Skate

How much fun did you have in physics class? Nowhere near as much fun as Skate offers. With good looks, few pretensions, and a new approach to game mechanics, EA’s new skateboarding entry is a wonderfully fresh and rewarding take on a genre in need of a shake-up.

Your playground is the fictional city of San Vanelona, a skater’s paradise that’ll teach you to see the world the way a skater does — those modern marble sculptures in front of a swanky bank building in the city’s downtown district and its curb-riddled shopping centers in the suburbs are anything but scenery. Roll anywhere you like with no load times and enjoy a skate cruise around town, or just point to a target on the map and warp there. Both The Skateboard Mag and Thrasher will give you exposure if you meet their photo and video challenges along the way; the more media love, the more sponsor attention, and the more cash in your pocket.

But it’s the physics that make Skate so invigorating. Instead of memorizing arbitrary button combinations, you use the analog stick to mimic your body momentum. To perform a simple ollie, pull the left stick down, then flick it up to pop into the air. Moves like kickflips and pop shove-its mimic the angles your foot would travel if you were standing on a board, performing the trick in real life. Drop into a half-pipe and you’ll need to shift your weight as you pump the transitions to build speed. It’s a very different control method, and yes, it will take some time to come to grips with the new mechanics and build your skills. But since you’re mastering new motions as you play, it’s intensely rewarding when you nail a trick — you’ve truly physically earned it. And as the challenges rise, so must your skills. For some photo and video goals, you’ll find yourself sessioning a spot for what feels like hours just to get the perfect shot…and it actually might be hours. Real skaters do it; like it or not, so will you.

The upside here is unusual freedom. Video footage is all your call — find a good area where you think you can achieve the stated goal, tell your videographer to roll tape, and go for it. (You can edit your best clips and upload them to Xbox Live, too.) You’re always being followed by a skate filmer, which explains the low angle and gives the whole game a reason to look like a skate video. Sometimes it’s hard to see the ledges and lips you’re setting up to trick, and a few times the game just didn’t “see” us execute tricks — annoying when you’re literally skating off a cliff on a pro’s dare.

Six-player online play felt right: we loved free-form Jams as much as brutal high-speed Deathraces. And while San Vanelona’s a bit bloomy, the animation system makes the skaters look super-fluid. Tony Hawk players will need some time to adjust, but it’s time well spent. Skate finds the sweet spot between boring simulation and hyper-unrealism — then totally owns it.