Skate 2

February 12, 2008, President of EA Games, Frank Zhibier, during a presentation to analysts, said that Skate sales "exceeded the company's expectations" ^[2] . The game itself was announced in May 2008 ^[3] .

Executive producer of the project, Scott Blackwood, said that the studio "remains faithful to the FlickIt system", but now intends to give the player "much more" ^[4] . According to the developers, the new San Vanelon (now New San Vanelon) will receive more architectural similarities with such cities as Barcelona , San Francisco and Vancouver than in the original. Also noted were the “smooth transition from single player to multiplayer” and new competitive modes ^[5] .

The demo version was released January 8 on Xbox Live and January 15 on the PlayStation Store . The player was given the opportunity to create a skater and try out new game mechanics on a small section of the map called “Slappy's Skatepark”, as well as try out a video editor and a competitive mode. The game appeared on store shelves on January 21, 2009 .

The game takes place five years after the events of Skate . During the events described in Skate It , the city suffered from earthquakes and now lies in ruins. The city council and the chamber of commerce found skateboarding for criminal activities. The Mongocorp Corporation rebuilds a part of the city, and for one it establishes total control over skateboarding throughout New San Vanelona ( eng. New San Vanelona ). The hero will have to rebuild his career and regain the popularity of skateboarding in the city.

As in the original, the “Flick It” system is at the head of the corner: with the help of the right stick, the player controls the legs of the skater, performing various tricks. For performing tricks player gets points. Their number depends on the complexity of the trick and the purity of its execution. The tricks themselves can be chained. The longer the chain, the higher the multiplier and the more points the player will receive in the end ^[6] . The list of tricks itself has expanded significantly. In the arsenal of the player, new types of grab appeared, sticky tricks (balancing on the edge of the ramp), “hippie jump” (jumping separately from the board) and “skitching” (skater clings to a passing car). Another new opportunity was the ability to walk. This not only simplifies the movement, but also allows you to operate with objects on the level by moving them. Using the phone, the player can challenge other skaters, or receive invitations to compete.

There are new game modes. Mode "Tharsher's Hall of Meat", the purpose of which is to break as many bones as possible. In the “Freeskate” mode, you can adjust such parameters as the density of traffic and pedestrians, as well as the activity of the “Mongocorp” zones. Appeared local multiplayer mode - "Party Mode", where several players compete with each other in turn. In the usual multiplayer, players, as before, can either play together, riding around the city, or compete with each other to get points and money. An “invaluable” mode was added, which differs from the previous one in that the players points and money do not change.

At the beginning, the player can fully customize the appearance of the character, as well as adjust the board for a specific riding style. Another innovation was the ability to play for a female character. After tuning, the standard gameplay begins. The player must perform various tasks: from competitions with other skaters to participate in sponsorship competitions. For the successful execution of the player receives the money that he can spend on clothes or real estate ^[7] . The city map is available to the player from the menu, giving also the opportunity not only to move to the places of specific tasks, but also to move objects using markers. Another feature of the game was the zone of the corporation "Mongocorp". In them, the player is a real hunt, and most of the objects have special limiters for skaters. Limiters can be knocked down, but if the player is caught, they will all be returned to their place.

Expanded opportunities for the gaming community. The “skate.reel” mode will again allow players from all over the world to share their videos. The “Create-A-Spot” mode has been added, allowing players to create their own tests and upload them to the network. In addition, the opportunity to create your own images and logos that you can use yourself or share them with other players. Unfortunately, since then their support has ceased. In addition to new features, a lot of downloadable content was released for the game ^[8] .

Downloadable Content

Downloadable content is available for purchase on the Xbox Live Marketplace or PlayStation Store.

• Time is Money - opens all the parks and additional content that can be obtained, as a rule, after passing the storyline.
• Filmer Pack - gives the player more options to control the camera during video editing. Also in this supplement there are new gestures and movements.
• Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory - opens a factory outside the square.
• San Van Classic Pack includes the Community Center , Elementary School and Parkade locations from the original game.
• Throwback Pack - opens retro movements and classic gestures. ^[9]

The game received positive feedback. Metacritic gave the game an average score of 84 out of 100 for both versions, based on 50 reviews for the Xbox 360 and 70 for the PlayStation 3, calling the reviews “generally positive” ^{[14] [15]} . On the GameRankings aggregator , the game has 83% for the PlayStation 3 (42 reviews) ^[16] and 84% for the Xbox 360 (64 reviews) ^[17] .

OXM gave the game 8 points out of 10, adding that the management is good, but it will be difficult for casual players. GameInformer rated Skate 2 at 9 points, saying that the game "solves an unsolvable task by refreshing the old gameplay." It was noted that even behind all the new tricks there is an old improved original formula.

GameSpot awarded the game 7.5 points, welcoming the innovations, but calling walking and moving objects awkward. IGN put the game 8.3 out of 10, praising BlackBox for the updated and fun gameplay. The plot and graphic component of the game, which “could have been better”, was subjected to criticism ^[18] .

• Official site (eng.)
• Interview with the producer of the game Chris "Cuz" Parry (eng.)