A piece of my mind: Skate 2
February 13th 2009 13:01
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Skate 2
I thought I should have my say about this, lest the internet be polluted with the opinion of some misguided individuals like this,
Rants and Reviews
The original “Skate” game took an entirely different approach to the limited genre of skate games and created a control scheme that was much more fluid and believable than the combo-centric “Tony Hawk” games of previous years. At the time this was quite an intriguing development to a genre that was becoming more and more stagnant with every iteration.
But honestly, Skate games are a limited genre regardless of the control scheme, as “Skate 2” shows us. For the most part, the advances upon the original are superficial with “improvements” such as the ability to get off the board being badly executed and badly designed. The walking system operates on a pivot and the hope that no ledge higher than your shins gets in your way. It seems like a hastily added feature that brings nothing to the table.
While the graphics are pleasant, the map remains the same as the original with new areas being essentially the same template as the old.
The career mode, which you will soon resort to as free skating is an essentially pointless affair, has a difficulty curve that requires hiking boots and a Sherpa to get over. The first two hours, at least, are frustrating and agonising. I see no reason why I should have to plow through two hours of terribly designed controls before I learn all the quirks.
For enthusiasts of this sort of tosh, the game will undoubtedly offer the same minor advances and frustrating challenges that they’re come to expect from this cookie-cutter genre.
The video at the start of the career is pretty cool though, as are a few other parts of the game. When you finally string together a combo, or finally do the bizarre combination of tricks that net you the elusive high-score, it’s very satisfying. If you haven’t broken your Xbox by then.
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Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile