Game Details

• Title: Skate 3
• Format:PS3/X360
• Players: 1 (Local) 4 (PSN/XBL)
• Genre: Skateboarding Sim
• Price: £39.99 (RRP)
• Previewer: Stuart Burnside

As a player who would normally stay away from skateboarding games, I was a little reluctant to accept the job of previewing the soon-to-be-released Skate 3. That was kind of the point though; can a player who has no interest in Skateboard simply pick up their trusty joypad and start shredding the streets?

As I am only previewing the same demo which is soon to be available for public, I might as well say how surprised I was when confronted with a vast array of choices for customisation of my character. Surprisingly, making changes to the players face does not make him instantly look like the elephant man and actually can have a coherent effect on in-game appearance. Flicking through the menus reveals a huge wealth of locked content, partially because its a demo but otherwise clearly in an effort to give something for players to work towards as the game goes on. Call me old fashioned, but I usually stick with the same outfits I begin with in this kind of game; unless of course there are some Saints Row 'Big Pimpin' style outfits I could use to impress the local talent.

After the business of choosing between a sensible, modern goatee or a comical handlebar moustache is complete (indeed, not all of the options result in a character who looks like an extra from the village people) you can begin to hit the Skate Parks. Strangely enough, the game begins with our hero being released from prison. Of course, the first thing he thinks of is going for a bit of a Skate. No doubt this is a good insight into why I do shy away from the crazy underground world of the Pro Skater, because if I had just been locked up with hundreds of other men for a few years, skating would be the last thing on my mind!

The look of Skate is similar to that of GTAIV; with the colour shading and character style all similar and a realistic, grainy overlay. Sharing your appearance with one of the iconic games of this generation is no bad thing though and it is clear that significant effort has been expended to craft such a solid world. There is no chance of rolling into and beyond a wall or getting stuck on an invisible kerb for example. This is a good thing and no less than one would expect, but perhaps that I considered it a point worth mentioning goes some way to highlighting the somewhat dubious quality of certain past Skateboarding games.

An obligatory (even in demo's nowadays) tutorial is included and was more than sufficient to teach me the basics of 'Boarding. Basic moves are exactly that; basic. That's rather a good thing in my case. Simple movements on the right stick had me doing simple Ollies and Board Flips. I must say by now I was beginning to enjoy the experience, these early tricks and the overall control scheme are very welcoming and before long, I was enjoying getting some air time.

The version we played featured a time limit which was extended following every section. These were all about the basic moves really and posed only a simple challenge, whilst still giving me a good insight into how the game could open up later on. In fact the final section features an open Skate Park which demands yet more tricks and tasks be completed which are again fairly simple but rewarding.

A photographer function ensures that there is always someone taking pictures of your 'Rad' move which are then saved for later viewing. A rather nice feature, this mode actually begins to take photos at the start of the move and continues throughout giving you the option to choose your favourites. Whilst I could easily write this off as a simple and pointless novelty, I actually felt more focussed on delivering the most interesting jumps and tricks I could where possible, meaning I could work for that perfect shot.

All in all Skate 3 is a good looking game which is shaping up well. It is just a shame that I did not get longer to explore the environment or just a little more opportunity for free roaming. It's probably fair to say that I have a different outlook on Skateboarding games following a few replays of the Skate 3 promo and will almost certainly want to get much more involved with the finished article. There are no real negatives to report and whilst the controls take a little getting used to, a strong tutorial and natural feel make it easy to persevere. The storyline may leave something to the imagination, but then again this is a Skateboarding game and not a James Cameron blockbuster - what were you expecting?