by Kuriakose Saju
When I was a kid, I used to roller-blade. I owned a skateboard as well and I thought the latter was infinitely cooler, only actually mastering a skateboard was much, much harder. I had seen Tony Hawk in action and I had also seen the older guys at skatebowls at various parks around where I stayed. For those of you who are looking dazed by the idea of skatebowls in India, let me clarify. I grew up in Dubai (that’s right, I’m the quintessential “gelf mallu”). Anyways, I had always wanted to be able to do all the stuff that these guys used to pull at the aforementioned skatebowls, shooting off into the air and doing kickflips and ollies. I would be standing in the middle of all this, quivering in my rollerblades. Then came my career as a virtual skateboarder when I ripped points while busting some totally rad moves in games like Tony Hawk Underground and the like.
Which is why I loved Skate the first time I played it. The hidden skateboarder in me loves the sport and the totally realistic graphics make the experience a thoroughly enjoyable one. Skate was EA’s answer to Activision’s Tony Hawk. And in radical departure from previous skateboarding games including Tony Hawk titles, Skate revolutionised gameplay in 2007 with their “flickit” system where you use the analog stick to control the board.
So now, tricks, stunts, grabs, spins and grinds were all stuff that you pulled spinning the joystick around in various ways. Timing was a crucial factor too (as is in all such games). A well-timed move would get you massive air, major points and an immense sense of satisfaction. Skate also introduced a feature called replay editor, where you could make totally rad movies of your moves and give it that professional touch with killer effects and so on. And if you didn’t were the kind of guy who just liked to skate and not be bothered by career and ambition (that’s me, people), the freeskate mode in the game is totally awesome, where you just go around busting moves, jumping over benches, taunting security guards and scaring passer-bys. And the career mode isn’t bad, man. You skate around the city, talk to skating giants like Jason Dill and Colin McKay and finishing various objectives at various stages.
And now, we have Skate 2 on its way. Set five years after the original Skate, the sequel is set in the familiar township of San Vanelona, only the place has just been victim to a massive earthquake. A mega-corporation Monga Co. is rebuilding the city and they don’t take too kindly to skateboarders. As compared to the original, the sequel is said to have ironed out the kinks in the “flickit” system. This comes very handy when one of the objectives in the game is to be able to keep up with other boarders and replicate their moves exactly.
Two new controls have been added to Skate 2, whereby the player will have control over his hands and feet, allowing him to pull off hand and foot plants and even a jumping off the board mid-trick. Another feature that will definitely entice people like me who love Freeskate is the ability to know to actually mount and dismount your board, allowing you to roam around on foot. This, in itself, might not be the coolest thing on the plant but when you’re allowed to pull and push objects around you, helping you create your own skate rink. One major flaw in the first one was the relatively large skateboarder (that’s you) and the camera from behind this guy. But even this has been rectified, with a new third-person camera being introduced alongside the classic angle.
It all sounds very exciting and hopefully, the guys at EA will deliver. Because, somehow, they always do. All I know is that come December 2009, I will be sitting on my lazyboy recliner (which I should afford by then) and reclaim my rightful place in the virtual world of skateboarding.
Kuria is rediscovering the 360’s back catalog these days and is realising that there’s more to the system than Halo.
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