2007 was the year that Activision's 'Tony Hawk series' was given some competition, this came in the form of EA's very well judged Skate.

 

EA's skateboarding sim proved to be a hit and, amazingly enough, it even managed to outsell Tony Hawk's Proving Ground, which was also released in 2007.

 

Now in 2009, developer 'EA Black Box' is back with a more improved an fresh sequel, "Skate 2".

 

 

Basically you have been in jail for the last five years, things have changed, and now that you're free, the time has most certainly come to prove that you still possess your skateboarding talents.

 

Those familiar with 'Skate It' on the Wii will remember that the city of San Vanelona was in ruins, courtesy of a earthquake.

 

 

Five years later, "New San Vanelona" stands in place of the ruined old city, thus giving you both new and old areas to skate in.

 

The story isn't much good though, I felt that it had far too many people who think they're cooler than me.

 

 

The city will certainly prove to be familiar in certain areas, although it still has had a facelift following that nasty earthquake.

 

The actual skateboarding once again benefits from the excellent analog stick fickit controls, employing the use of both sticks to control body and board.

 

New tricks include 'hand plants' and 'hippie jumps', amongst others. In fact, the trick list has been greatly expanded, now boasting double the amount of tricks when compared with the original. Nice.

 

 

Skate was definitely more of a skateboarding simulator than Tony Hawk's, and certainly wasn't as silly as some of the Birdman's games. This sequel still keeps that realism intact, although slapstick does show up with the option to bail off your board at anytime, often leading to some nasty landings and some unwelcome meetings with walls and objects.