Skate 3

For long time fans of the franchise, Skate 3 will seem very familiar, however it's hard to argue with a successful formula and this formula has worked like gangbusters so far.

Succeeds in its near impossible task and actually improves on the almost perfect Skate 2. Difficulty levels, changes in challenge structure and the new cityscape are all just golden, and while the improvements are rather minor, they're enough to make Skate 3 the new king of skateboarding games. [June 2010]

Skate 3 is the series highpoint in terms of accessibility, fun and features that will extend the life of the product long into the future.

Aside from the challenges, truly mastering the controls of this game and really exploring the available environments will keep you busy forever.

Skate 3 from the outside looks like a bog standard yearly update effort and with the lack of Create-A-Spot from the previous game, it is easy to see why. However get into the game, jump online, grab some friends and get ready to be treated to one of the most fun and relaxing experiences console gaming has to offer.

Skate 3 is an (almost) perfect skateboard simulation. It eliminates many failures of its predecessor such as the bad walking controls. The skating is easy to learn and the create-a-park editor extends the experience. Well done!

While this latest title doesn't take any huge risks, I would argue that's a good thing. Skate has always been one of those rare games where you can just aimlessly play with no goals or objectives.

The barebones have always worked and EA has gone by the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" idea and kept most of it the same. Instead, EA have thrown in a bunch of interesting extras that make a purchase worthwhile.

The new team-based game mechanics bring in fresh air and provide different game experiences. Especially challenges that need more than one player to be fun.

New additions like the park editor, item dropper (which lets players add any of hundreds of ramps, rails, etc. to the environment with the press of a button), skate teams, trick analyzer, and a beefed up Hall of Meat mode flesh out the skating experience, while the new difficulty settings allow almost anyone with thumbs to enjoy the sublime satisfaction that comes from nailing a 540 Double Heelflip over a 15-stair gap.

Compared to the previous game, Skate 3 is an improvement and if you're a Tony Hawk fanatic, I still suggest you check out this game because the attention to detail in this game is quite good, from sweet skating manoeuvres to graphics that look quite realistic.

Skate 3 is the best game in the series. Unfortunately, it contains only a few new things compared to the second part.

Despite a few cracks and issues in the online play and a couple of missing features that would have improved the experience, SKATE 3 is still a fantastic sequel that really improves on the accessibility and style.

This is the definitive version for anyone who found the last two games too daunting. It never outright holds your hand, but the new tiered progression system and online co-op make it easier for anyone to enjoy the game, while not leaving the hardcore Skate fans out of the fold.

Great open world with tons to explore and thrash. [July 2010, p.82]

There's more content here than you could shake a stick at. What's more, it is all incredibly well put-together; from the single-player career to deep customization and truly robust online play.

Online play isn't essential, but it would be a shame to continue skating in a vacuum.

Skate 3 may not be the revolution we were all hoping for, but it adds enough to warrant a day one purchase.

What Skate 3 does, it does it good. It is better than the second installment and brings some interesting online modes.

Definitely the best Skate effort yet - but more of an update than a truly worthy sequel. [July 2010, p.86]

If skateboarding is your way of life then buy without pause, but the more casual player should give it a rent to make sure the enhancements warrant the cost.

Skate 3 takes a great game in Skate 2 and brings it to the next level. If you're looking for a great skateboarding game, look no further.

If you are a fan don’t let my words keep you from playing Skate 3, it’s a great game with plenty to see and do, it’s just more of the same.

The true narrative of this game is the journey of slow, dogged, satisfying improvement that you'll travel as you work the ineffable rhythms of the board into your fingers.

If you're strictly a solo player, you'll probably find Skate 3 to be a sterile, temporary environment that doesn't feel as inviting as the previous game may have. But if you've even dabbled in the online world of Skate 2, you'll surely enjoy what Skate 3 has to offer.

Skate 3 is by no means a disappointing addition to the series, but those who sunk their cash into last year's Skate 2 really don't have much of a reason to take the plunge here.

Skate 3 may not be more than an evolution of the two first games, but it is a damned good evolution. Port Carverton is a skaters paradise, and the introduction of difficulty levels invites both new and veteran gamers to enjoy the fictional city on four wheels.

Skate 3 is the perfect evolution of this brand. While the single player experience is as good as the Skate 2 one, the multiplayer is a huge improvement for the Black Box game. The brand new community system is as good as the one in Forza 3, and is a great addiction for this fantastic skateboarding experience.

It can never have the impact of the first game but this is still a worthy, incremental improvement.

Skate 3, to be blunt, doesn't offer a great deal that's different to the previous two games in the series, with the added team, online and sharing functionality being the key additions.

It could've used better visuals and artificial intelligence, but Skate 3 lives up to the hype. It plays well, offers a lot to do both online and off, and its team-building and park creation modes will keep you busy.

Doesn't take gamers anywhere as exotic or over-the-top. And that's its charm. The realistic setting and complex control scheme make for an engaging single-player experience, but it's the wide range of online multiplayer options that make Skate gleam the cube.

A great experience for skateboarding and extreme sports fans. Not perfect, but another superb installment to the series.

Fans of the series will find more to love in the third installment. For newcomers, this is the most accessible and fun skateboarding game there is.

It is a skateboarding fan's dream, with you being able to jump into the unique culture, and creating a team and a character that you can call your own.

Thoroughly recommended for plank stompers everywhere.

Whilst some of the changes in Skate 3 may not be evident at first they are all worthwhile. However, the new skate park editor and co-op team play really make this latest iteration standout and make it a worthwhile acquisition for Skate fans.

For now at least, Skate remains very much this generation's go-to extreme sports franchise. [Issue#96, p.112]

The single player experience of Skate 3 is a minor improvement over the previous titles, and as such there is no reason for you to invest in this title if you primarily skateboard solo. It's in the online arena that this title shines. With a wealth of content to experience with, or against, others you'll never run out of things to do online. Since progress in the online mode transfers to your offline experience, and vice versa, this is the definitive skateboarding experience for those who haven't delved into the franchise yet.

The best skateboarding game you can buy. A good game in its own right, and a worthy sequel for all its worth.

Resolutely playable, and tricking around the world is still a joy. The 'crazy' additions make us worried for later games, but right now we're too busy smashing our heads open to care. [Issue#59, p.96]

Skate 3 is the best skateboarding game out there. It's certainly no revolution, but due to its strong gameplay and some great additions we will be impressed if Shaun White and Tony Hawk will reach this standard.

It's a difficult, slow burning game that never strays far into the whimsical and overblown. Understanding the mechanics, let alone mastering them, is a slow, difficult, painful crawl from gnarly amateur to diamond champion.

Skate 3 doesn't go as far as I would have liked, but it's still a great addition to the franchise. [July 2010, p.90]

Skate keeps improving, but this new installment doesn't offer many new things.

If you never played a skate episode before, this is probably the best skateboarding game around. If you already bought a previous chapter, keep in mind that this is just an update of an already great game.

Skate 3 represents the maturation for the brand. The good number of new options and the overall quality make aren't enough to make this game a must have for the owners of the previous title, but it's undoubtedly made for fans and a good start for novices.

The difficulty tuning makes it a great buy for fanatics and noobs. Not so, those in the middle. [July 2010, p.80]

Skate is getting old. The third chapter uses the same graphical engine of the past edition, and even if the gameplay is still solid, and old time fans will be pleased by the social features, Skate 3 looks like a deep add-on.

Probably calling this game Skate 2.5 or Skate Online would have been more fair. Skate 2 show too less innovation on the previous game, except for the strong push towards online support. Nonetheless, just because it builds upon the strong foundations of the previous game, Skate 2 remains a strong and entertaining experience for every skateboarding lover.

Skate 3's gameplay is still as stellar as ever. Just about everything that made the series cool to this point is back.

Skate 3 sadly fails to take the leaps and bounds that Skate 2 made; it's not as progressive or original. However, it is still the undisputed king of skateboarding games, and if you're new to the franchise, you'd do well to pick it up.

EA's latest skater caters to newcomers and experienced boarders alike, and features a robust system for creating and sharing content.

A nice experience for the Skate franchise fans, but an insufficient effort on adding genuinely fresh content to the game.

More quantity over quality, Skate 3 nonetheless impresses with its sunny city built to accommodate your team of skaters, but ultimately doesn't deliver much in terms of innovation to the franchise.

Skate 3 is the best skateboarding game at this time. It is still fun, intuitive, and there is plenty to do and see. Toss in multiplayer fun for a group and you have yourself enough satisfaction to last you 'til the next incarnation of the series shows its face...probably a year from now.

Skate 3 manages to remain the skateboarding game to beat but ultimately lacks the evolution and balanced, challenging experience that gamers expect from a third installment in the series.

If you like the previous Skate games, you'll probably like Skate 3 as well. It's a rock solid skateboarding simulation and it's both fun and easy to create your own skate parks. But if you don't want to play online, Skate 3 feels a little bit bare boned and is more like an upgrade rather than a brand new experience.

Ultimately, it's all about the online: if you have an active social life on Xbox Live then Skate 3 is near-essential, but otherwise you might as well stick to last year's version.

Skate 3 takes one step back for every step forward. Creating custom skate parks is a blast, especially now that vert works without a hitch, but that doesn't substitute for an uninspired city-scape.

Skate 3 just barely surpasses its predecessor to become the best of the genre, but the lack of fresh ideas (along with the various bugs) will leave many people feeling as though their money could have been better spent elsewhere.

Pleasant, but a bit on the light side for series aficionados, and very forgettable if you don't play online.

Without much positive innovation to give it momentum, it's becoming increasingly difficult to resist the temptation to bail out.