Skate footage impresses, asks Tony who?
by Kevin Kelly 
{ Nov 17th 2006 at 8:25PM }
There is some in-game footage of EA's upcoming Skate game up on YouTube, and it looks pretty flippin' sick. Sick in the good sense of the word, you know, to show how hip we are. It's being played on an Xbox 360, and you can color us extremely impressed.
The game looks a lot more realistic and graphically intense than anything from the Tony Hawk camp. With eight games under their belt now, that franchise is looking tired (although we love the "Nail the Trick" feature in Tony Hawk's Project 8). Skate looks poised to blow them out of the water and take skating games in a new direction: realism.
[Thanks, al52025]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Juan @ Nov 17th 2006 8:32PM
Wow. That looks amazing.
Maybe having some competition will finally drive Tony Hawk's developers to dust themselves off and start anew.
Zuko @ Nov 17th 2006 8:34PM
Awesome...especially since you the video said Big is gonna be a character!
Real skater @ Nov 17th 2006 8:34PM
hey people learn how to skate for real it funner and it hurts too!(i know i skate in real life and this game wont take me off of skating for real though)
ManekiNeko @ Nov 17th 2006 8:41PM
Wait, wait, hold the phone a second. Is realism really what people want from an extreme sports game? In Tony Hawk, you're able to pull off long strings of outrageous tricks that would never be possible in real life. I think the series has gotten stale too, but toning it down for the sake of realism is NOT the way to go.
JR
Zarile @ Nov 17th 2006 8:42PM
ok, now I am excited...looks incredible!
Jason @ Nov 17th 2006 8:44PM
I am so happy that Tony Hawk has some competetion, I a tired of the tony hawk series, as well as madden, and wrestling. They are getting so old
rob @ Nov 17th 2006 8:49PM
Big Black rules!
I usually hate MTV but I like that show for some reason. I think that skater dude did a lot of motion capture stuff for that game.
KillerSlinky @ Nov 17th 2006 8:50PM
Wow. Looks fake as all hell.
Doctahh Dooom @ Nov 17th 2006 8:50PM
wow that does look incredible, and how do you people know realism isn't a good thing? You've certainly haven't tried it out yet, till then shut yo face homie.
-doctahhdooooom
dsub @ Nov 17th 2006 8:55PM
a realistic skateboarding game would be loved by people who actually know and have an appreciation for skateboarding, but to anyone who doesn't know much about it besides it being an "Xtreme" sport a realistic skateboarding game would be dull and boring.
Real street skateboarding moves at a much slower, rhytmic pace, and is all about style.
To joe shmoe, style doesn't count, it's all about who can spin around and flip the most times after ramping into the air 100 ft. in a pool in someone's backyard ala Tony Hawk games.
When I play Tony Hawk games, I purposely try to keep things realistic. To be honest, the game is actually pretty challenging that way. I focus more on the style of the trick rather than the highest score.
We'll have to wait and see though, from my point of view as someone who can appreciate the sport, this game looks beautiful.
Tim @ Nov 17th 2006 8:56PM
NEED.... MOAR...
Dirtyboy @ Nov 17th 2006 9:03PM
Competition breeds innovation.
Until EA buys all rights to skateboarding...
Probot @ Nov 17th 2006 9:16PM
Here you go Tim:
http://www.ag.auburn.edu/enpl/faculty/moar.htm
Tim @ Nov 17th 2006 9:27PM
Thanks man.
Exbzurg @ Nov 17th 2006 9:30PM
ok i could care less about the whole genre, but there isn't much to tell if this is real. for one you never see both the screen and the guy use the controller at the same time. Also theres no hud or anything like an indicater, other than that owned thing that popped up. So how do we know that this is not just a video playing?
ElementsUnknown @ Nov 17th 2006 9:55PM
As a skater for almost 14 years I am so happy that real skateboarding is finally being represented. Real professional skaters do enough "amazing" tricks without the Tony Hawk over the top treatment. Tony's series started out ok but degenerated into endless strings of impossible tricks. SKATE at least looks to capture the feel and vibe of real skating. However, I am still not sure that was real gameplay footage, they could have easily cut together shots of Rob with the 360 controller with pre-rendered "gameplay", but after Gears anything is possible graphics wise.
Pupnasty @ Nov 19th 2006 6:06PM
omfg...a hud...does EVERY game need a hud? i mean, do you have a hud built into your brain, telling you where shiat is? since they are going for realism, GOOD BYE hud....
EA_Sux @ Nov 17th 2006 10:12PM
Wow, I'd buy this game today...
...if it were out
...if I believed this was gameplay footage
...if I thought that it would offer something new to the genre
...if I weren't boycotting EA
Adam @ Nov 18th 2006 5:19AM
Yeah. He's not really playing that game.
Arxh @ Nov 17th 2006 10:42PM
@ 4, I for one skated for many years and I have always been hoping that an open ended realistic skateboarding game would be made some day, THPS is fun but personally I would be much happier and entertained if the sport was presented faithfully, other sports games have simulators, why not skateboarding?
I agree with #10 and I can honestly say im more excited about this than any of the lastest Tony Hawk games in recent years.
tall andy @ Nov 17th 2006 10:50PM
does anyone remember thrasher skate and destory,
that game was extremely realistic and based on style,
i hope this game can revive that realistic fealing of actually
keeping the grip up, and the wheels down
Brodalco @ Nov 17th 2006 11:00PM
What I particularly like is the simulation of a Camera with auto-exposure- notice how the outdoors look bright white, then darken back into view when you leave a building.
That attention to detail is amazing.
Steve (the real one) @ Nov 17th 2006 11:04PM
It is everything I have always wanted from a skateboarding game. Something that flows well.
Anyone who has ever played amped (the first one) knows exactly what I am talking about. How you rotated and flipped by leaning back as you went up the jump and then the harder you pushed forward, the faster you spun. As you flew through the air your rotation slowed down. And you had to land with the board flush to the snow or you would crash. The best snowboarding game by far IMO; even though it wasn't the most realistic.
Long rant/short, I hope this game will be like the amped 1 of skateboarding games, except more realistic.
The only way I will buy this game new is if I don't have to micro-transaction the other half of it for $40. If that happens, I will wait until I can buy it used, without the manual and a cracked case for $10 off eBay.
davoman @ Nov 17th 2006 11:09PM
im suprised no one yet has commented on how after he pulled the trick it said owned,, i loved the video but the owned thing is kinda gay heaps of people say it now without really knowing how it all began, give it back u trasy teenagers and ur hip hop
Scott @ Nov 18th 2006 1:04AM
That looks fantastic. Just very thought out and apparently playable if that video is to be believed(EA? Believeable?)
Elohim @ Nov 18th 2006 12:33AM
Heh.. its real footage trust me...
Imadogg @ Nov 18th 2006 12:43AM
"Here you go Tim:
http://www.ag.auburn.edu/enpl/faculty/moar.htm"
Hahahahhahahahahhahhahahhaahha omfg I was laughing pretty damn hard at that, started laughing again while typing this. You, my good man, deserve 10 more stars. Need moar hahaha
Btw might check this game out if we get a downloadable demo [don't even think about making me pay for it EA...]
Dark-Pen @ Nov 18th 2006 12:46AM
why.... why does this game look so fake? I don't mean that there isn't some sort of HUB showing points or anything, but the fact that the camera angle is really impracticle? I mean, sure, its stylish, but looks awfully impracticle, in my opinion.
DarkTetsuya @ Nov 18th 2006 1:05AM
They should've made this a Skate or Die sequel:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skate_Or_Die
Kenster @ Nov 18th 2006 3:29AM
yesssss thrasher skate and destroy was the best skateboarding game out there and if this is real (because it looks extremely fake), then ea has a tony hawk killer on their hands. it's all about realism and style. screw point grinding.
ill trooper @ Nov 18th 2006 4:00AM
"So he just kicked... and pushed...kick, push, kick, push"
Skateboarding games aren't my thing, but this looks good - more 'stereo/chocolate/zoo york video,' less SSX hyper-reality... the camera has the 'vx-2000' follow-cam look that has become a staple of skate vids the last decade...
I checked out the PS3's new Sixaxis control on Tony Hawk and it was pretty cool flicking the controller to snap off ollies, etc... But really, does anything come close the visionary rotating joystick control on Atari's arcade 720 machine?
http://www.skateboardingmagazine.com/720/
mike @ Nov 18th 2006 4:36AM
The biggest thing about a skateboarding game is if it is fun and the gameplay isn't too repetitive. Tony Hawk games have always made me laugh and smile when I play them and I love the ability to do unrealistic moves and "sick" combos.
Lex @ Nov 18th 2006 5:33AM
This is kind of the same thing with the discussion about Amped (not the 3rd one) and SSX.
I think they appeal to different people, but the competition will eventually blend the two.
nea @ Nov 18th 2006 5:59AM
i agree with dsub. id love to play this game. i was a rollerblader but i appreciate skateboarding. although, you couldnt pull off the tricks we could ;)
check my friend http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IePmPxyY7hE
check the king http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsooyfxeNp0
nea @ Nov 18th 2006 1:12PM
forgot to add; we need another inline game
cello @ Nov 18th 2006 7:15AM
nea ...
pfff. Come on man. You know skating is crazier and way more tech than rollerblading could ever be.
come on now.
Zarile @ Nov 18th 2006 9:07AM
actually, it looks more like a nice indirect sequal to Thrasher: Skate and Destroy. That was and still is too this day, the BEST skateboarding game every created. This game does look like it's going to be close too it. I think the "Owned" thing is kind of corny, but also really cool, showing what cool spots are. And really, if that's a cool spot to EA, then maybe they know what they are doing....because if I was still skateboarding in real life, I would have killed to hit a spot like that one.
The fluid motion in the game looks great too, the way when he was turning at a fast speed, the skater seemed to somewhat loose his balance, and then rebalance himself out.
Like people have already said, there are a TON of real life skaters that would just die to have a game like this, for those rainy days, or during the winter(though that's what snowboarding is for really) or just for sidetime fun. And then for people like me, who used to skate, and don't anymore, but still love the sport. I really have my hopes set high for this, and I know I shouldn't, but it looks fantastic, micro transactions or not, I will be watching this game like a hawk, and most likely purchasing it on day one.
johnson @ Nov 18th 2006 9:33AM
It's obviously fake footage. I don't understand how this can be a new story. Unless the headline was 'Rob Dyrdek pretends to play some prerendered footage'
Steve (the real one) @ Nov 18th 2006 1:30PM
yeah. Aggressive inline kicked the shit out of the tony hawk games when it came out. Then tony hawk four copied it, and was better than any hawk game before, in ways.
Tony Hawk 3: 2 minute timer. Set goals. Small levels. No unlockable areas. Could beat all of the maybe 15-25 goals in 20 minutes of play. Static levels that never changed.
Aggressive inline: huge levels with unlockable areas. Around 100 or more goals in each of the 10 levels. You talk to people to get goals. No 2 minute time limit. Great soundtrack, like THPS2. The biggest part. Your skater got better at the tricks you did. No buying stat points. Missions could alter the level for more skating.
Tony Hawk 4: bigger levels. No time limit. Talk to people. More goals. Still buy stat points. Missions could alter the level for more skating.
Aggressive inline 2 would rock.
nea @ Nov 18th 2006 1:40PM
are you guys kidding me? (i think you are cello). u flick your wood and hope u land on it (mullen rocks though). done any handrails? did u even look at those links i gave. skateboarding doesnt come close to aragon. i said i respected skateboarding but its losers like you USP45 that spoil it.
do you know any famous rollerbladers? no, cause they dont sell out to the xgames.
skateboarding cant touch fruit bootin e.g:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CztbGhtO9iU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8PN_YEl5rM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQn8FGX2i-g
im sure theres better these days though
SKSpecial @ Nov 19th 2006 4:19PM
Anyone who's read the article in PSM about SKATE knows that the game is not intended to have a HUD (but you can cut one on if you so choose) and the camera angle is low like that to simulate being in a video (and PSM commented on the impracticality of the camera too).
According to EA, the game will record you as you play, and you will most likely be able to share the footage online, create clans, etc, etc. This footage doesn't even look fake, it looks like 2nd (or at least 1 1/2)-gen XB360.
Saneless @ Nov 20th 2006 9:41AM
"12. Competition breeds innovation."
The friggin ironic thing is that for once, EA was the innovator because another company was stale as hell. WTF is going on in this world?
the_insider @ Nov 20th 2006 7:43PM
This game IS the bomb... When a simple kick-flip can get you stoked like in real life, stupid endless 100x combo flatland grind tricks seem beyond silly and a pain in the ass.
Also, to those saying realism = no fun: You are dead wrong. No one is talking "Flight Simulator X" here, but just actually trying to capture the essence, beauty, and difficulty of the sport in order to represent it more authentically. This does not imply day long learning curves and convoluted controls and frustrating dry goals. You dont have to do switch quadruple fingerflip airwalk backflips to pogo darkslide grinds in order to "have fun". As a matter of fact, I find these extremely long super button bash combo intense objectives to be anything but fun. You might as well just have a balance bar on screen and and a trick list to do before a timer runs out.
some dude @ Nov 27th 2006 4:45PM
i hate people saying it is fake. its actually in this months game informer. go to like EB Games or Game Stop and just peep it out its got the game map in it as well as a few screen shots.
this makes me smile because i still think to this day Thrasher was the best skate game just cause you cant do obsene shit like massive combos. the read up said its not a button pushing game but rather one that u use the joystick to manipulate only the front foot. it literally says that they plan to never make any kickflip in the game look the same twice.
it also said around feb was the release