Street Sk8er

The first ever skateboarding game to rush the PlayStation, Street Sk8er busts enough wild moves that fans of the genre will definitely want to check it out. Because Sk8er is basically a tricks-only game and provides but a few courses, non-skateboarders might find the game a better rental than a purchase.

Skate to Die!

Street Sk8er features three courses that thrashers can compete on, catching crazy air and grinding rails for points. The gameplay's both fun and addicting as you learn the intricacies of each route. Unfortunately, the courses are empty ramp areas--there are no people to run over, no competing skaters, and not enough obstacles.

On the positive side, as you beat the Street Tour mode, you unlock hidden areas in each course, secret skaters, and new boards. There's also a two-player option, but you don't skate at the same time; you take turns skating the same course to see who can score the most points.

The game's control is effortless as simple button presses enable you to perform over 200 tricks from spinning handstands to indys. The only control downer is that all the tricks are performed by basically tapping the same buttons, so there's not much in the way of skill building.

Graphically, Sk8er's colorful streets and graffiti-sprayed ramps look awesome, although there are some collision detection problems throughout each course. On the audio side. Sk8er's slammin' soundtrack fits the fast-paced action perfectly and really gets you pumped to play.

Cleaming the Cube

Street Sk8er scores with its raucous, tricks-heavy gameplay and is a must-buy for skateboarders whore sick of playing all those damn snowboarding games. Gamers who aren't into skating will also find the gameplay fun, but will be able to see and do everything during a weekend rental.

Get ready to grind rails and catch big air in Street Sk8er, the first dedicated skateboarding game to ride onto the PlayStation. Street Sk8er features three courses, four selectable skaters, and twenty unique decks. As you beat the different levels, you unlock secrets like mirrored courses, new boards, and four hidden skaters.

The game also sports over 200 unbelievable tricks--from jumping down stairs to spinning handstands--instant replays, Dual Shock support, and two-player competition. Other highlights include bonus events like the Halfpipe, Big Air, and Bowl; point deductions for messedup tricks: and a soundtrack featuring thrasher artists such as Less Than Jake, Gas Huffer, and H20.

The gameplay s both fun and easy to learn, while the big-time tricks and close-up camera angles are reminiscent of Segas arcade smash, Top Skater. Gamers should find Street Sk8er a fun alternative to all the cloned snowboarding games avalanching the market.

Finally, after years of nothing but snowboarding and hoverboarding games for the PlayStation, someone has had enough sense to make an old-school-style skateboarding game. Street Sk8er features 8 skateboarders (4 playable, 4 hidden) and 20 skateboards, including original deck designs from Powell Skateboards. The game sports over 200 authentic moves and combos from grinding the rails to spinning out of control during mad jumps for glory.

Sk8er also comes with two distinct play modes. The Street Tour pits you against the clock as you perform sick tricks and stunts off stairs and ledges for points--and if your moves are tight, you advance to bonus rounds in the Halfpipe, Bowl, and Big Air. Meanwhile, Free Skate mode enables thrashers to get wicked by skating the streets and busting moves without the pressure of the clock. Other highlights include two-player competition, Dual Shock support, and instant replays. If you've been dying to skate, your chance is finally coming this March.

It seems like a natural marriage: skateboarding and PlayStation, two of the hottest pop-cultural forces on the planet. Surprisingly enough, however, Electronic Arts' Street Sk8er is the first dedicated skateboarding game to appear for Sony's ultra-successful system.

Following the well-marked trail originally blazed by Sony's Coot Boarders, Street Sk8er combines four real-world skateboarding events, eight colorful skaters and three unique venues into one non-stop shredfest. Street Sk8er also includes 20 original skateboards from Powell, Eternal and Warp Magazine as well as an alternative soundtrack featuring the likes of Pie Tasters, Gas Huffer and Less Than Jake.

In the game's Street Tour Mode, players race against the clock, attempting more than 200 authentic tricks to score points--and also to unlock hidden routes, characters and custom skateboards. Free Skate, in contrast, allows players to explore each course at their leisure while perfecting tricks.

Like Capcom's snowboarding title Freestyle Boardin' '99, Street Sk8er allows you to boost your skater's jumping power, cornering, speed and acceleration with its unique skills editor.

While reasonably cool looking, the preview version of Street Sk8er we received is a bit on the easy side; jump anywhere near a handrail and your skater will magically perform a flawless grind! We also managed to pull off some of the sport's most difficult tricks without breaking a sweat--the first time we tried the game. If EA pumps up the difficulty a bit more, they may have something here.

Overview

Are you a closet skateboarder? Do you look at ramps in local skate parks, wishing you had a board, a nice sunny afternoon, some liquid refreshment, a loud punk band, and guts enough to actually use the damn thing? If you do, Street Sk8er will let you live out that fantasy pretty darn well. Street Sk8er (SS) is published by Electronic Arts, but all the development work was done by the team at Micro Cabin.

Gameplay

SS is a game that attempts to blend the intensity of a timed racing game with the artistry of a freestyle competition. Sound confusing and difficult? After about 15 minutes, you’ll understand what they’re trying to do and either find it fun (oops, I mean rad) or lame.

There are three play modes: Free Skate Mode (for practice), VS Mode (alternate play and see who scores the highest number of points), and Street Tour Mode (upon which this review will focus). This mode combines a high-speed race against the clock along with street tricks to gain additional points. There are three stops through the tour (LA, NY and Tokyo — not that you can really tell where you are), which are made up of a track with different routes that are unlocked as you score more points. This pretty much follows the standard style of racing games these days — win races with enough points and get access to new stuff like new boards, characters and routes. The game does take advantage of the dual shock controller, but it really doesn’t add much to the overall gameplay.

Now it’s time to play the game. First, turn up the stereo as loud as possible. EA signed up some of the best punk/ska bands from Epitaph and Capitol Records. We’re talking about Less than Jake, Pietasters, All, H2O, I Against I, and Gas Huffer. I’m surprised that a mini-mosh pit didn’t break out in my living room while I was playing! Without appropriate decibels, you aren’t taking advantage of one of the best parts of the game. Second, choose any character and start jamming. LA is the first course, and you start with some time on the clock but no points. As you progress through the course, you get extra time as you reach checkpoints. While finishing the tracks within the time limit is super easy, gaining enough points to advance to the next course is not. To score these points you use the half pipes, ramps and other structures that let you take flight, doing acrobatic moves that would make Mary Lou Retton jealous. Actually performing the tricks is easy—just push the ‘x’ button and a direction and the game picks the move. The faster the speed, the higher the jump, which means more points. There aren’t any ‘Street Fighter’ combo moves to learn—it’s all quite basic. When you finally have enough points, you can upgrade your skater’s skills (acceleration, jumping ability, etc) and then you move to a bonus round to earn extra time, which is added to the standard time allotted for the next track. These bonus rounds consist of either a half pipe or a bowl, where you either try to score lots of points or a maximum ‘big air’ jump. The gameplay doesn’t really change as you go through the tracks, although the challenges do increase.

Where does this game shine? It’s got that famous ‘If I just play this once more then I’ll be able to make it’ quality that all games strive for. I spent WAY too much time playing this game, trying to finish the next level. What else made it fun for me? How about a simple cry for ‘Medic!’ whenever you wipe out? My favorite trick was the rail grind—for beginners, this is when you grind the trucks of your skateboard on the metal handrail found on steps. It’s a risky move, but really fun when music is blaring and you pull it off.

As fun is the game can be, it isn’t very deep. I pretty much wasted both the game and a day playing it. So far, I haven’t found any really new tracks and it’s been a long time since I opened a new route through the existing tracks. I have found two new characters (one is a monkey!) but they really play just like all the others.

Want to save your game? No problem—as long as there is empty space on your memory card. God forbid if they’re both full, though. There’s no option to make room on existing cards, which is a crime for a fifth generation PlayStation game. These routines should be written somewhere—use them!

Graphics

The graphics in this game are mediocre by today’s standards. As a matter of fact, they’re not even worth mentioning, which is a testament to the overall gameplay. The trick animations are pretty cool, but it’s the fun of the overall experience that pulls it off. There is a replay mode when you’ve completed your ride which is quite good, but I never made it all the way through one before I got bored and wanted to play again.

Bottom Line

Have a few days to kill? Don’t want to tax your mind with some real-time strategy? Like loud music, skateboards, and racing games? Want to go about 40 mph and turn around more times than ‘spin art’? Then get on your board and go find this game!