Skate 2 has been here for a few days now and I think that the general consensus is that it is brilliant - but has a few issues too.
I am 100% sure that Tony Hawk will be playing Skate 2 and learning from it's plus points and trying to think of how, now that he and Neversoft have parted company, he will reclaim the title of Best Skateboarding Console Game.
Here is my thoughts on how he can get back his street cred and bring the skaters back on board (no pun intended!)
1. Keep It Real!
We all admit it. The Hawk series was getting a bit too stupid for my liking. It was more like a cross between an episode of Jackass and Gleaming The Cube than a proper skating game. Sure, it was fun to set yourself on fire when jumping into a flaming barrel and run away from a bull - but enough is enough. The popularity of EA Skate has shown that skaters want skating. REAL skating. Throw in the odd 540 Christ Air backflip if you want - but keep the core game realistic.
2. Crime Does Not Pay
Whilst I can see that young people, skateboarding and crime kind of go hand in hand (from a press/media perspective) - keep it out of the game! We don't need a fight mini-game! If I wanted to fight someone, I would go and play Tekken! We want to skate, not spray graffitti and punch passers by.
3. Real World Locations
Even Skate and Skate 2 suffer from this problem a bit. Keep the locations realistic. No griding down the cables of an overhead powerstation. Street, park, pool and ramp skating please - not train tracks, boats, guns and rooftops.
4. Kill The Killer Combos
If you check out YouTube, there are plenty of kids posting videos of their 50 quad-billion combo trick they pulled off in Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2. Again - keep it real.
5. Moon Physics Are For The Moon Not My Game!
Backflipping over the top of a huge building (to revert) is excellent fun for the button mashers out there - but make it more realistic! Imagine how hard, challenging and rewarding a game would be where you had to actually time your tricks properly to achieve them. Don't make it too hard though.
To sum up my thoughts, Tony needs to keep the new Hawk Series more realistic. With the advent of consoles like the Xbox 360 and the PS3, graphics and gameplay could be really realistic and challenging. Add to that a kick ass video editor and online presence and Tony Hawk could come back stronger than ever.
What else would you add to this list?
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