so far, and if they keep it up, the finished product will definitely be something to look forward to.


LAUNCH GALLERY (5 IMAGES)
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28 comments | showing # 1 to 28

J03yyz's Avatar
J03yyz at 08/05/2008 12:59
do want now.
paulink's Avatar
paulink at 08/05/2008 13:01
Having a walking feature will be a nice addition to the game. Other than that, I have high hopes for the game, I'm not done with Skate but it's been a blast freeskating.
dronkmunk's Avatar
dronkmunk at 08/05/2008 13:08
I may get this one, as I did love the first one.
vonneuton's Avatar
vonneuton at 08/05/2008 13:10
You know, of course, that to walk you'll have to make walking motions with the two analog sticks.
galagabug 's Avatar
galagabug at 08/05/2008 13:19
this is game 0 on my do want list. i really hope that repositioning items can be shared to create new 'spot challenges'. crap. gotta change.
TurboSpaz's Avatar
TurboSpaz at 08/05/2008 13:28
I really hope they upgrade the hell out of the Youtube connectivity. A decent editor + direct Youtube support = instant buy. The lackluster editor of the first one was why I skipped it.
Jaren Face's Avatar
Jaren Face at 08/05/2008 13:30
Other than the fact the animations still kind of look robotic and stiff... do want.

I just had to watch the first few seconds of the trailer (ability to get off your board) to instantly excited for this game. The (what seemed to be a) female created skater just multiplied that excitement.
Stahlbrand's Avatar
Stahlbrand at 08/05/2008 13:42
I am so DO WANT for this game thats its not even funny.

I thought the trailer was good for showing off everything that people wanted in Skate - footplants, running up stairs, vert tricks, board-grabbing grind options, distance-from-board tricks, female skaters, less-terrible hair options, and the ability to move stuff around.

Now if they add options to use stationary/panning camera POVs in the replay editor I'll lose control.
Emrah's Avatar
Emrah at 08/05/2008 13:51
The game will run at 60fps butter cream, instead of 30fps. That's one of the biggest news!

I loved Skate, I just cannot wait for Skate 2.
jrwolv's Avatar
jrwolv at 08/05/2008 13:53
YESSS!!!!! I am so hyped, my pants need a changing now. I was definitely not expecting the ability to move objects; That's fantastic! DO WANT!!! (times three)
NihonTiger90's Avatar
NihonTiger90 at 08/05/2008 14:10
Looks promising. Why is it that EA is new to the skateboarding game and has two solid titles under their belt, while Activision can't make a Tony Hawk game decent enough to save their ass?
joeisremy's Avatar
joeisremy at 08/05/2008 14:10
all i can say is thank fucking god you can get off your skateboard.
Necros's Avatar
Necros at 08/05/2008 14:18
Looks cool, just not sure if it's my kind of thing. The demo for Skate 1 was kinda fun, though.
bluerei's Avatar
bluerei at 08/05/2008 14:37
@Stahlbrand:

It will have stationary/POV cameras in replay

@TurboSpaz:

They said no YouTube support, too many legal stipulations
Dexter345's Avatar
Dexter345 at 08/05/2008 14:41
I'll grab it first day. skate. was incredible to me, another former skateboarder.
Stahlbrand's Avatar
Stahlbrand at 08/05/2008 14:46
[i]bluerei at 08/05/2008 14:37

@Stahlbrand:

It will have stationary/POV cameras in replay[/i]

/loses control

Timmy the cat's Avatar
Timmy the cat at 08/05/2008 15:27
Stationary POV cameras, who cares? Lip tricks, hand plants and hippie jumps... nice
vexed alex's Avatar
vexed alex at 08/05/2008 16:15
I'll pick this one up. I loved the demo for the first one, but it was missing a few things. Skate 2 seems to have added everything I wanted from the first.
RonBurgandy2010's Avatar
RonBurgandy2010 at 08/05/2008 17:08
I did not enjoy skate. at all. The game was just hard to control. And don't say "you have to learn." Fuck that. I did a hardflip once, couldn't do it again. The controls remind me of an Invader Zim quote: It's not stupid, it's advanced!
Redzie's Avatar
Redzie at 08/05/2008 17:12
I miss you Dyson.
TrailerParkJesus's Avatar
TrailerParkJesus at 08/05/2008 19:43
I'm pumped for this sequel, but I can wait. I'm not done with the first one. Maybe spring release next year.

I'm most excited about being able to move crap around. And all those other additions are welcome.

But they've got some other fixes they need to address. Stiff animations, loading time if you stray too far from the session marker, vert controls, more game modes... etc.
manta's Avatar
manta at 08/05/2008 22:01
Just the few key features missing from the first (getting off your board specifically) made it a rental for me. This is a definite buy though.
brainderailment's Avatar
brainderailment at 08/06/2008 00:24
Hopefully they develop the PS3 version better this time. The frame-rate in that game is horrible. If any game deserved being shit all over on the internet over frame-rate it should've been skate, not Orange Box. I bought it
brainderailment's Avatar
brainderailment at 08/06/2008 00:25
and returned it the same day.
mistic's Avatar
mistic at 08/06/2008 09:25
SWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET!

can't wait for that! I loved the first game!
Emrah's Avatar
Emrah at 08/07/2008 10:47
There are several places that the frame drops probably while streaming on Skate, but I can't say it is horrible. It is 30 fps 95% of the time. This new version will run at a whopping 60fps, and I hope they contact Criterion on how to stream an open world properly..
Emrah's Avatar
Emrah at 08/07/2008 11:46
There are several places that the frame drops probably while streaming on Skate, but I can't say it is horrible. It is 30 fps 95% of the time. This new version will run at a whopping 60fps, and I hope they contact Criterion on how to stream an open world properly..
Rosseh's Avatar
Rosseh at 08/08/2008 09:19
Looking pretty sweet. I'm liking the new moves so far but I want to hear some more flatland has been added. Hopefully now you can do footstalls we'll be able to control the feet more. I just want to do some mad Rodney Mullen stuff.
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