te 2 Review - Gamesitefun

Having the skating-game genre all to itself this time around, Skate 2 presents an interesting proposition as a sequel to an experience defined by its novelty. No longer tied to serving as a brutally successful experiment in virtual phys ed (that I absolutely loved), Skate 2 rolls with its realism and builds itself out as a bigger, more thorough skateboarding sim than its antecedent -- and seemingly, a more casual one. Skate is now about skating, not learning how to do so. It's not necessarily a better game as a result, but it's unquestionably one worth playing.

Skate's base appeals stem from the lures of the sport itself: a skater's physical relationship with their board and the environment around them, and the inseparable DIY culture that surrounds skateboarding. With a focus on physics and structure, the series distills the intricacies of the act to something wholly manageable -- player direction and momentum is mapped to the left analog stick, while most basic tricks are assigned to the right (accomplished by dozens of varyingly complex flicking motions). Using a combination of the face buttons and shoulder buttons, you can push off with either foot, perform grabs, and -- new to the sequel -- pull off handplants, footplants, and a number of other more specific moves that actual skaters will appreciate (and previously lamented the lack of). Variety takes precedence over bombast, as visceral satisfactions thread the whole experience together.