SkaterGeek

The EA Skate Trilogy

Tao — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 06:25:10 +0000

It all began with EA Skate, back in September 2007, when Electronic Arts and Black Box release Skate, a innovative and ground breaking skateboard game for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. Unlike the previous king of the skating games, Tony Hawk, Skate focussed on pure “experience” gameplay and opted for realism over style and fantasy. Skate immediately hit home with the skating generation who applauded the controls, the open ended gameplay and excellent graphics. Rather than relying on button mashing combo’s, Skate opted for controlled moves using the analog sticks. Gone were the days of 50 million point grinding combos and “Ollie The Bum” – welcome back real skating!

Skate 2 was probably in the works when Skate 1 came out. Released in Janurary 2009, Skate 2 took the bull by the horns, actually listened to the skate community and added more features, a new city, more tricks and extras to an almost perfect game. Skate 2 takes place 5 years into the Skate future, where a massive earthquake has devastated the fictional city of San Vanelona and you are set free to explore the landscape on your deck. Skate 2 is massive, although some of the locations seem and look the same as before but the whole game is polished and much better than its predecessor. They also added a “Hall Of Meat” section that allows you to rack up points when you hurt yourself. For me, this was just a gimmick and a little too much like Tony Hawk Pro Skater for my liking.

Yay! Skate 3 throws down some moves as the focus turns to team based play and achievements. The new city of Port Carverton is your playground and the added “Hardcore Mode” will see the usually minimal physics of the game reduced to “real life”, so no more huge airs or massive ollies for us… Skate 3 will also have the obligatory sequel mode called “Create A Park” where you can design and build your own parks and share them online. Skate 3 drops in May 2010 and will fast become another killer title for the latest generation of consoles and skater kids.

Search For Animal Chin Special Edition

Tao — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 13:58:27 +0000


If you have never seen this film, then I insist that you do! It features lots of very young skaters, like Tony Hawk, Steve Caballero and Gonz in one of the first full length skate videos. It is a little theatrical, but still excellent fun to watch. If you are expecting 360 nollie laser flips down a 3 set, then this is not for you. It is strictly old-school skating at it's best.

PreOrder Skate 3 and Get A Free Skatepark

Tao — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 23:25:29 +0000

Those super dudes at BlackBox have released a new trailer for Skate 3, letting us all know that if we pre-order the game, we will get to fondle the key to the Black Box Skate Park!

The trailer also shows us some skaters, er.. you know, skating – but nothing that really looks different from Skate 2 – just slightly improved animations perhaps.

Click the platform choice below to pre-order NOW!

Win an Enjoi Deck With YouTube

Tao — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 09:19:42 +0000

I have been contacted by MysterySk8ter2013 who is holding a competition on YouTube for you to make an EA Skate 2 video and enter a competition to win a (real) Enjoi deck.

The rules of the competition are as follows:

You MUST be a subscriber to MysterySk8ter2013s YouTube channel and have your subscription box up on your profile!
You MUST add him as a friend on YouTube.
The video CAN be unrealistic OR Realistic.
The videos will be judged on skating, filming, and video editing.
You MUST post the video as a video response to the video below.

The contest ends January 21st, so get on with it!

Here is the competition video. Let me know how you get on! I will be monitoring the entries too and will post the winning video after the comp finishes.

More Hippy Flips and Hippy Complys?

Tao — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 09:11:45 +0000

I had a message from another YouTube EA Skate fan called SycoticB after posting about the hippy flip compilation yesterday, asking me to check out his “Rust in Peace” video.

I was impressed.

It seems that you people out there really know how to pull off these hippy flips! The great thing about this dude is the other kinds of hippy flips he manages to pull off, such as no comply to late hippy flip or revert to 360 hippy flip. Great stuff Mr SycoticB.

It seems I need to practice more…

EDIT: You should also check out this compilation by Ronald’s arch enemy Thehamburgler95. it seems that hippy flips are in at the moment and I definitely need to catch up with some game time. If I could only get my kids off MW2!

So people… what else am I missing out on? I feel like I have passed the whole Hippy Flip thing! Let me know in the comments below!

Hippy Flip Mungus!

Tao — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 23:17:41 +0000

Hippy flips are not where you extend your middle finger at the nearest long haired, flares wearing drop out who looks at you though their John Lennon glasses, it is a real skill, an art form and this YouTube skater shows exactly how to do it – with buckets of style!

COUSINhercules pulls off an amazing number of Hippy Flips in this compilation video – even in a pool and off a wall ride.

Respect…!

Electric Skateboard

Tao — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 12:35:02 +0000

Ever since man got lazy, there have been people asking for an electric skateboard.

Luckily, with the introduction of smaller and more efficient technology, this dream is no a reality. Manufacturers have been able to create small and compact electric skateboards that are controlled by a trigger held in your hand. The powerful motor on the skateboard will power you along at around 19 miles per hour, which is fast enough for cruising or shredding too.

Another excellent use of an electric skateboard is to be able to strap on some larger and more forgiving wheels that will let you take it off road on to grass, mud and dirt. This transforms the deck into a versatile piece of equipment that can be used anywhere.

These types of skateboards are only for use with flat, dry surfaces and are not to be used to perform tricks, jumps or x-games competitions

I wonder if they go uphill?

Wireless 800 Watt Electric Skateboard by Xcel XT-800 $649.00	Battery Powered Electric Skateboard w/ Charger $60.00	Hand Held Remote Electric Skateboard Exskate 4.0 Raptor $30.00
DC SHOES DECAL STICKER SKATEBOARD X GAMES ELECTRIC BLUE $6.00	SLOT CAR SKATE BOARD RACING RACE TRACK HO ELECTRIC SET $49.99	Wireless 600 Watt Electric Skateboard by Xcel XS-600 $549.00

Show all electric skateboard items on eBay

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Tony Hawk Ride Is The Dogs

Tao — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 08:29:02 +0000

So, hawk ride has been out for a few days now and TVs have been broken, ornaments have been smashed and some poor adult has had their shins cracked by a flying skateboard controller.

Well… probably.

Here is a great review of the game and probably shows the market that it is aimed at:

Skate 3 Team Play Video

Tao — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:56:12 +0000

Another Skate 3 trailer video has dropped and features more on the “team” concept of the next version of this gaming franchise.

The video shows a skate-off between the HESH and the FRESH teams where they both perform tricks on various obstacles. Check out the trailer, courtesy of Joystiq below.

Things to note from this video are:

There is a section where the skater is being filmed by someone behind him. Does this mean we get to film each other in this way?
There are a few good spanks and cock ups during grinds and board slides. Perhaps there will be a “pressure” type effect where you have to keep yourself “cool” whilst performing.
Will we get to stand around and watch other people do skate tricks and then bash our boards on our heads when they fall off?
The city still looks very familiar. Lets hope they add some good locations to Skate 3.

What else did you notice that I have missed? Leave me a comment below!

Tony Hawk Ride Gameplay Video

Tao — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:50:57 +0000

I was just watching this Tony Hawk Ride video over at Joystiq and initially thought “cool”, which then turned to “oh” and moved rapidly on to “crap…”.

It seems that Activision and the venerable Mr Hawk have re-invented the Tony Hawk games, by just adding a new controller. The mile long grinds and cartoon, arcade graphics are still there.

Crap…

I was really hoping to see the podgy Activision employee flip or spin the deck or something cool like that! Instead he just seems to be making small movements with his legs and feet to make flips and stuff. The only thing that looks real (or fun) is when he turns 90 and then 180 degrees whilst doing an insane grind, board slide combo.

What do you all think so far?
Is Tony Hawk Ride shaping up to be good?