They say it’s better late than never. I’ve been wanting to play ‘Skate 3‘ ever since its release 4 years ago, but for some reason I only managed to get a copy last week. I must admit that since I got it, it’s the only thing I’ve played.

I have always enjoyed skateboarding games. And probably,  just like for many people, ‘Tony Hawk’s Pro Skateboarding’ was my first skateboarding game, with countless hours spent on it – surprisingly I still play it every now and then.

The Skate franchise has been around for quite a few years now, but EA delivered a pretty solid game with this third release.

With no other big skateboarding franchises around (Activision has taken all the wrong paths with things like THPS Ride), Skate 3 places itself as the King of skateboarding.

The game physics are great, and the use of all the buttons (and specially the RS Wheel to pull the tricks) makes it feel so much more realistic.

Skate includes many of the worlds best pro skaters to play as, which makes it so much better. And a special cameo in the role of coach Frank, which is actually Jason Lee (yes, Earl Hickey was a pro skateboarder in the 90s).

With the ‘open world’ frenzy now on consoles, Skate 3 offers a big fictional city called ‘Port Carverton’. You will be able to go around the Uni as well as a mining area. You can skate there, grab a car’s back, and much more.

However keep in mind that many of these things have already been used in other games. It’s not the novelty of things, it’s how EA has put them together.

Get off the skate to climb a set of stairs and then go for a trick on a huge gap. And if you’re feeling too lazy, just teleport into a particular event!

The environment is totally alive. Quite often you will find yourself  with pedestrians just crossing in front of the ramp you’re about to take, or another skater conveniently jumping a second before into that rail you were about to grind.

The game also has a brilliant soundtrack with the likes of Joy Division, Beastie Boys, Dinosaur Jr. Again, such details hark back to the classics of the skating genre.

Conclusion: 

Strong points: All the fun you could imagine. Tons of events to try out that will keep you playing Skate 3 over and over again.

Weak points: EA decided to pull the plug on the skate.reel online community, so no online features any more.

Overall, a great game. This is probably the best skateboarding game on the current-gen. Have you played the game? What are your thoughts on it? Let us know below!