I see why Skate killed Tony Hawk. At the time when Birdman's games completely fumbled their way into seventh generation of consoles, the laser focus on the physicality of real skateboarding with unconventional yet awesome controls made Skate such a cooler breeze next to the series that couldn't rediscover itself. For that alone, plus pretty sublime map design Skate 3 gets a "nice" mark – it's just an enjoyable game to go back fiddle with for a 15 minutes at a time.
I miss that Tony Hawk personality though: inventive gameplay objectives, crude MTV humor, petty skaters that brag about DVD players in their cars, globe throtting jumps between skating toy versions of real cities. Somehow an open-world skating game is less scenic than a private lobby in THUG PRO where I can load up a Moscow map and show my US homies around Red Square, talk about sights and history while doing sick flips over mausoleum. Of course I don't ask to replicate that exact mood: the Tony Hawk series itself is a time capsule of an era long gone. But really, aside from a really cool live-action intro Skate 3 just didn't make me interested in anything other than its half-pipes, ramps and rails. I can only hope that enough time passed for eventual Skate 4 to gain its face – because these ramps are absolutely the best feeling one can find.
I miss that Tony Hawk personality though: inventive gameplay objectives, crude MTV humor, petty skaters that brag about DVD players in their cars, globe throtting jumps between skating toy versions of real cities. Somehow an open-world skating game is less scenic than a private lobby in THUG PRO where I can load up a Moscow map and show my US homies around Red Square, talk about sights and history while doing sick flips over mausoleum. Of course I don't ask to replicate that exact mood: the Tony Hawk series itself is a time capsule of an era long gone. But really, aside from a really cool live-action intro Skate 3 just didn't make me interested in anything other than its half-pipes, ramps and rails. I can only hope that enough time passed for eventual Skate 4 to gain its face – because these ramps are absolutely the best feeling one can find.