For most of us, real-life skateboarding was one brief moment of exhilaration followed by the painful ignominy of falling off, then watching enviously from a window as some lanky jerk nailed effortless ollies while we slowly bled to death. Skate 2? Much less painful.

As in the original, Skate 2 is all about the tao of skating — being one with your board, manually controlling your movements with the analog sticks (right stick board, left stick body) rather than pummelling a series of button combos. Flip tricks, air grabs, grinds, and wipeouts are all executed by flicking the sticks and combining their movements with trigger presses. There’s a gaggle of new grabs, plus sweet new moves like footplants and hippy jumps.

Of course, you won’t do them right away. Your first few hours are spent primarily on your backside, but with perseverance, you soon start to learn the subtleties of boarding — and the satisfaction you feel when you’ve nailed a new trick is euphoric. So while it’s frustrating at first, Skate 2 gradually morphs into one of the most rewarding sims we’ve played for quite some time. The freeform nature of the action is perfectly complemented by the option to move objects to create new obstacles and ramps, while the ability to get off your board is also welcome, despite the baffling omission of a walk-backward ability.

With the expansive open world of New San Vanelona waiting to be explored, the only limit on your boarding enjoyment is your imagination: there’s a seemingly infinite number of ways to harness your surroundings and pull off gnarly jumps and sick tricks. But you don’t have it all your own way. Evil corporation Mongocorp has transformed the once–skater-friendly city into a metropolis crawling with sour-faced security guards hired to prevent skaters from doing what they do best. In Skate 2’s Career mode, you must bring down these new oppressors and resurrect the city’s skating scene.

Though these story-driven missions add some direction to Skate 2’s otherwise freeform format, it’s hard to shake the feeling that they’re little more than a series of increasingly taxing tricks rather than thrilling missions centered on your ongoing struggle to stick it to The Man™.

Don’t be surprised when your interest in Career mode slowly dissolves. In fact, chances are you’ll spend most of your time on all the other distractions, such as free skating around the visually impressive (if somewhat underpopulated) city, or testing yourself against other skaters in an assortment of challenges, races, and competitions, and even betting the cash you’ve earned from missions.

Once you’re done with the epic single-player game, you can take your virtual board online, where you can compete against up to seven fellow skaters for bragging rights, or just hang. We really enjoyed the Freeskate activities, which feel a bit like Burnout Paradise — any member of your party can suggest an activity, such as hitting specific gaps or working together to reach a score total. Better still, if you don’t want to do that particular activity but you want to stay in the party, you can just do your own thing until they’re done, and they’ll join you again in Freeskate.

Though not without its faults, Skate 2 is one of the most realistic, challenging, and fulfilling skateboarding games around. And it’s better than having your skin flayed off by asphalt.

On Xbox 360

+ The most fluid and realistic skating experience around.

+ Massive freeform city to explore and enjoy.

- Career mode lacks depth; steep learning curve.

? Is this sequel too similar... and too soon?

8.0