Skate, or Die Tryin'…
(REVIEWING IN A SKIT STYLE)
Today I've got a chance to meet with one of the EA BlackBox representatives to talk about his latest released game, "Skate". I'm surprised to hear his thoughts about his own game. Check it out!
D-Z: Tony Hawk's games has been a long running series that I'm sure, by now, most of the gamers are getting sick and tired of playing it. Now, Electronic Arts is here to tell us exactly how hard it is to be a pro skater in a realistic way. So tell me, how do you guys revolutionized this skating genre?
EA: Firstly, Skate is all about Next Gen, from the wheels to the world, you will feel fresh for this entirely new skating game. So let me start off with the CONTROLS.
We did mention that there are not going to be any button mashes, well, I guess we have lied to most of our viewers and listeners. In fact, most of the time during gameplay, you'll find yourself mashing one, two, or perhaps three buttons just to get your skater to skate and brake. Don't be surprise though, as you'll be pressing or holding the button frequently when you are traveling around San Vanelona. Also, both the Left and Right Triggers are used to grab the board with your left and right hand. Pressing the B button while grabbing will actually let u do a trick or two. So that is button mashing afterall.
But trust me dude, it really feels good to skate. Oh wait, what's a "GOOD" for without a "BAD" right? Ahah! We have invented a flickit control system, that err….actually don't work as perfect as what we have planned for. The directions for pushing and pulling the right stick on certain tricks are quite similar; therefore, it's kinda hard to pull off some specific tricks which are needed to be done in some of the many objectives. But overall, it feels smooth and responsive most of the time. It just requires timing, practice and most importantly, I call it The Ultimate Test For Patience. It's definitely a hundreds of trials and errors to get an objective right.
D-Z: Woah! I'm glad to hear that your thoughts are actually the same as mine. Thanks for revealing the good and the bad part of your newly invented control scheme. So let's move on. You've revolutionized the controls, what about the PRESENTATION?
EA: We are the first developers to develop a skating game that involves free roaming. Our city is named after San Andreas and that is San Vanelona. Obviously in comparison of sizes and map scales, GTA is way much more bigger than ours. But it feels big when you are skating, because a skateboard travels much more slower than a car. So It takes a longer time to reach from one end to another.
We also want the city to look like a breathing world. And with that, we have created about 6-7 different looks of cars and people. And with those numbers, can u imagine how will our city look like? Haha…
We have also created many downhills and down slopes for the skaters to pick up speed. But it seems that, I've spend most of my time going uphills and skating up slopes trying to find my next objectives that is located on the minimap. I've noticed that there's also no balance when it comes to "WHERE TO GO", either you might focus too much on the minimap searching for your objectives, or you might be working too much trying to fancy your skate skills which will eventually lead you into a wrong turn. Not all objectives have multiple paths and ways to reach it. Another downside of our skate game is definitely our camera System. Dude…It totally sucks, we did not provide any change of views or camera, so like it or not, you have to stick with the low camera that is focusing mainly on your skate deck. And I find that this is one of the issues that causes you to miss your timing or evade any obstacles that is in front of you. But this usually counts as a factor when you are trying to complete your objectives.
D-Z: Nice one man! Looks like your presentation is not as good. Talking about objectives, can you tell me how do your skater PROGRESS?
EA: Sure, but there is nothing much here. You'll start off by creating your skater using our CREATE-A-SKATER mode which can only be found in the Career Mode. The Morphing of skaters only involves in the facial and the body area. You won't be able to morph your hands, arms, legs, feet etc. Just know that it is very limited and Morphing are not as deep as THQ's Smackdown Vs RAW and it's not even as close to our own Godfather game. Then we have about 8-10 different types of hairstyle, and tons of brands of clothing for you to hook your skater up with. But I'm sorry that we could not get any brands and sponsors for our pants section. EA can get all the license for everything, but I wonder why not for the shorts and pants..haha..anyway we've only created a bunch of pants for you to choose from.
After that, you progress by doing the tasks assigned by the pro skaters hanging around the streets. This will unlocked the skaters and the sponsors that they are using. Aside from that, you are required to complete photo shoots and film shoots. It gets tougher and tougher as you progress. Seriously dude, just have patience doing these objectives. Finally, the X-games, which is almost impossible to beat.
D-Z: To be honest, I've lost a lot of my patience on this game…so it seems like the career mode is actually repetitive huh? Hmm…so care to share about the A.I?
EA: A.I? You want to know about the A.I? Simple…the CPU controlled skaters loves skating with you. So when you hang out on an area or just wondering around, they will tend to skate around there and cause you to bump on them, this will definitely disrupt your goals and timing.
Normal pedestrians aren't aware of your presence when you are skating face to face with them. They will only evade when you are inch away from knocking them down. Or if they got knocked down, they will lie flat for about 8 seconds, and got up back. Just remember its mostly the same falling animations. And all of them are weak.
Security guards are definitely the strongest among all the A.I. They are fast, well actually not that fast, but its their funny, stupid and clunky animations make them harder to be judge and evade. And if they manage to push, or punch you, which I don't exactly know what they are actually doing, you will be fined $50 and thrown out of the area you are skating.Basically, we don't do much in the A.I.
D-Z: Maybe you can improve you're A.I system in skate 2 next time. So any closing comments?
EA: Of Course, since skate is a next gen game, don't worry about the graphics. I can assure that u will enjoy the next gen visuals, sounds, and gameplay. The sounds are definitely realistic. You wont believe your ears when you hear it. This is Skate, not Tony Hawk's Game. If you ever played Tony Hawk before and dislikes the gameplay style. You must definitely try this. It has the flavour you are looking for years.
Skate isn't something driven with a storyline. It's just a progression of your skater with many frustrating objectives. But if you love to skate, or feel like skating. I recommend you to purchase this game or at least give it a rent. I've been playing it for almost 40 hours, and still haven't get sick and tired of it. Just be patience, and you will enjoy the most realistic skateboarding game that has ever been created.
D:Z: I agree, the gameplay is really satisfying. Though there's no achievements or story line, but every trick and grind you pull off, feels like an achievement. And definitely it feels new to the genre. And it feels fresh.Anyway Thanks for your time.
EA: Anytime.