yhra
2007
This was my first time with Skate 1, though I did play a bit of Skate 2 and hundreds of hours of Skate 3.
Right off the bat, I loath the low camera angle, just makes it hard to read things for me. It's easy enough to adjust to but I still don't enjoy it. Some of the challenges suck, specifically SKATE matches and the film challenges that give you 30 seconds to accomplish multiple things. The deathraces are also kind of rough due to the camera angle (for me) and the AI. Speaking of, the AI are basically skate terorrists. I cannot be convinced that they weren't programmed specifically to get in the player's way and run into them.
That said, I think this might actually be the best map in the Skate series. It's not as big as 2 or 3's, but the whole map feels so good to skate in. Lots of hills for speed, the environments were crafted super well to be skateable all over the world for the most part. There are a few areas with a lot of stairs that can be annoying to navigate due to not being able to walk, but it isn't a common issue. The game looks great, too, it's not as dark aesthetically as 2 nor is it as bright and ugly as 3. Small stuff like X-Games having a custom UI is neat too, and the X-Games park is potentially my favorite event park from the series.
Overall, the skating feels good and the map is great. The camera gimps enjoyment for me and some of the challenges can get pretty obnoxious, but it's still plenty enjoyable outside of that.
Right off the bat, I loath the low camera angle, just makes it hard to read things for me. It's easy enough to adjust to but I still don't enjoy it. Some of the challenges suck, specifically SKATE matches and the film challenges that give you 30 seconds to accomplish multiple things. The deathraces are also kind of rough due to the camera angle (for me) and the AI. Speaking of, the AI are basically skate terorrists. I cannot be convinced that they weren't programmed specifically to get in the player's way and run into them.
That said, I think this might actually be the best map in the Skate series. It's not as big as 2 or 3's, but the whole map feels so good to skate in. Lots of hills for speed, the environments were crafted super well to be skateable all over the world for the most part. There are a few areas with a lot of stairs that can be annoying to navigate due to not being able to walk, but it isn't a common issue. The game looks great, too, it's not as dark aesthetically as 2 nor is it as bright and ugly as 3. Small stuff like X-Games having a custom UI is neat too, and the X-Games park is potentially my favorite event park from the series.
Overall, the skating feels good and the map is great. The camera gimps enjoyment for me and some of the challenges can get pretty obnoxious, but it's still plenty enjoyable outside of that.
2009
The addition of walking is nice for stairs at least, but it's so floaty and unwieldy that it just kind of sucks otherwise. Other than that, it's basically more of Skate 1 except grittier, and a little heavier as far as physics go. I still like the first map more, but 2's is still good and both are superior to 3's. The challenges are about the same mix as in the first game; some easy, some challenging, some obnoxious. Doesn't take long to technically "beat" the career, but there's a bunch of challenges to play afterwards in addition to just skating around. Some of the control wonkiness (grind magnetism behaving weird, walking in general) and some of the more grating challenges can mar it down a bit, but it's still plenty of fun.
2010
I played a lot of Skate 3 when I was kid. Revisiting it so many years later and after finishing Skate 1 for the first time and Skate 2 for the first time in years, it makes 3's flaws stick out a bit more glaringly.
The skating feels more refined than ever and the off board control feels a lot better than 2, so that's good. Hardcore difficulty was a cool addition and makes from nice, closer to realistic skating. The art style sucks, the game is dizzyingly vibrant and almost cartoony in aesthetic. The city pales in comparison to both of the prior ones. The parks are fine I guess, but I actually enjoyed the DLC ones a bit more than any in the base game. The challenges are absurdly easy; death races might be challenging if you lack reflexes and killing some of the films and photos can require some precision, but generally speaking most of the challenges are one-and-done without much effort.
It's not a bad game, I have many fond memories of it and still enjoy skating around in it, but it just lacks that gritty street spark that 1 & 2 had and it suffers for it.
The skating feels more refined than ever and the off board control feels a lot better than 2, so that's good. Hardcore difficulty was a cool addition and makes from nice, closer to realistic skating. The art style sucks, the game is dizzyingly vibrant and almost cartoony in aesthetic. The city pales in comparison to both of the prior ones. The parks are fine I guess, but I actually enjoyed the DLC ones a bit more than any in the base game. The challenges are absurdly easy; death races might be challenging if you lack reflexes and killing some of the films and photos can require some precision, but generally speaking most of the challenges are one-and-done without much effort.
It's not a bad game, I have many fond memories of it and still enjoy skating around in it, but it just lacks that gritty street spark that 1 & 2 had and it suffers for it.