Skate 2

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Skate 2
Sports
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Skate 2 is a

EA Black Box and published by Electronic Arts. The game was released worldwide in January 2009 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 after the spin-off title Skate It. It is the sequel to 2007's Skate
and the third installment in the Skate series overall.

Set in the fictional city of San Vanelona, the single-player career mode follows a skateboarder released from jail five years after being arrested in the first game, Skate, who is tasked with popularising skateboarding in the city again after devastating earthquakes, avoiding security guards hired by the company "Mongocorp" who have bought most of the city's property. Players create their own character and perform tricks such as

online multiplayer
mode allows players to connect to games over the internet and take part in various competitive or cooperative activities.

It was followed by Skate 3, released in May 2010.

In November 2021, Skate 2 was made playable for Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S consoles through backwards compatibility.[1]

Premise

Skate 2 is set in the fictional city of San Vanelona, where the player controls a skateboarder who has just been released from prison after being arrested 5 years ago in the first title in the series, Skate. Since spending time in jail, San Vanelona has been hit with an earthquake that occurred in the spin-off title Skate It, leaving the city in ruins.[2] The City Council and Chamber of Commerce have deemed skateboarding a crime and a corporation called "Mongocorp" have bought and rebuilt most of the city's property, skate-proofed everything and installed a private security force to prevent people from skating. Upon exiting prison, the player meets Giovanni Reda, a cameraman who films the player's character throughout the game and provides commentary.[3] The player is tasked with rebuilding their skater's career and popularising skateboarding in San Vanelona again.[4]: 4 

Gameplay

nose manual trick
.

Skate 2 is a

flip tricks, grinds and grabs. A feature returning from Skate is the "Flickit" control scheme, which requires the user to move the controller's right stick in certain patterns to perform tricks using the skateboarder's feet.[4]: 2 [5] Points gained from a trick are based on multiple factors, such as its height, length and complexity. The player can perform multiple tricks at a time, which are then combined into a "sequence", scoring more points than individual tricks.[4]: 5  Performing multiple sequences starts a timer, and performing sequences within the timer creates a "line", which scores more points than performing individual sequences. Once the line timer runs out, the points gained from the line are added to the player's score.[4]
: 6 

In any of the game's modes, the player can save videos of their skater and edit the footage in the "replay editor", allowing different filters to be applied and speed of footage and the angle of the camera to be changed, among other things.[4]: 6  This footage could be uploaded to "Skate.Reel", an online service where players could view and rate other user created videos made in Skate 2. The player can also enter the "Create-a-Spot Editor", where they can create skating "spots" using a variety of ramps, rails and other objects. The player can skate on their own spots, and could also upload them to the "Create-a-Spot Browser", where they could set the spot's high score and challenge other players to download and beat it.[4]: 7  A graphics creator also allowed players to create custom graphics on the Skate website and download them in-game to display on shirts, boards and hats.[4]: 4  These online features have since been discontinued. Various downloadable content packs have been released for the game, such as a "Filmer Pack" that added more replay editor options to the game.[6]

Career mode

Skate 2's main

truck, wheel or shoe companies, providing the player with free gear, entry to more competitions and extra money.[4]
: 4 

As Skate 2 is set in an open world, the game's challenges can be found in its different locations. A map can be accessed in the game's pause menu, displaying challenges and locations in San Vanelona and allowing the player to teleport directly to them. Challenges can also be retried from the map.[4]: 5 [9] Outside of challenges, the player can freely roam the game's environment. Certain areas in San Vanelona are controlled by Mongocorp, called "Mongocorp zones".[10] Security guards patrol in these areas, and if a Mongocorp security guard sees the player skateboarding in a Mongocorp zone or the player angers a civilian anywhere, they will be chased until they escape the area. The player can be knocked off their board by people they're chased by, and if a Mongocorp security guard catches the player in a Mongocorp zone, any removed caps in the area are replaced.[4]: 6 

The player's character has the ability to jump off their skateboard and walk around, allowing them to traverse areas that are hard to skate on, such as stairs. While on foot, the player has the ability to grab onto objects such as ramps and

S.K.A.T.E. "Team Film Challenges" that can be started from the cell phone, where players perform certain tricks in order to get sponsorships.[11] The cell phone can be used to set "session markers", points where the player can teleport to quickly. Movable objects can be selected to be included in a session marker, resetting them to their initial position anytime the player teleports back to their session marker.[4]: 3  The player has the ability to manually make their player "bail", or fall off their skateboard. While bailing, the player can rotate their character and make them move into four different positions. In the career mode, bailing enters the "Thrasher Hall of Meat" mode, where the player is tasked with damaging their character as much as possible.[4]: 5 [12]

Freeskate mode

Skate 2's second single-player mode, "Freeskate", allows the player to skate around San Vanelona freely as any character unlocked in the career mode. Freeskate mode also allows the player to control settings such as density of traffic and pedestrians, and whether Mongocorp zones are active.

experience points, and an "unranked" mode allows players to play ranked challenges without affecting their experience points or winning money.[4]
: 7 

Development

Due to its commercial success of the original game, EA planned to make it as a franchise, as was noted by former EA president Frank Gibeau, saying that the sales of the first game "greatly exceeded" his expectations.[13] Skate 2 was officially unveiled in May 2008.[14]

Skate 2 was developed by

Vancouver, British Columbia than in the previous title of the series. EA Black Box and Electronic Arts promised a "seamless transition from offline to online" gameplay and a set of new competitive modes for the game.[16]

A demo for Skate 2 was released for the Xbox 360 via the

Xbox Live Marketplace and for the PlayStation 3 via the PlayStation Store. It featured a character creator and demonstrations of the career and party play modes, as well as the game's replay editor.[17]

Reception

Skate 2 received "generally favorable" reviews from critics on both platforms according to review aggregator Metacritic.[34][35]

Official Xbox Magazine said the game had good control but will be too hard for casual gamers.[30] Game Informer said that Skate 2 accomplishes the impossible task of making old gameplay feel fresh. They said that while some new tricks were added, the game built upon the original and improved its formula.[20]

GameSpot said that the new content was welcomed but the walking and moving objects were clumsy at best.[7] IGN's US review praised Black Box for building upon their winning formula and keeping the gameplay fun. They explained that while the presentation is good, the story seems weak at times and the graphics are not as sharp as they could be.[9] In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of all four eights for a total of 32 out of 40,[36] while Famitsu 360 gave the Xbox 360 version a score of one seven, two eights, and one seven for a total of 30 out of 40.[37]

During the 13th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences nominated Skate 2 for "Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design" and "Outstanding Achievement in Soundtrack".[38]

Sequel

Main article: Skate 3

A sequel, Skate 3, was released in May 2010. The third game in the series has a stronger focus on online team-based gameplay and content creation than the previous games.[39][40][41][42]

References

  1. ^ "Celebrate 20 years of Xbox with over 70 new Backward Compatible Games". Xbox Wire. 15 November 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-11-30. Retrieved 2021-12-15.
  2. ^ Roper, Chris (August 4, 2008). "Skate 2 Hands-on". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on May 25, 2015. Retrieved May 20, 2015.
  3. ^ EA Black Box. Skate 2. Electronic Arts. Level/area: Slappy's. Giovanni Reda: You want to check the replay? I'm always filming.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Skate 2 Xbox 360 Instruction Manual (PDF). Electronic Arts. 2009. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-05-25.
  5. CBS Interactive. Archived
    from the original on September 5, 2017. Retrieved May 20, 2015.
  6. ^ Goldstein, Hilary (February 18, 2009). "Skate 2 DLC Hands-On". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on August 20, 2016. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
  7. ^ a b c d Calvert, Justin (January 20, 2009). "Skate 2 Review". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on September 5, 2017. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
  8. ^ Roper, Chris (October 3, 2008). "Skate 2 Updated Impressions". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on August 20, 2016. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
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  10. ^ a b EA Black Box. Skate 2. Electronic Arts. Level/area: Freeskate menu.
  11. ^ Skate 2 PlayStation 3 Instruction Manual. Electronic Arts. 2009. p. 7.
  12. ^ a b Parkin, Simon (January 23, 2009). "Skate 2 (PS3)". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on May 25, 2015. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
  13. ^ Sinclair, Brendan (February 12, 2008). "New Burnout, Skate on the way". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on November 21, 2023. Retrieved June 19, 2015.
  14. ^ Brudvig, Erik (May 12, 2008). "Skate 2 Made Official". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
  15. ^ Roper, Chris (August 1, 2008). "Skate 2: Welcome Back to San Vanelona". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on March 25, 2016. Retrieved June 19, 2015.
  16. ^ Roper, Chris (September 11, 2008). "New Skate 2 Details". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on September 5, 2017. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
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  20. ^ a b c Reiner, Andrew (February 2009). "Skate 2: A Sequel Of A Different Caliber". Game Informer. No. 190. The GameStop Network. Archived from the original on September 5, 2017. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
  21. ^ a b Barton, Heather (March 2009). "Skate 2". GamePro. p. 79. Archived from the original on February 24, 2009. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
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  30. ^ a b Korda, Martin (January 20, 2009). "Skate 2". Official Xbox Magazine. Archived from the original on January 22, 2009. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
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  32. ^ Alan, Chad (March 19, 2009). "Skate 2 (Xbox 360) Review". 411Mania. Archived from the original on March 24, 2009. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
  33. ^ Jones, Scott (January 26, 2009). "skate 2 (X360)". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on April 24, 2012. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
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  35. ^ a b "Skate 2 for Xbox 360 Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on November 21, 2023. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
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External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Skate_2&oldid=1208960152"