SKATE IT Posted by Dan Pearson on Nov 28, 2008 17:55 (Nov 28, 2008 17:55) |
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EA are still chasing after Tony Hawks skating crown and after a solid entry with a more realistic feel on the Xbox 360 and PS3 they now focus on the Nintendo Wii, but can this version of Skate ollie over the opposition?
Skate It takes us back to the familiar surroundings of San Vanelona, but due to a huge natural disaster (explained in a funny short newscast) the city has been completely reformed, thankfully it is even more of a Mecca for boarders as there are no pedestrians or cars, just plenty of ramps and grind spots. You are found by a local photographer who wants to team up and document the finest lines in this reformed city. As you move around you will meet plenty of other pro’s who offer challenges like score attack, or they will get you to pull off certain moves allowing ample opportunity for Kodak moments.
 Unlike the 360 and PS3 versions, Skate It on the Wii has removed the open city play and moved to the more classic Tony Hawks approach in which you try to open each area, allowing you to complete as many challenges in the area you are currently occupying and then open a new one up. There are 14 areas in total, some in San Van and after a while you will unlock some world class areas. Each area has loads of new hazards and lines to seek out and own including the school yard with plenty of rails and benches, a spillway with a large pipe system and a huge skating park full of ramps, a 360 tube and massive half pipes.
Graphically this game is impressive for the Wii, the characters lack the finish of the big consoles but it holds the pace perfectly with no slowdown and each location has its own look and feel.
The music track list is what you come to expect from a skating game, a good mix of rap and rock to keep you going, plus there is plenty of speech from the main characters to keep the story ticking over.
So far so good and amazingly it gets better. There are three styles of control you can use on this game, the Wii-mote, Wii-mote and Nunchuck or the Wii-mote and Wii Board.
 The Wii-mote for a change is not the easiest to use, you have the steering and all of the jumps mapped to the one controller so it can be hard to pull off certain skills. The Wii-mote and Nunchuck option is what most of us will use and is a great control method, the steering is on the control stick and the Wii-mote is essentially your board, use A to push, flick up to ollie, flick down to nollie, twist and flick for flip tricks and other air moves. Both of these control methods are really cool but the final method, the Wii Board completely changes the game. This essentially makes the game into a real skateboarding simulator, it’s just like skating outside, but on nice warm carpet and with no real worries of scuffing your knees. The Wii Board is positioned like you would a real skateboard and you use it in exactly the same way, tilt to turn, lean back and forth to pull off manuals, kick the back or front for jumps and kick the sides for flip tricks. To push you use the A button on the Wii-mote and with this you can also change your trick set to pull off even more moves. This mode will take ages to master as balance and timing is the key, but once you have it this game becomes the best skating game on any console. Skate It offers the best Wii experience I have had since the consoles release and I can’t wait for more like it. The Wii Board has made Skate It the best skating game on any console, it is perfectly realised and any boarder or amateur will love this game.
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