Skate 2

If you don't like skateboarding, this game is not for you. If you don't like trying new things, this game is not for you. If you're looking for a game that you can immediately jump into and play, this game is not for you. If you don't like steep learning curves, this game is not for you. If you prefer a rigid structure for better progression, this game is not for you. If you prefer progression at all, this game is not for you. If you suck with the Xbox360 controller, this game is not for you. If you are a huge Tony Hawk fan to the point of eroticism, this game is not for you (and eww). For the rest of you, THIS GAME IS FUCKIN AWESOME!

This is what I like to call a "Do nothing" game. Do nothing games are the type of games that allow you to have fun without any goals in mind. A good example is the GTA series. Unlike the GTA series where doing nothing is encouraged, the Skate series made it their theme. This game is not to be played seriously; going from one challenge to another. You can, and Skate 2 does a good job adding a new setup and challenges that test your skills, but that's not where the fun is. The purpose of Skate is ride around town on your skateboard and see what you can trick on.

This isn't like Tony Hawk in any sense. In Tony Hawk, the world was basically a skatepark with cityscape skins. Seriously, how many cities you know have halfpipes on their roofs? In Skate, San Venelona (New San Venelona in Skate 2) is design as an actual city and not a skatepark that looks loke one. Tony Hawk is arcadey, doing completely unrealistic things like grinding on roller coaster and telephone wires (and one year, I think there was a dragon). Skate is grounded in realism where grinding down a flight of stairs into a kickflip finish is an accomplishment (if you don't what a kickflip is, you'll learn pretty damn quickly). In Tony Hawk, you can perform trick after trick after trick after trick after trick after trick after trick after trick after trick after trick after trick after trick after trick after trick after trick and earn a millions points or more. In Skate, you're a G if pull off 6 tricks in one combo, unless you get big air. Even if you do get big air, you still have to land it. The physics engine won't let you do most things that aren't physically possible by a person (If you don't know what a game engine is, don't worry about it; I didn't til recently). It's that realism that drew people away from Tony Hawk and made Activision stop and think about where they need to take the Tony Hawk series.

The steep learning curve I mentioned earlier comes from the game's controls. Your tricks will be handled by the right analog stick and triggers. The right analog controls your jumping and flip moves. Flick the stick down then up and you will do a basic jump (Ollie), but flick up on the stick at an angle will do a kickflip or heelflip depending on your stance. Flick the stick down then do a quarter circle rotate up haduken style will do a pop shovit and so on and so forth. It's complicated, but once you learn it, it will feel fluid and natural to you. The triggers do grabs and to do different grabs you push the analog in any direction. Handplants are done with the RB button, and manuals are done my slightly pushing the analog forward or back. As for grinds, all you need to do is land the the surface. If all this sounds confusing, it's because A) it is, and B) there's really no way to explain it. Once you get used to everything, it's a very fun and inventive system, but honestly I'd rather have the Tony Hawk controls (This way I don't have to teach anybody how it play.....because I can't).

[Update] - I forgot to mention that there are sections of the city that have tight security to try and stop you from skating in certain spots. Also, some ledges and rails have metal caps on to prevent grinding. This can be dealt with with a simple phone call to a friend, but really, it's mostly not worth it. Also I find it funny how the game portrays the security and police as the bad guys. Excuse the hell out of them for acting reasonably to a situation because they don't want people skating on their property or trying to stop you after running over old ladies on your skateboard. Rage against the machine, Bro.

It does have an online mode, but I have yet to try it because none of my friends have it yet, and I don't like playing with strangers (except in shooters, some fighters, and NBA 2K9) because most of the time I run into dickholes who shout out racial slurs, demean new players, and just act like general asses because when they are miles away from the people they're talking to, they suddenly grow a pair of balls and say things they wouldn't dare say in someone's face. This is why I regret wasting my money on a wireless headset. Seriously, why does xboxlive have to be littered with fuckin idiots who obviously don't know how to interact with people or............sorry lost my train of thought (way off-base). Skate 2 isn't a game you try. You have to take a risk and actually buy the game, which is why I ran through all those guidelines in the first paragraph. Tony Hawk has been around for 9 games, and it's formula has started to wear thin in my opinion. It's nice to take a break from it and do something completely different. The Skate series is my second favorite 'do nothing' games series of all time, which the first being a tie between GTA and Saints Row. And if you're anything like me, this game IS for you.


NOTE: Trick after trick after trick after trick after trick after trick after trick after trick after trick after trick after trick after trick after trick after trick after trick.......