I hope you have all completed Skate 3 by now.

I know I haven’t!

It got me thinking of what would be possible for Skate 4 and what could be included.  First, here are a few thoughts on how I feel about Skate 3.

1.  It all feels a little too “cartoony” for my liking.  Almost as if they have taken a step back towards the Tony Hawk series that Skate 1 was such a breath of fresh air to get away from.  I guess I have got used to it now, but go back and play Skate 1 or 2 and you will see what I mean.

2.  More tricks and hats and “hall of meat” and crap like that are all well and good, but please concentrate more on gameplay.  We are still having issues where the player gets bounced into the air or disappears half way through a wall.

3.  Online is still a lag-fest and should be avoided at all times!  Unless you are skating with your mates, expect long delays without much happening at all.

So… Skate 4?  What will it be about?

I predict the following:

1.  Skate 4 will be in the same location – more New Carverton for us.  Perhaps they could destroy it with an earthquake or something

2.  More Pro’s, more hats and decks.  More online and more stuff that we don’t need.  I would happily take off some of the extra crud they put into the Skate series and pay the programmers more to concentrate on more animations and detail in the environments.

3.  Better music.  Was it me?  Or was the soundtrack to Skate 3 a little lame?

4.  And here is the big one…. Kinect support!  Yes – you will be able to push old ladies out the way using the new motion capture features of Kinect.  Will we be pretending to skate on the floor like that bratty kid did in the first Kinect advert?  Possibly – but I don’t expect it to happen.

What do you think?  What will Skate 4 bring to us (probably next year).

One of the first videos I watched after Skate 3 was released was one where the character had changed into a slab of meat, or a steak or something.

My son, aged 8, thought this was the best thing he had ever seen and bugged me to get the character on the game somehow.

The way to unlock “Meat Man” on Skate 3 is to complete all of the Hall Of Meat challenges. You will then be able to play the game with your favorite fleshy friend.

Skateboard ramps have definitely transformed the sport from being something that annoying kids did to get in your way to a thrill ride of vert tricks, flips, spins and bails. Where would we be without the likes of Tony Hawk, who seemed to pioneer the massive wooden skateparks and bowls of the 80s and 90s.

The ollie brought us the ability to pop up and grind rails and kerbs, boardslide down handrails and manual across funboxes. There is so much fun to be had with a small rail, either on the flat or down (or up) a small ramp or incline. It is worth getting one just to practice your skills on.

Buying a ramp or rail to skate on is pretty easy. There are many online companies where you can buy one from. Probably the best is eBay or Amazon. Have a look at the deals below and get your next piece of skate equipment. Skateboard ramps and rails are here to stay.

BMX BIKE-SKATEBOARD-SKATE BOARD RAMP + GRIND RAIL KIT $62.99	Mojo Skate & BMX- Round - Skate/Grind Rail - Black -NEW $109.99	BMX BIKE-SKATEBOARD-SKATE BOARD RAMP + GRIND RAIL KIT $89.99
New 3rd Rail by ZOO YORK Skate T-shirt Shirt Mens XXL $3.26	New 3rd Rail by ZOO YORK Skate T-shirt Shirt Mens XL $6.99	New 3rd Rail by ZOO YORK Skate T-shirt Shirt Mens XL $6.99

Show all skate rail items on eBay

Choose from small kick ramps, mini ramps and full halfpipes if you want. You can also get fun boxes for manualling and grinding on as well as small humps for jumping off. Each of them are made from top quality materials and have slip resistant materials on the bottom so that they don’t move too much when you laser flip off them.

If you want to make your own ramp, you can buy a set of ramp plans and build it yourself, but the cost of the wood, nails and metal coping (if you want that) will be much more expensive than buying a pre-made one.

NICE Brand New Skate GX 1/2 Pipe Skate Ramp Tech Deck $3.00	New 42" x 29" x 15" Blue Mojo SkateBoard BMX SKATE RAMP $178.89	LARGE BMX BIKE-SKATEBOARD-SKATE BOARD TRICK LAUNCH RAMP $35.99
BMX BIKE-SKATEBOARD-SKATE BOARD RAMP + GRIND RAIL KIT $62.99	BMX BIKE-SKATEBOARD-SKATE BOARD RAMP-FULL FLY BOX TABLE $134.99	BMX BIKE-SKATEBOARD-SKATE BOARD RAMP-1/2 FLY BOX TABLE $89.99

Show all skate ramp items on eBay

Getting yourself an inexpensive ramp to begin with, such as a small kicker will help you learn how to jump, get height and ollie over objects that you would not normally be able to. If you are considering trying to skate at a skatepark at some point, using a ramp at home will really help.

Larger versions, such as mini ramps, full half pipes or quarter pipes will be more expensive and take up much more room too. Setting up a small mini ramp in your backyard is possible and the parts are quite cheap too. Buying a pre-made ramp is also something to consider. They either come pre-made, in parts to slot together or as a flat pack which you build yourself.

So if you are thinking of getting a ramp, make sure you check eBay for some cheap skate ramps first. They have a very good supply of ramps at all different sizes too. If you are interested in building your own ramp, you can search for ramp making plans too which are readily available.

Tech Deck Skateboards and Ramps $25.00	Razor Punk Skateboard Grind Rail & Ramp Combo Set NEW! $24.33	Skateboard Ramp Park & TECH DECK FINGERBOARD & BIKE H31 $14.99
Skateboard Ramp Park & TECH DECK FINGERBOARD BIKE H32A $14.99	LARGE BMX BIKE-SKATEBOARD-SKATE BOARD TRICK LAUNCH RAMP $35.99	20 tech decks skateboards and ramp, all parts included $20.00

Show all skateboard ramp items on eBay

Wow. I am tired from staying up late playing the Skate 3 demo over and over again. Shame they kept the timeout option on there – but you can’t have everything.

I have not been experimenting with too many new features, such as holding RB (on the 360) and doing and ollie to perform a darkslide. I did pull it off a few times and it was pretty cool. The university area is also really nice to skate round and there is plenty to do on this demo, including Beat The Meat and various tasks to complete grinds or tricks.

I also created my first video upload too! Check it out:

I tried the online play but it did not work for some reason, so I was left to board slide and grind those massive rails all the time on my own

The demo does seem a little different to Skate 2. It feels different somehow although the animation has been improved. I like that you get to choose which camera angle you see yourself from and the Hardcore mode is… well… hardcore!

Overall I am impressed. It is not too different from Skate 2, so I am looking forward to skating new areas and locations as well as discovering all of the new features and options.

Have you got the demo yet? What did you think?

I have just finished reading the interview between Chris “Cuz” Perry and Joystiq, all about Skate 3, the past and the future.

Cuz is pretty tight lipped about the possibility of Skate 3 DLC (downloadable content) but shares a few nuggets that you might find interesting and useful to know ahead of the games release in May 2010.

• The graphic that shows you which move you have just pulled (or not) is something that you can turn on and off as you see fit.
• The same goes for the manual balance meter too, so you can tell where the sweet spot is. (I never had a problem with this in Skate 2 though..?).
• The new Hall Of Meat, called Beat The Meat (ooer!) has been changed to an opt-in, sign up type event. You can also turn off the annoying Thrasher sponsored Hall or meat you see when you spank that backflip down the hillside.
• As stated in previous videos, Skate 3 will be about skate teams as well as the single player game. If you decide to play with others in a co-op mode, you will both get credit for the achievements. The aim of the game is to sell “virtual skateboards”, the more the better.
• The create-a-park mode will also go hand in hand with these skateboards too. If you upload a park and someone downloads it, you sell a deck or 2. I can see this being great for earning decks.
• You have 100 spaced on the EA servers to upload your stuff (Cuz called them slots), so I guess 1 slot would equal 1 skate park and 1 more slot for 1 video etc.

Read the entire interview at the Joystiq site.

It’s amazing what you can turn up on the internet these days. Powell Peralta were the driving force of Skateboarding in the 1980’s and 1990’s and certainly were the inspiration for lots of skateboarders, including me!

Getting stoked watching that first black and white sequence in Public Domain was amazing back in the day. That was around the time that handrails and hydrant ollies were all over the place and no-comply’s were the trick-de-jour.

Here is as much of the Powell Peralta videos I can find on the net at the moment. Got more? Let me know in the comments section below!

Skateboarding In The Eighties (1982)

The Bones Brigade Video Show (1984)

Future Primitive (1985)

The Search for Animal Chin (1987)

Public Domain (1988)

Axe Rated (1988)

Ban This (1989)

Propaganda (1990)

Eight (1991)

Celebrity Tropical Fish (1991)

Powell Peralta DVD deals on eBay:

POWELL PERALTA Box Set - First 6 Bones Brigade DVDs NEW $89.95	NEW DVD POWELL PERALTA "ANIMAL CHIN" 1987 $15.00	Powell Peralta Bones Brigade Skateboard Box Set 6 DVD's $88.99
Powell Peralta Animal Chin Special Edition 2 Disc DVD $26.05	NEW DVD POWELL PERALTA "BONES BRIGADE VIDEO SHOW" 1984 $12.00	NEW POWELL PERALTA SPECIAL 6 DVD BOX SET w/ POSTER! $99.99

Show all powell peralta dvd items on eBay

The skate 3 Demo for PS3 and Xbox 360 has been announced as being available for download on… wait for it!

April 15th

Yay! Start practicing your quick reload techniques as I can almost guarantee that this baby WILL have a timelimit, which, if you read the comments over at the Skate 3 Facebook page, is totally gay!

What we shall see in this demo is still unannounced, but I expect we shall get a sectioned off level and some create-a-park bits to play with.

Roll on April 15th!!!!!