A beefy (and kickin’ rad) patch is now available for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of EA Black Box’s Skate 2. The list of fixes, tweaks, and improvements is so large I had to include it post-jump. Below are a few of the major things that Black Box addressed with the free patch:

• Improve responsiveness of off-board controls, modified left stick behavior to improve feel of off-board movement
• Added support for custom soundtracks for the PS3
• Reduce potential for pedestrians to spawn in an active challenge location
• All Thrasher challenges unlock properly in the career progression

I don’t know about you guys, but the clunky off-board stuff gave me fits when I first tried the game. I’ll definitely be revisiting New San Vanelona in the near future thanks to this patch. I'm wondering though -- and I believe this goes to show how much I was able to play -- if Black Box addressed everything that needed fine-tuning. What do you guys think?

[via Skate 2 Producer blog]

• Improve responsiveness of off-board controls, modified left stick behavior to improve feel of off-board movement
• Eliminate scoring exploit for Hippie Jump 180s in multiplayer Spot Battle
• Eliminate the wipeout exploit with off-board and the Superdude trick
• Fixed mute and stale grab tricks to use proper hand when performed in conjunction with a hand gesture
• Fix the occasionally popping of visual indicators (sign-ups, arrows, etc)
• Added support for custom soundtracks for the PS3
• Face and Body settings will now load properly in saved replays
• Character models will be in high detail when viewing a replay
• Visual indicators (sign-up icons/arrows) are no longer visible in replays and videos
• Remove the confirmation pop-up when retrying a challenge
• Reduce potential for pedestrians to spawn in an active challenge location
• Modified "Can you spell Girl?" challenge so the player starts with the lead
• Remove the 3,2,1 countdown when retrying a film challenge
• All Thrasher challenges unlock properly in the career progression
• When starting an Own the Spot via the Challenge Map, the player's session marker is automatically set for them
• Updated the online mini-map so skaters appear as the same color indicated in the player HUD
• Improved quality of character images generated for display on skate.reel web profiles
• EXP is no longer awarded for players that don't attempt a trick during a Ranked game of S.K.A.T.E.
• Modified deathrace intro sequences to eliminate camera clipping
• Online Freeskate Activities (Survival) - Increase the tolerance for ‘skating too slowly' while in the air
• Online Spot Battle/Hall of Meat - Spectators can again trigger hand gestures during another player's turn