Skate It Review for Nintendo Wii

System: Wii, DS	Review Rating Legend
Dev: EA Montreal	1.0 - 1.9 = Avoid	4.0 - 4.4 = Great
Pub: Electronic Arts	2.0 - 2.4 = Poor	4.5 - 4.9 = Must Buy
Release: Nov. 17, 2008	2.5 - 2.9 = Average	5.0 = The Best
Players: 1; 2-4 Competitive Hotseat	3.0 - 3.4 = Fair
ESRB Rating: Everyone	3.5 - 3.9 = Good

Like Ubi’s Road Trip, players will have two different challenge goals for every objective during Career: You can Own It or Kill It. Owning it allows you to advance through the game and obtain new objectives. Killing it, on the other hand, is where the proverbial wheat is separated from the chaff. Unlike Ubi’s boarding title, however, players are given far more freedom to complete the goals. Also, the My Spot Zone feature lets players develop their own lines. This feature is novel, but actually setting up the lines felt fairly cumbersome. I was also dismayed by its mandated implementation during the career mode; as far as I’m concerned, leave user-created mechanics in games like LittleBigPlanet.

Skate It screenshot

Multiplayer Party Play allows two to four players to skate in four different gameplay modes. Unfortunately, there is no split-screen action, so you’ll be passing off sweaty Wii Remotes between each other. Nonetheless, multiplayer is still enjoyable. Players can choose between Best Line, get the best score in three selected areas before time runs out; Best Trick, hit the best single line; Hall of Meat, break your body in hilarious ways; and Best Time, a slalom race course. All of which are quite fun despite not allowing for simultaneous play.

By far the worst part of Skate It! is the visual presentation. This is one ugly game! For starters, the character models are terrible; the five or six heads you have to choose from are woefully drawn and pro skaters like Mike Carrol and Rob Dyrdek don’t fare much better. The environments, while varied and well constructed, suffer from an overall haze and fuzziness that’s inexcusable. Finally, objects in the game are seriously lacking detail and are plagued by the worst case of jaggies I’ve ever seen. Fortunately, the animations are smooth, so the aesthetics never actually hinder gameplay. I can’t help but think that EA should have employed a cel-shaded or cartoon-like style to alleviate the graphical shortcomings.

Thankfully, sounds are better than visuals but not perfect. The voice over work is admirably acted, though the dialog is so cliché as to be reminiscent of 1983’s Valley Girl. The sound effects are spot on though. For example, grinding along varying surfaces yields a distinct resonance. Finally, the licensed music selection nicely fits the theme and is punctuated by heavy, effects-laden guitar riffs.

Skate It! is a great core experience for the Wii. Gamers will really enjoy the depth and satisfaction derived from the Flickit trick control scheme. What’s more, if you want to ratchet up the difficulty to eleven, the Wii Balance Board effectively mimics the feeling of real skating. Unfortunately, the dreadful visuals further prove that the Wii simply can’t replicate lifelike characters and environments, and the multiplayer would have benefitted from some kind of simultaneous cooperative and competitive split-screen features. Still, Skate It! is a must have title for Wii-owning skate fans, but casual gamers beware!

By Jonathan Marx
CCC Editor / News Director

RATING OUT OF 5

RATING DESCRIPTION

2.4

Graphics
The visual presentation is as poor as I’ve seen from a AAA Wii title.

4.4

Control
The motion control implementation is close to perfect and full of depth. The Balance Board offers an extreme challenge to the inexperienced.

3.7

Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting
The voice over work is solid though painfully trite. The music and sound effects are quite nice, however.

4.3

Play Value
There are hours of play and a truly deep experience to be had for core gamers. The multiplayer features are nice but not fully implemented.

4.0

Overall Rating - Great
Not an average. See Rating legend above for a final score breakdown.

Game Features:

A new way to skate: Lay down killer lines with Flickit controls using the Wii Remote™ or Wii Remote and Nunchuk™. Deepen the gameplay with the Wii Balance Board.

Real-world skate spots: Conquer the best of San Vanelona, get sponsored, then hit the road to skate and own iconic real-world locales.

Create your skate space: Customize environments by moving skate objects to fit your skating style.

Double the tricks: Inverts, one-foots, hippy jumps, finger flips, the list goes on.

New San Vanelona: A new look and feel to the city...time to make New San Van a skater's paradise.

Fully compatible with the Wii Balance Board: Take your Skate It! Experience to the next level with the Balance Board controller that acts just like a real deck!

Designed specifically for the Nintendo Wii.