“Everything you do is all about teams,” emphasizes senior producer Jason DeLong when speaking about the new gameplay focus in Skate 3. And he’s definitely not joking.

After rising through the ranks in the first two thumbstick-driven Tony Hawk–killers, your returning pro is now a big star in Skate 3, complete with his own brand (after all, what’s more indie than turning your name into a heavily marketed household term?) and his own crew of up-and-comers. Thus, much of the new game revolves around team-based events, and all of it takes place in Port Carverton, the breath-of-fresh-air locale that Skate 3 calls home.

Though the game’s not due until May, we got to try out five already-playing-great three-on-three multiplayer events, accessed through Skate 3’s free-skating area (a.k.a. lobby). We started off by getting schooled in Domination, which challenges each team to capture and hold eight spots by doing the highest-scoring trick at each spot. Playing in all three of Carverton’s districts — downtown, industrial, and the university campus — we faced a crushing defeat, which we attribute to the other team including a genuine ringer: real-life pro skater Joey Brezinski.

Anyway, we avenged our embarrassing loss during Race, in which our trio blew down the quarry with nary a fall or a mistake, clowning the competition as two of us finished one-two overall. Though Race rounds are quick, this mode should appeal to Skate newbies who are just getting their trucks broken in.

1UP is Skate 3’s version of H-O-R-S-E, inviting teams to take turns pulling off tricks until one of them bails, at which point the opposition must top their score or receive a letter.

Street Contest presents a small course for each team to try to trick, trick, trick in the allotted time, while Own the Lot is like the American Gladiators of Skate: whichever crew can complete all of the items on the randomly generated tricklist the fastest wins.

Both 1UP and Own the Lot are already our early favorites, although there’s plenty of Skate 3 left to see. In addition to the obligatory new tricks, fleshed-out Skate.Create, and an extra heaping helping of the Hall of Meat, the series’ third entry also delivers much-improved off-board controls (we can already confirm this) and promises a robust Skate.Park editor that’ll let you make and share your playgrounds online. We got only a brief teaser of what the tool will be capable of, but it sounds like the best downloadable content might not even come from EA itself!