skate-3
Latest
Tony Hawk says Ride was 'a bit rushed,' still thinks critics didn't give his board a chance
Even after all this time, Tony Hawk's stance is firm regarding the poorly received Shred and Ride games. He thinks critics made up their mind before giving the games and associated peripheral an honest chance -- even in the case of Ride, which he admits "was a bit rushed" due to time spent prototyping the board.
Madden 11 demo leads rush of Xbox Marketplace content
The Xbox 360 forecast is absolutely droughtful this week at retail, with the Clash of the Titans theater DVD release tie-in drying up store shelves. Thankfully, the Xbox Live Marketplace is overflowing with new content this week, including today's release of the new Madden demo. Additionally, DLC for a pool of recent releases -- Alan Wake, Lost Planet 2 and Transformers, to name a few -- flowed out today, and the "Summer of Arcade" shines on tomorrow with Hydro Thunder Hurricane. (Did you read our review yet?) Finally, Borderands' trio of add-ons is on sale through Sunday. Check out complete details of the week's XBLM content after the break.
Skate 3 'Hawaiian Dream' DLC lands on July 6
What's that? The Maloof Money Cup DLC from early last month for Skate 3 wasn't enough to quench your desire for more skateboard-based hooliganery? Well perhaps the addition of a new skater (Danny Way) in a new locale (Hawaii) with 24 new challenges will help? Have a first look at Skate 3's "Hawaiian Dream" content pack just after the break.
Skate 3 'Maloof Money Cup' DLC available on June 8
EA Black Box has announced the first downloadable content pack for Skate 3, which rolled into stores on May 11th. Dubbed "The Maloof Money Cup 2010 NYC Pack," the download will launch on Xbox Live and PlayStation Network next week, on June 8th, for 400 MS Points or $5. It'll add 100 Gamerscore points, five new Trophies and -- oh! -- new things for you to do if you're playing to have fun. Taking a few steps away from the game's Port Carverton playground, the Maloof Money Cup event has you competing in Flushing Meadows, New York, where "the site of the 1964 World's Fair has been converted into one gnarly skate mecca." Said gnarly skate mecca adds new challenges and includes a new, custom-built street park in which impressive skating can net you heaps of cash. And that could only lead to even more fame, fortune and a lucrative sponsorship with McDonalds. I'm Maloofin' it.
Dead Space's Isaac Clarke playable in Skate 3
Got Skate 3? Want to bust kickflips as everyone's favorite outer space engineer, Isaac Clarke? By inputting the code "deadspacetoo" into the Cheats area under the Extras section, you'll unlock the Dead Space protagonist for use in Free Play mode. Who knew he could be so nimble in that outfit? Keen observers may notice Clarke riding on a futuristic board. That's because, by inputting the code, you'll also gain the new deck. Sorry, it's non-transferable between skaters -- we tried.
FIFA World Cup leaves Alan in its wake on UK sales chart
2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa fiercely protected its top spot on the UK all-formats weekly sales chart for the third week in a row. Alan Wake saw the light of retail with a second place premiere, and according to Chart-Track, totaled only 1,000 fewer units sold than FIFA. Lost Planet 2, which found itself in third, was 12,000 units behind Wake (an Xbox 360 exclusive), despite being on two platforms and going on sale several days earlier than the typical Friday release in the UK. Ubisoft's Wii-exclusive Just Dance tripped and stumbled to fourth place, its lowest position in seven weeks. Could this be the beginning of the end for the surefooted sales star? Unlikely -- unless every Wii owner in the region already has it (which isn't out of the realm of possibility at this point). Finally, EA's Skate 3 ollied into a fifth place debut. The complete UK top 10 can be found after the break. Source – FIFA Just Holds Off Alan Wake And Lost Planet 2 [GFK Chart-Track] Source – Latest UK Software Charts [GFK Chart-Track]
Interview: Skate 3 producer Chris Parry
It was a motley crew at the Venice Beach, CA skate park on Wednesday, as EA held a public launch party for Skate 3. Skater kids were running everywhere, checking out the game, taking full advantage of the free food and giveaways, and of course skating, grinding and jumping on the various rails and bowls available to them. In among all of the skaters was one Chris "Cuz" Parry -- even as he gave out free copies of the game and limited edition skateboards to raffle winners, he would see a 12-year-old pull some air and respond directly over the PA: "Did you see that little ripper go? That was sick!" After he finished the giveaways, we pulled the producer of all three Skate games to the side and asked him about what EA's Black Box studio has planned post-release. %Gallery-92922%
Review: Skate 3
Skate 3 has been touted as a social experience ever since it was announced, encouraging players to "team up" and "throw down," all in the name of being the best skateboard crew around. It's a new focus for the series, but if you're going to justify your sequel with a single feature, that feature had better work well. %Gallery-77563%
Skate 3: Good times with product placement
Self-identification through product choice is a mainstay of the skateboarding scene, from t-shirts to shoes to skate decks to the soundtracks on skate videos. It's all part of the culture, so it's only fitting that a skateboarding game – say, Skate 3 – shares in that. To celebrate this common thread, let's play spot the product placement after the break!
Skate 3's first TV spot borrows inspiration from Middle-Earth
In a commercial for a skateboarding game, you might think that the folks featured wouldn't draw aesthetic inspiration from warring factions in a Tolkien story, but that's exactly what Skate 3's first TV advert brought to our minds this morning. Sure, there's a bit of gameplay video thrown in, but most of it centers on the much talked about online friend system by way of uniting skateboarders, apparently under an umbrella of brutality. With a demo already available and the game's May 11 release date fast approaching, we're not sure you need much more to get you on board for Skate 3, but we'd suggest checking out the commercial just to see what happens at the end. Now you have to watch! Ha!%Gallery-77563%
Skate 3 video gets by with a little help from some friends
EA has been pushing the community aspects of Skate 3 since unveiling the game, and this latest trailer is no different. Focusing on the Freeskating mode, the video demonstrates how easy it is to hook up with some friends and navigate the different parts of Port Carverton. For the most part, these are things players could do in Skate 2 -- been there, done that. But there is one interesting item of note here: the team films. The trailer only briefly touches on that functionality near the end, which, come May 11, will grant foursomes their own 15 clicks of fame via the official Skate website. Gnarly!
Skate 3 trailer takes us to the urban playground
Here's the thing about this Skate 3 trailer: it's freakin' nuts. Does it have narration from Skateboard Sense? Check. How about some raw meat grinding a huge ledge? Yup, it's there. What about a brief section where some dude goes crazy, pounding everyone around him with a skateboard? How about zombies and big heads and tons of bails and -- okay, you get the picture. It's probably the most non sequitur trailer we've seen in a while and definitely the craziest Skate 3 trailer yet. Check it out above.
Skate 3 demo now on Xbox Live for all Gold members
As promised, a demo for EA Black Box's latest, Skate 3, is available for download today on Xbox Live. The demo weighs in at a hefty 862.54MB and features a Skate School section with Coach "Jason Lee" Frank, as well as a few different and online team challenges. As with the Skate 2 demo, there's a ticking clock as soon as you start -- 20 minutes total gameplay -- so keep that in mind when going for that ultra sick grind. Unlike the Skate 2 demo, however, you can restart the whole thing right from inside the demo itself. Xbox.com: Add the Skate 3 demo to your Xbox 360 download queue (FREE)
Skate 3 'Hall of Meat' trailer understands comedy
We think it's great when video games make stabs at humor with a timely pop culture reference or pithy back-and-forths between its characters. However, the Skate franchise has always had its finger on a direct line to our funny bone with its "Hall of Meat" mode, in which skaters hurt themselves in the most unimaginably hilarious ways possible. Judging by the trailer above, Skate 3 will further increase the game's capacity for laughing-out-loudz by adding a few more aerial maneuvers and allowing your characters to push themselves off the ground post-crash. The developers have also refined the "jump off a building and judo kick an unaware pedestrian on the street below" mechanic, which might just be our favorite feature in any game ever, ever released.
Skate 3 demo highlighted in new trailer
The Skate 3 demo first revealed at PAX East last month has now been officially announced by EA. The demo, which arrives on Xbox Live and PSN on April 15 (just in time for tax day!), will let players show off their skating skills in the game's University District. The demo will include both single-player and multiplayer challenges including Own the Lot, Domination and Hall of Meat. If you'd rather work on your not-constantly-falling-over skills, the demo features the new Skate.School mode as well. Players can also appease their inner skate park designer by dropping up to 24 different objects into the demo. And, as if all that wasn't enough, the Skate.Reel feature is included as well, allowing players to upload their epic runs -- or epic bails, as the case may be -- for all their friends to witness. Check out a trailer for the demo above.
Interview: Skate 3's Chris "Cuz" Perry
At PAX East, we managed to bend the ear of Chris "Cuz" Perry, one of the Skate series' producers -- you know, the dude from those developer diary videos? Yeah, him. He was rocking the Skate 3 booth, showing off the game, so we did what we do best: cornered him and started firing off questions. See what he had to say below! Could you tell us what your name and position is? My full name is Chris Perry and I'm a producer on Skate. You guys really kept up support for Skate 2 through DLC long after the game came out. Is that something you plan to do with Skate 3? Official policy is that we can't talk about that, but it sounds like it's a good idea! %Gallery-77563%
Hands-on: Skate 3 and its new difficulty levels
We've covered Skate 3's new focus on co-operative challenges, managing a team of skaters and selling some skateboards -- but the raw experience of getting on the virtual board and busting tricks, not much has changed significantly. And that's why the new difficulty levels were such an interesting addition for me. %Gallery-77563%
Skate 3 demo on Xbox Live and PSN April 15
While visiting the Skate 3 booth here at PAX today, we were handed a few stickers. In fact, the front of the stickers weren't even the interesting part, as the back revealed a demo is set to bust mad trixx on Xbox Live and PSN on April 15. Not too surprising, considering the first two games also offered a taste before their respective releases.
Video: Skate 3 ramps up user-created content
If we told you that the user creation tools in Skate 3 were robust, we'd be selling the game short. From the highly customizable skate parks (that can be shared online) to the revamped graphics creator, there's no doubt that the devs at Black Box have upped the ante on user creation in a significant way. While there's always the worry that the Skate franchise could start packing in a bit too much (the Tony Hawk-ization of Skate, if you will), it looks like the folks in charge of improving the annual franchise know to keep the game focused on skateboarding culture and real physics. We'll be checking out the game this weekend at PAX East, so look for a more thorough opinion soon (and feel free to tell us in the comments below what you want to know about the game). %Gallery-77563%
Skate 3's 'Skate School' as taught by Coach Frank
There's nothing quite as satisfying as learning how to skateboard from a crazy old coot named Coach Frank (as played by ex-pro skateboarder Jason Lee -- you know, the guy from Mallrats?). Experts that they are, the folks at EA developer Black Box are well aware of the attraction, and they've employed the character to teach Skate 3's "Skate School" mode. Frank acts as a framework for the fleshed out Skate 3 tutorial, teaching players how to nail tricks and polish their execution -- it probably helps that he's full of goofy, if occasionally awkward, humor to lighten up the mood as well. And hey, if we learned anything from the previous two Skate games, we're going to be spending a ton of time just figuring out how to ollie without faceplanting over and over (and over), so we could use the levity. %Gallery-77563%
