Author: Crossfire

PS3/XBOX360

All good videogames will aim to impress the feeling of escapism onto the player but I also look for a game that allows me to attempt something virtually that I know I wouldn’t dream of trying or have the time to try, in reality. This can be from anything like a member of the armed forces to a professional football player. It’s a healthy and almost always, safer way to get the feel for an activity, beyond what you know from reading about it. Skate 2 gives me that feeling by the bucket-load but does the rest of the game hold up or is it a one trick pony?

With many more tricks at your disposal than the original Skate, the sequel seems a little light on storyline & character development. The feel that Skate 2 leaves you with, ultimately, is of experiencing a form of skateboarding simulator with very little else thrown in. The main rewards come from performing tricks in an open cityscape, using anything and almost every piece of street furniture. I’ll warn you now, though that tricks are often a complex series of movements on the gamepad which can defy belief. Many of the trick moves require the slightest of touches and the sensitivity that is built will only frustrate those players who are ham-fisted.

So with the gameplay focus fully on trick performance and placement, the game itself is only worthwhile, in singleplayer mode, as a practice mat for skateboarding real. If you have never experienced the fun that can be had on a skateboard then Skate 2 is the ideal arena to learn the talk and ollie to your eyes bleed. If, on the other hand, your looking for a backdrop of an involving story & world space themed by skateboarding then you maybe disappointed.

6/10
David Osbon.