PlayStation LifeStyle » Skate

Pachter: Gaming Industry Is Declining

Paulmichael Contreras — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 23:59:56 +0000

Industry analyst Michael Pachter is concerned about the state of things in the world of gaming. Recent NPD statistics for the month of May have led him to a new conclusion about the state of the industry.

Pachter stated that “the video game industry is in a state of persistent secular decline”, pointing out that some key games – Alan Wake, Prince of Persia, Blur, Shrek, Lost Planet 2, Iron Man 2 and Skate 3 – all sold less than 200,000 copies last month. He said that this could be due to the fact that “publishers and developers of games have created more robust multiplayer content in recent years that has resulted in core gamers playing the same games for much longer, on average, than they did in the past, leading to lower sales of new games”.

However, this could be a sign of the decline of packaged goods, according to Pachter: “The packaged goods business is in a state of decline, and that packaged products will continue to compete with alternative interactive entertainment experiences such as Facebook games and iPhone games.”

Is this true? Are packaged games on their way out? Also, does DLC hurt new game sales? Or are these numbers simply a result of the economic slump? Sound off below!

PS3 Review – Skate 3

Paulmichael Contreras — Wed, 19 May 2010 18:40:11 +0000

When the original skate rolled out in September 2007, we saw Tony Hawk’s skateboarding game crown snatched from his grasp. With an innovative and deceptively simple control scheme, realistic physics including a skeletal system on your player, and a gigantic city to roam in, the talented folks at EA Black Box made a huge statement, and the game outsold Tony Hawk’s Proving Grounds. Fast-forward almost three years later, and Skate 3 is the latest iteration in this venerable series. But does this sequel add enough to the mix to warrant a buy?

The very short answer: hell yes. After an initial installation to the PS3′s hard drive, Skate 3 is the quickest-loading entry in the series so far. Instantly teleporting to a challenge on your map is extremely quick, and restarting that event only takes a handful of seconds. The story this time continues where Skate 2 left off: you’re a skateboarding legend who came back onto the scene, but now you’re starting your own company in a new city, Port Carvertown. The ultimate goal in Skate 3 is to sell a ton of your new team’s skateboards.

Graphically, this game does not look too much better than Skate 2. The character models do seem to be somewhat improved, and the city of Port Carvertown seems to have a bit more color than San Vanelona had in the first two games. However, the framerate is a lot steadier this time around. There are a few hiccups every now and then, but they only seem to occur when you are not in the middle of doing a trick. Fans of the series who played the previous two Skate games on the PS3 will appreciate the reliable framerate. The skatepark creator (more on that in a bit) does seem to cut the framerate in half, but only when editing the park and is still adequate – think 30 fps there instead of 60 during normal gameplay.

Not captured: the ensuing faceplant.

You better have a decent sound system when you play this game if you intend to fully experience its world. Presented in full surround sound of at least 7.1 Dolby Digital, you can hear everything around you and the sound effects are well-done. I found myself cringing on several occasions when breaking bones in the Hall of Meat mode. The soundtrack is quite varied, and if you don’t like a track playing it is easy to skip to the next one or restart a song you are particularly fond of. Custom soundtracks are also supported thankfully.

Obviously, the biggest new feature in this sequel is the “skate.Park” creator. It does what its name implies – you can finally build a custom skatepark. While playing the main campaign, you unlock extra building materials and objects to add to your creations. You can start from a blank square of land to build on or take a template (or even someone else’s park that you downloaded) and modify it to your heart’s content. The limit to the number of items and materials seems very high, and nearly anything you see in the game could potentially be recreated in this editor. Also, while in Skate 2 you could get off your board and move objects around, in Skate 3 there is now a tool called the Object Dropper. Anything you have unlocked for the skatepark editor is available for this, and you can summon any object into the world, practically wherever you like. This makes for pseudo-skateparks and can enable great setups for impressive lines that you can of course make a video out of.

The same basic sharing system from the previous game is here as well, with the addition of sharing created parks. Anytime someone else downloads one of your parks, photos or videos, you receive a commission of board sales. So there is an actual reward to all your hard work this time besides simply receiving credit for an upload.
Online is back and smoother than ever…When it works. There were some connection issues when first getting online within the first few days of the game going live, but it appears that EA has ironed out those issues. Lag is minimal most of the time, and the framerate stays steady when a game is ongoing. Your mileage may vary here depending on network conditions and your internet connection. You can also play cooperatively in the main campaign over the Internet, which does earn you board royalties back in your single-player game. Also, while skating around the city you will occasionally see a friend of yours’ skateboarding in your city, controlled by the AI. This is another nice touch that adds to the depth of the game’s online reach.

skate.school for the newbs!

Skate 3 is the best skateboarding game available today. With a further refinement of that revolutionary “Flick-It” control scheme, tighter online integration, and a great skatepark creator, hours will be lost to this game if you buy it, and every moment of that time will be spent in skateboarding bliss. Owners of the previous two entries should definitely pick this title up, and for new players to the series or those who do cannot grasp the control scheme, a new Easy mode gives you a bit more leeway to make the game more accessible.

PlayStation LifeStyle’s Final Score

Massive new city to play in.

Tighter online integration, excellent skatepark creator.

Graphics can be unimpressive, getting online sometimes a pain.

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PlayStation Release Horizon 05/10/10

Kishen Patel — Mon, 10 May 2010 16:33:12 +0000

It’s that time again, and while we were all busy giving our mother’s all the love we could stomach in hopes for gaming gifts in return, now we know what to ask for! This week, we get two critically-acclaimed releases from EA and Ubisoft along with a certain Japanese RPG from Atlus and From Software. Find out what they are in this week’s PlayStation Release Horizon.

PS3 -

3D Dot Game Heroes (05/11)
Batman: Arkham Asylum GOTY Edition (05/11)
Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands (05/18)
SBK: Superbike World Championship (05/11)
Skate 3 (05/11)

PSP -

Mahjong Solitaire (05/11)
Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Heroes 3 (05/11)
Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands (05/18)

PS2 -

No new releases

What are you asking from Mom this week? Do you think she will even be up for it? Tell us your tale in the comments section below.

Latest Skate 3 Gameplay Footage Emerges

Zak Islam — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 08:22:42 +0000

During recent years, EA’s new franchise titled SKATE has managed to become the top skateboarding videogame, triumphing over the popular Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater franchise. To give a taste of what to expect from the third installment of the series, SKATE 3, EA has released a new video showcasing the gameplay.

Check out the new SKATE 3 gameplay video below:

Click here to view the embedded video.

A SKATE 3 demo will be making its way onto the PlayStation Store tomorrow, while the full game will be released on May 11th in North America, and May 28th in Europe.

Skate 3 Demo Kickflipping onto the PSN

Zak Islam — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 09:09:54 +0000

When Skate made its debút back in 2007, it was hailed by fans and pundits alike as the best skating game–a bold statement at the time considering the success of the Tony Hawk Pro Skater series. These claims were later reinforced with Skate 2. The third installment in the series, SKATE 3, will be pushing the franchise to new limits, and EA plans to give fans an early taste of what to expect from the game soon.

During PAX East, EA was handing out some SKATE 3 stickers, which on the back revealed a demo date of April 15th for Skate 3. EA has confirmed some new details regarding the upcoming demo.

The demo will give players a preview of the University District in the all-new skater’s paradise of Port Carverton. Players will be able to play a series of single and multiplayer challenges including Domination, Own the Lot, and the unforgiving Hall of Meat.

Electronic Arts Inc. studio Black Box, which is developing the title, refers to the multiplayer features in the game, saying it’s a ”definitive co-op skateboarding experience”:

Players build the ultimate team to take on unique team challenges, compete against rival crews online and shred the streets. In the end, SKATE 3 takes skateboarding to a new level with more tricks, improved off board actions, and gnarly Hall of Meat carnage.

Check out some in-game footage direct from the SKATE 3 demo below:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Skate 3 Demo Skating to PSN Soon

Zak Islam — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 06:54:30 +0000

When Skate was introduced, it was hailed from fans and pundits alike as the best skating game, triumphing over the neglected Tony Hawk’s titles (sorry Tony). During the PAX East event, Electronic Arts has revealed that gamers will be able to try out SKATE 3 before its release.

The first two Skate games have offered fans previews before their releases, so it will come to no surprise that SKATE 3 will inevitable be receiving one. During PAX East, EA were handing out some SKATE 3 stickers. At the back of the sticker, a demo date for PSN was discovered. The SKATE 3 demo will be skating to the PS Store on April 15th.

The third installment in the skating series will be arriving on May 11th, 2010 in North America and to Europe on May 14th.

[Source]

PSLS Presents – Kevin Ng

Zak Islam — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 10:26:20 +0000

PlayStation LifeStyle recently caught up with independent developer, Kevin Ng. Kevin has worked with well known developers including the likes of Rockstar, Shareware, Warthog Games Ltd. and Electronic Arts. Kevin has had a hand in developing each installment of the Skate franchise, and also had a part in Rockstar’s Bully, Starlancer, to just name a few.

PlayStation LifeStyle: Are there any plans to port WordCrasher to PSP Minis?

Kevin Ng: Unfortunately, I have no announcements to make right now. If it were to happen, I would probably be bringing something entirely new to make the best use of the hardware.

PlayStation LifeStyle: Will you be making new titles for the PlayStation Network or/and PSP Minis?

KN: PSP Minis are very interesting to me. Sometimes you just want to play something bite-sized for a few minutes while your waiting for the bus, and you don’t want to pay full price for that. And as a developer, with these smaller titles, you get to take more risks and produce something a bit more original than those big multi-million dollar budget titles. So I’m really glad that Sony recognized the need for this type of game, and that they needed to create a delivery system which lets you download these smaller titles quickly and easily. I do have some prototypes lurking in my dev folder which would work very well as PSP Minis, so maybe at some point I’ll be able to put something out.

PSN is an exciting platform too. The games on PSN tend to be a little more arty and innovative than those on other platforms. Games like Flower, Noby Noby Boy, and all of the PixelJunk stuff are really original, and you couldn’t really imagine seeing them on other consoles. If in the future I’m looking for a home for some of my more experimental projects, I probably wouldn’t look much further than PSN.
PlayStation LifeStyle: How would you compare iPhone gaming to PSP gaming?

KN: There are pluses and minuses to each platform. The iPhone has a fantastic multi-touch screen, but the strength of the PSP for me will always be the physical controls. I’m not a big fan of virtual on-screen d-pads and buttons, the haptic experience is poor, and for certain kinds of game you will inevitably feel you are in less control. Sometimes I’m playing some of these games on iPhone and thinking that they would really work better on PSP. So for WordCrasher on the iPhone, I deliberately avoided these virtual buttons and designed the controls and the gameplay specifically for the touch screen. It works really well, but it probably wouldn’t translate easily to PSP. It’s important to design towards the strengths of every platform you write for.

PlayStation LifeStyle: Being an independent developer, how do you see the state of the indie games industry?

KN: Indie has really come into its own in the last few years, partly due to the blossoming of digital distribution. Some of the most interesting titles recently for me have been indie. It’s been an interesting journey for me, because I started out back in the early 90s putting out Shareware for Windows 3.1. In those days, I could do everything myself quite easily. For the last twelve years, I’ve been working at places like Rockstar Games and EA as part of huge teams. That has been fantastic, and I’m glad I was part of games like “Skate” and “Bully”. Now that opportunities like PSP Minis, iPhone and DSi are out there, things have come full circle, and the independent developer has the chance to compete with the big boys. The day when WordCrasher overtook games like Boggle and Dingbats in the iPhone charts was a huge vindication for me as an independent developer.

PlayStation LifeStyle: Do you see digital distribution as the future, or do you believe that the majority of games will still remain disc based?

KN: Digital distribution is looking like the inevitable successor to physical boxes on shelves at some point in the future, of that there is little argument. But the interesting question is when does digital distribution truly become the mainstream? There are lots of practical issues to get over before we can get to that point. Blu-Ray PS3 discs have 25GB capacity and upwards, so one of the larger obstacles for digital distribution is making the download speed acceptable for these larger titles. There are other teething problems too. If you buy a downloadable title, you can’t sell it to a friend or to a games shop to fund your next game. So for me, downloadable titles really should be cheaper than boxed games. Digital distribution is more efficient for publishers, and those cost savings should be passed down to us.

PlayStation LifeStyle: What are your thoughts on PS3 development?

KN:Having coded for all three generations of PlayStation at this point, the PS3 was not too much of a surprise. PlayStations are usually always more difficult, more esoteric platforms to develop for, because Sony likes to use lots of custom hardware. However, the payoff for coding in the right way for PlayStation is a great amount of horsepower. The Gran Turismo series is a really good example what the PlayStation consoles can do when pushed to their limits. It is far easier to make the best use of PlayStation 3 technology if you are writing a game solely for that platform.

PlayStation LifeStyle: Can you explain the main differences you found between developing for the PS3 and the Xbox 360?

KN: In simplified terms, the Xbox 360 can be thought of as a multi-core PC. So for many developers, especially Western developers, developing for 360 is a familiar experience. PlayStation 3 feels like its own machine in its own right. Although there are multiple processors, these processors are less general purpose than those in the Xbox 360. And these multiple processors do not have access to the entire RAM in the PS3, but can only look at smaller “windows” of data. So much of the difficulty of working with PS3 is making sure that these multiple specialized processors are used to their maximum. This can mean structuring large parts of the game in different ways to the Xbox 360. But if you achieve this correctly, the PS3 hardware can really sing.

PlayStation LifeStyle: You worked for Rockstar, any thoughts on the recent scandal rumors?

KN: You know, it was kind of funny reading the “Eye of Sauron” leak from the San Diego office, because I heard exactly the same term at the Vancouver office too. And it’s very descriptive, and it’s probably true. But what you can’t underestimate about Rockstar is their sheer passion all the way to the top. They want the best game, the best experience for their fans, and they’re willing to spend the time and money to get there. If you’re going to work at Rockstar Games, be prepared to put in 110%, because you can be sure the people at the top are doing just the same. It’s going to be hard work, but it’s going to be worth it.

Ollie Your Way Into Skate 3′s DLC

Zak Islam — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 05:15:25 +0000

Skating fanatics will definitely enjoy EA’s latest installment in the Skate series. Skate 3 will add more tricks and flips from its predecessor to make it one of the best skating titles in the market. EA is willing to reward fans who pre-order the skateboarding simulator.

Gamers who pre-order Skate 3 will be entitled to enjoy DLC which will come with the title. EA has confirmed that by pre-ordering your copy of Skate 3, gamers will receive a unique unlock code for the DLC named, “Black Box Distribution Skate Park”.

Skate 3 is skating its way on to a March 18 release. Ensure you get your hands on this exclusive DLC by pre-ordering now.

Check out the screens below, which showcase how the DLC will offer something for every skater:

Skate 3 Adds Friends to the Thrashing

Richard Allen — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:17:12 +0000

EA ANNOUNCES SKATE 3

Skateboarding Just Became the Ultimate Team Experience

Electronic Arts Inc. today revealed the next title in the company’s landmark skateboarding franchise: SKATE 3, and confirmed that it will ship in May 2010. SKATE 3 breaks new ground by taking all of the camaraderie and competitive excitement of real-life skateboarding and brings it to the hands of gamers.

Whether online or offline, players can now team up to build the ultimate skate crew in the definitive skateboarding co-op experience. In SKATE 3, players take part in team-based challenges, compete against rival crews and leave their mark on the all-new skater’s paradise, Port Carverton.

“The social and community aspects of the SKATE franchise are something we’ve always embraced, but we’ve never done anything to the scale you’re going to see in SKATE 3,” said Senior Producer, Jason DeLong. “We’re giving gamers a very unique experience by providing them with the tools they need to build their ultimate team or to create a team comprised entirely of their online friends. From there, it’s all about proving yourself – teaming up, and throwing down.”

Players who pre-order SKATE 3 get an unlock code that gives them exclusive access to the iconic Black Box Distribution Skate Park, home turf of Zero, Mystery, and Fallen skate teams. Black Box Distribution was founded in 2000 by Jamie Thomas, and houses and distributes some of skateboarding’s biggest selling brands. Pre-orders are available now at skate.ea.com or at participating retailers nationwide.

SKATE 3 features an all-new co-op mode where teammates can complete challenges together while advancing each other’s careers. From rewarding epic bails and fails with a beefed up Hall of Meat mode to honing your craft with the all-new skate.School, players of all skill levels have multiple ways to “kill it” in the game. The franchise also continues to raise the bar for user created content with the skate.Create feature suite, an innovative toolset that empowers gamers to truly express their skate style by creating their own graphics, videos, and skate parks.

SKATE 3 is being developed by Black Box, an Electronic Arts studio. SKATE 3 will be released on PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and Xbox 360® videogame and entertainment system in May 2010. More information can be found at skate.ea.com or follow us on Twitter at Hippyjump.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Skate 2 Thrashes the Maloof Money Cup

Richard Allen — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 01:02:27 +0000

MALOOF MONEY CUP MAKES ITS VIDEOGAME DEBUT IN THE CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED SKATE 2

Compete in the World’s Greatest Skateboarding Event with Skate 2′s Latest Downloadable Content

Electronic Arts Inc. announced today that starting July 9 gamers can download and compete in Skate 2’s Maloof Money Cup Pack, based on the largest pursed event in the history of professional skateboarding. The pack will be available in the PLAYSTATION® Store for $3.00 and on Xbox LIVE® Marketplace for 240 points in North America.

“Skate 2 has been embraced by the gaming and skateboarding community across the globe, making it the perfect stage for the Maloof Money Cup’s videogame debut,” said Joe Maloof, President of Maloof Companies. “Now players everywhere can experience the world’s greatest skateboarding championship and revel in the high-stakes excitement of the competition for themselves.”

Skate 2’s Maloof Money Cup Pack will feature separate gameplay events both online and offline – freeskate, single player vert and street contests that put gamers against world class pros, and an online mode in which gamers will be able to compete against their friends in new activities and challenges for bragging rights. Xbox 360 gamers get an added bonus as there are 250 achievement points up for grabs.

The Maloof Money Cup presented by etnies and Monster Energy boasts the largest purse in the history of professional skateboarding with nearly $450,000 in cash and prizes. The three-day competition and festival takes place July 10-12, 2009 at the OC Fair & Event Center in Costa Mesa, Calif., during the opening weekend of the OC Fair. All attendees can ride the virtual course for themselves in the Skate 2 booth, located near the front of the festival, where the Maloof Money Cup Pack will be available for playing.

Skate 2 ups the ante in delivering all the grit, creativity, and culture of skateboarding with all-new tricks that allow players to skate it their way – both on and off the board. Gamers can create their own epic skate spots which can then be shared and experienced by others around the world. The game also features a revamped Thrasher Hall of Meat mode that will have players spending countless hours pulling off bone-crushing wipeouts and bails.

Skate 2 is developed by Black Box, an Electronic Arts Inc. studio in Burnaby, British Columbia. The game is rated “T” for Teen by the ESRB and 16+ by PEGI.

Skate 2 Patch Brings Gnarly Fixes

JohnDraisey — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 21:13:35 +0000

EA recently updated their Skate 2 blog with info on a patch in development for the game. Everything from the on-foot controls to the visual indicators have been adjusted and improved, and the publisher is very excited with what has been accomplished. Here is the list of fixes that the patch will bring:

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.

[Source]

Thrash Rob Dyrdek’s Fantasy Plaza in Skate 2

Richard Allen — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 17:40:02 +0000

Written by Richard

Rob Dyrdek

CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED SKATE 2 RECREATES ROB DYRDEK’S FANTASY PLAZA

Experience the Inspiration for Dyrdek’s New MTV Show with Skate 2′s Latest Downloadable Content

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) announced today that gamers will be able to extend their Skate 2 experience with the download of Rob Dyrdek’s Fantasy Plaza, starting today in the PLAYSTATION® Store for $5.00 in North America and on Xbox LIVE Marketplace for 400 points. The downloadable content features Rob Dyrdek’s new skate plaza, the centerpiece of his MTV show, Rob Dyrdek’s Fantasy Factory, as well as the surrounding downtown Los Angeles area.

“I’ve been involved with the Skate franchise since the very beginning and each game has been able to perfectly capture the culture and feel of skateboarding,” said skateboarder entrepreneur, Rob Dyrdek. “I can’t wait to give players a taste of the Fantasy Plaza, my dream skateboarding space. The team at Black Box has recreated the plaza in Skate 2, complete with all the ledges, gaps and rails. On top of all that, there’s still a lot more surprises outside the park that both gamers and skaters will enjoy.”

Recently released for the Xbox 360™ videogame and entertainment system and the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, Skate 2 has already received high acclaim from top videogame media including a 4.5 out of 5 from PlayStation: The Official Magazine, a 91 from PSM3 and ‘Game of the Month’ distinctions from IGN and Game Informer.

Skate 2 brings gamers to New San Vanelona, a city rebuilt with more spots to skate and own. Equipped with double the bag of tricks and the ability get off the board to move objects around, players can now create their own epic skate spots which can then be shared and experienced by others around the world. The game also features a revamped Thrasher Hall of Meat mode that will have players spending countless hours pulling off bone-crushing wipeouts and bails.

PS3 Review – Skate 2

Paulmichael Contreras — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 21:51:23 +0000

Better than the original?

When the original skate game was released upon us, the world of skateboarding videogames was forever changed. Its control scheme was its major feature, and as such a rather mediocre skateboarding game was given leeway just because everything felt so damned fresh. Does the sequel disappoint? Read on to find out.

Back for more!

The first thing you’ll notice when you boot up skate 2 is the vastly decreased load time. Whereas skate would take a few minutes to get you to continuing your career, skate 2 only takes about a single minute. Everything also looks more refined and old spots from the original show up here with new textures or even added objects. Some textures, like those on hillsides or other small places, look a bit dated but overall everything looks cleaner. The framerate is also much higher than the original’s, especially while playing on the PlayStation 3.

In terms of audio, most everything is the same here. Though the tracks have changed, there aren’t really very many standout selections. This is a bit of a disappointment on EA’s part as they usually have great “EA Trax” songs. I would say oh well and start up a custom soundtrack, but that feature is oddly missing from this game! I am hoping for a patch soon that allows for this seemingly necessary feature, and once again think that Sony should have made custom soundtracks mandatory at the same time that they mandated trophies to be standard. One thing I must mention is that the sounds of bailing has been much improved since the original. In skate, I would find myself laughing at the bails. In skate 2, however, while the bails are fundamentally the same ragdoll-like physics, the sound has me cringing when I witness a gnarly wipeout. Bones crunching, skin scraping, it all seems to be well captured.

Making the perfect spot is relatively easy.

Now, for the new innovations Black Box has put in the game. For starters, you can get off your board now! Though this has been in the Tony Hawk series since Tony Hawk’s Underground, it is a new feature for this series and is very welcomed. Stairs are no longer a problem! Having said that, the actual walking/running around is pretty cumbersome as your skater doesn’t react nearly as quickly off the board as they do on. Once you get off your board, you can move a variety of objects and set up your own lines. This is often required in some of the career’s missions, and can result in some great videos. Also added to the mix are one-foot tricks, handplants and fingerflips. These new tricks add more depth to the trick system, and are easily implemented in any line. Also, while not an innovation, it is worth mentioning that online play is much improved from the original, with little to no lag and various welcome changes to some modes have been used to make the experience more enjoyable for all. There are also freeskate challenges, where you can propose different cooperative events to complete with everybody in the lobby. This is reminiscent of Burnout Paradise, and is so much fun I usually do at least one event every day!

No game is perfect, and skate 2 has its fair share of faults. As mentioned, the walking system is flawed as you cannot walk backwards and have to fight with your skater to get them exactly where you want them. The respawn system can be utterly obnoxious when it places you just before the point where you fell into the water or off a cliff, and you are stuck in a nearly-infinite loop of falling over. The “story” in skate 2 is ridiculous, but then again playing a skateboarding game for its story is like going to Las Vegas for its religious offerings – there’s little there and you don’t expect to see much anyway! Also, EA is doing its money-grubbing thing and now charging $7.25 US for extra filming capabilities and slightly more online storage…Which is a disappointment but if that’s what EA is going to do to great IPs then so be it.

Conclusion

So the question remains: is this sequel a success? Fans of the series should definitely buy this, no questions asked. Others who may have missed out on the original and want to try it out should still just pick up this title. This is what the original skate game should have been.

P.S. Be sure to check out the custom PSLS skate 2 artwork!

PlayStation LifeStyle’s Final Score

The familiar “flick-it” control scheme works perfectly here.

The framerate and online experience is much better this time around.

You can get off your board, but controls suffer a bit. (This has been improved in a recent patch).