Ea and blackbox are at it again with the sequel to acclaimed 2007 release of Skate.  This evolution of the series is here to not only knock Tony Hawk’s series backwards more but totally out of the park.

When Skate was released it heralded a completely new style of gameplay in the extreme sports genre and although felt totally weird at first became the game to beat due to its no-nonsense, natural style.  Gone were the 6,000 degree kickflips with alley oop mctwists and in were the intuitive control system and tricks that can be performed in real life. This was dull for a few but revolutionary for most and is now the accepted game in this genre.

Skate 2 definitely follows suit here bringing back the same control system, style of gameplay and all the fun and more garnered from the original.  The storyline involves you being released from prison and immersing yourself into the city New San Vanelona.  This city has undergone a massive change since you have been away and the corporates have moved in and police the areas effectively to stop little oiks like you causing chaos around the city.  Rails have been clamped in the corporate areas and your skating has gone underground.  The storyline is based around you liberating the city from this injustice and bringing back the freedom to get your skate on.

The gameplay, ala skate, is smooth.  In fact very, very smooth.  First timers to this series will be put through a few tutorials and basic storylines to get your skills up to scratch.  I this is your first time then the first hour or two will be a little tricky as you throw away the Tony Hawk style of play and control and adapt to the new one.  Just do not think about pulling rediculous tricks and you’ll settle in no time.  A pure sandbox game allows you to skate and explore the whole city, finding skate spots on the fly that you can mark on your map.  The progression in game is very simplistic and allows you to teleport to the next mission or side mission at will if time is of short supply.  Alternatively, the best way to open this game up further is to explore everywhere.  Look for lines, ramps, parks, spots etc and skate your ass off as if it were you in the 1980′s with more balls.  Yes, you will fall off tonnes but isn’t that what you do in real life if you were still skating.  This game is not memant to be too easy but when you’re in the flow you do really feel it!

Another addition to the game which does help give it a little more depth is the ability to get off of your board and pull ramps, garbage cans and other items to set up jumps, lines and even secret spots for your enjoyment.  Although this is a welcome addition it can be a little frustrating at times due to the one stick control system whch feels a little clunky on occassion.  Alos the trick depth has been upped a hell of a lot and will take a while to dial in.  The beauty is the option to view the trick list at any time to practice and get these nailed.

There are a variety of different things you can do from the main storyline missions to magazine and video shoots.  If you find a spot then claim it or even build onto it and upload for your friends to skate and try to own, you can build your own parks, edit your own videos to upload to eanation (some of these up there already are really impressive), customise your skater, free skate online with a few people and the list goes on.  One of the new additions here is the Hall Of Meat challenges which enables you to bail and cripple your body as much as possible for points.  Think of the game Pain on the PS3 and you’ll know what I mean.

Graphically, this game is very impressive and makes you wonder what blackbox did to screw Undercover up so much.  This moves at a lovely framerate with no drops at all and hardly any pop up that I noticed.  The animations look good, seem feathered and blended properly.  A smotth frame rate was a must for this title and blackbox has delivered giving you the freedom to not think when it will drop as you approach a rail for you next grind.  Fluid in every area I really cannot fault this at all.  Another new feature is the custom graphics designer which is to be found on the skate website.  Basically this memans that you can create your own custom graphics that can be uploaded and then put into your game for use on boards, t-shirts, hats etc.  I found this to be a really exciting feature which enables you to get your logos seen by the online community and even shared with the public or your team-mates.  Expect the MG logo to be up there soon .

Multiplayer I found to be a real crack.  It is always good to meet up with people online and free skate around. The beauty about this is that you can jump in online at any point during a free skate offline.  Various modes have been enabled here with a couple that have already been mentioned already.  Ea have created a lot more user interaction in different way this time around with the ability to create your own spot, get a score and challenge everyone to beat it.  The same goes for the Hall Of Meat where the idea, as stated before, is to get the worst injuries possible in an area and challenge others to beat that.  When you join up in free skate online modes you can also create mini challenges with your crew to try and beat which is a great icebreaker when meeting other freeskaters for the first time.  All in all a very solid experience which will keep you going for weeks and weeks.

Overall, this is one hell of an experience and again proves that perhaps a genre that was once dead has been brought back to live with a bit of imagination and the ability to provide a more natural gameplay all round.  What this means for us oldies is that you can have your cake and eat it, reliving your dodgy youth and perhaps doing stuff that you may not have done when out there fore real in your teens.  The beauty now is that there is no potential heart attack from it as you sit in your armchair sipping beer whilst hand planting a lip in a bowl tht you would have never attempted in real life.  A kid in a candy store springs to mind and is a must for anyone that is into skating games.

SKATE 2 (Blackbox, EA)

Gameplay - The feel is intuitive and natural, missions are a challenge but not over the top and the user involvement at every level is solid.

Graphics - Although not perfect and has now WOW factor, the look is very impressive with a nearly flawless framerate. Something Blackbox’s last title should have had but didn’t deliver

Sound - All the natural sounds of a skating experience for real with a kickass soundtrack that will keep all music lovers from a lot of genres happy

Online - The interaction for the user has been ramped up a few notches from its predecessor and to great effect, a great experience and a chance to show thos site and team logos with the new custom graphic interface

Overall - Everything you wanted and more from a skating game.  The new features, although slightly flawed in places add a greater depth to an already good overall experience.  Don those converse shoes, cap and relive your tenage years again.