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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.
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%
Prince of Persia, Brothers in Arms, Skate 2 join Games on Demand
That, ladies and gentlemen, is a lot of new Games on Demand. We've got three new ones this week and a price drop. As for the new titles, we've got a platformer, military shooter and hardcore skating simulation in Prince of Persia, Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway and Skate 2, respectively. Prince of Persia and Skate 2 each run $19.99 in the US, while Brothers in Arms will set you back $29.99. Meanwhile, Rockstar's Table Tennis has seen a 10 dollar price drop to $19.99. As always, pricing and availability vary by region. Xbox.com: Add Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway to your Xbox 360 download queue ($29.99) Xbox.com: Add Prince of Persia to your Xbox 360 download queue ($19.99) Xbox.com: Add Skate 2 to your Xbox 360 download queue ($19.99) Xbox.com: Add Rockstar Games presents Table Tennis to your Xbox 360 download queue ($19.99)
Best of the Rest: Dave's Picks of 2009
Resident Evil 5 I've long been a fan of the Resident Evil series, and while the campaign here has problems and should never be played solo, the Mercenaries mode is what kept me coming back. Those action-packed levels spent trying to survive while running low on ammo and health were some of my most chaotic, yet highly enjoyable, experiences of 2009.
Rumor: Skate 3 in the works
Apparently EA is working on a sequel to Skate 2, if the Epicly Trife twitter is to be believed. Epicly Trife (NSFW) is a site dedicated to skating, and its twitter account said the following: "I just got told 'tonight we gotta celebrate,' one of the bro's got offered to be in SKATE 3." By no means a confirmation, we're still excited, as Skate 2 was not only a great sequel, but pretty much the best skating sim around. Plus, it's much easier to get up after falling down four flights of stairs in a video game, as gravity is a much more harsh mistress in real life.We've put in word to EA for comment, but with almost everyone taking the day off today, don't hold your breath for a response. We sure aren't.[Via Kotaku]
Skate 2's Maloof Money Cup DLC busting kickflips on July 9
Based on the highest-pursed skating event in history, the Maloof Money Cup makes its way to Skate 2 on July 9 for $3.00 and 240 on PSN and Xbox Live, respectively. That's one day before the real-life event takes place, and the DLC will mimic the setup of that event pretty closely, through a collection of single-player and online events. These events consist of freeskate, vert, and street contests, and will also provide Xbox gamers with an additional 250 Achievement points to earn. Considering the game's last update was back in February, we're surprised EA even remembered it had a skateboarding game.%Gallery-67115%
Skate 2 getting custom soundtracks today
Skate 2 may offer some excellent variety with its 50+ song soundtrack, but sometimes you just feel like skating to your own tunes. Developer EA Black Box knows this and has announced that it is finally patching custom soundtracks into the PS3 version of the game.The update, which releases today, will include some minor bug fixes, removal of exploits and other adjustments. You can check out the full list of fixes after the break. Also, for the first song on your custom soundtrack ... go with some real hardcore thrash metal.
Skate 2 enables red/blue 3D mode via cheat code
Sony showed off some slick 3D gaming setups at CES last month, but since you probably don't have two PS3s, a special copy of Gran Turismo 5 and a 3D display just laying around, Skate 2 is the closest thing available right now. Punch in "strangeloops" under the Extras section of the main menu and you'll be in anaglyph 3D mode (you did hang on to your Sobe 3D glasses, right? Doh! as noted by commenters below, those glasses are amber instead of red and won't give the slight 3D effect desired with this cheat) We're sure many are shocked that EA didn't try to slip this in as paid DLC instead of providing a free cheat code, once you've recovered check out a YouTube demo embedded after the break.[Via TeamXbox]
Skate 2's new 'Classic San Van' DLC is old hat
Those of you who find yourself reminiscing about the "good ole days" of the first Skate game, we've got something you'll likely be interested in: EA has unleashed a new DLC pack for Skate 2 called "Classic San Van." Featuring a variety of locales from the first game, Skate 2 players will now be able to shred it up in classic spots such as the Parkade (yes!), the School (italicized yes!), and the Community Center (bold yes!), all while utilizing the new tricks found in the sequel. The DLC even places some objects for you to move around in each area, as you can see in the video above. Skate 2's "Classic San Van" DLC pack is available now on Xbox Live Marketplace and PSN for 400 and $4.99, respectively. %Gallery-23257%
Take a video tour of Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Plaza in Skate 2
EA was kind enough to send over this trailer for the new Skate 2 DLC, Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Plaza. As you can see in the video above, it provides plenty of areas to get your shred on. One of the things we like about this DLC is its lack of vert areas. We're street skaters here at The Stiq.%Gallery-45370%
Skate 2 introduces 'Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Plaza' DLC [update]
Update: EA has dished out some screens for the DLC. Hit up the gallery below to check them out.Unless you wanted to unlock everything the easy way or cut some awesome videos, there hasn't been much support in the way of DLC for us Skate 2 fans. That is, until now, as EA has unveiled Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Plaza for the game.The new bit of DLC is available today on PSN and XBLM for $5.00 and 400, respectively, and allows skaters to blunt slide and manual around the centerpiece of Rob's MTV show, Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory, as well as the surrounding downtown Los Angeles area. Rob was pretty impressed with Black Box's job of recreating the space in the game, as he comments it has all of "the ledges, gaps and rails" of his showpiece, and "more surprises outside the park that both gamers and skaters will enjoy."So who's going to shred up Rob's Fantasy Plaza?%Gallery-45370%
UK charts: Wii Fit, Call of Duty still on top, Professor Layton climbing
The week ending January 31st saw no movement at all in the top two spots on the UK sales charts. Wii Fit maintains its top spot on the UK sales charts for a third week, followed by previous champ Call of Duty: World at War. Skate 2, which debuted last week at #3, has dropped to #5 behind FIFA '09 and Professor Layton and the Curious Village, which, like Wii Fit, is experiencing increased sales due to long-awaited replenishment of stock. Mario Kart Wii rose two positions to #6, leading us to wonder if, over the course of 2009, the top half of the charts will steadily fill with Nintendo hits from 2008.[Via Edge]
Engadget's recession antidote: daily giveaways!
You know, we were going to write about how NEC is cutting 20,000 jobs, and Hitachi's plan to possibly slash 7,000 workers -- but this stuff is getting kind of depressing. After a meeting of the minds between our crack team of editors, we've decided there's a better way to handle this recession: giveaways. Starting today, we're going to be giving away one item a day for as long as we can (until we run out / the companies stop giving us stuff). That means that at least for the foreseeable future, you can expect a teensy sliver of economic relief in these trying times. We're going to start out with some games -- Skate 2 and The Lord of the Rings: Conquest for the Xbox 360. Check the rules below, and get to winning!The rules: Leave a comment below. Any comment will do, but if you want to share a tale of heart wrenching economic strife, that's good too. You may only enter this specific giveaway once. If you enter this giveaway more than once you'll be automatically disqualified, etc. (Yes, we have robots that thoroughly check to ensure fairness.) If you enter more than once, only activate one comment. This is pretty self explanatory. Just be careful and you'll be fine. Contest is open to anyone in the 50 States, 18 or older! Sorry, we don't make this rule (we hate excluding anyone), so be mad at our lawyers and contest laws if you have to be mad. Winner will be chosen randomly. The winner will receive two Xbox 360 games. Approximate value is $120. Entries can be submitted until Monday, February 2nd, 11:59PM ET. Good luck! Full rules can be found here.
Free LOTR: Conquest DLC, not so free Skate 2 content
There's new downloadable content available on the Xbox Live Marketplace, specifically for Lord of the Rings: Conquest and Skate 2. The LOTR Hero Arena Bonus content is 100% free and gives players a new way to play team deathmatch. If you can spare 135MB of hard drive space, by all means, enjoy. For those looking to become the Steven Spielberg of Skate 2 film making, there's new 600 Filmer Pack content that adds "advanced camera controls for the replay editor, custom watermarks, expanded online storage" and new apparel to boot. We'll leave that purchasing decision up to you, but for the sake of comparison, Bungie offers a similar expanded Halo 3 storage solution with Bungie Pro. Hey, just saying.Source - Skate 2 Filmer PackSource - LOTR: Conquest Hero Arena Bonus
Wii Fit dominates UK charts, Skate 2 makes strong debut
Wii Fit remains at the top of the UK charts for the week ending January 24th, closely followed by its buddy Call of Duty World At War at number 2. These two games are trying their best not to let anyone into their special "Top Two" club, despite EA's numerous attempts so far this year. Lord of the Rings: Conquest, which showed strong sales when it debuted at number 3 in the charts, has now dropped to number 4.This makes way for EA's newest contender, Skate 2, which has also managed to reach number 3 in the charts during its debuting week. Strong sales, but not strong enough to beat Call of Duty: World At War, which has been hovering up there for over two months now. The strangest story is Wii Fit's, however, as it has jumped up from 33rd to 1st in the last three weeks. We're not sure what sparked this Wii Fit resurgence ... perhaps being constantly told they're overweight by their government has finally had an impact on UK citizens.
Metareview -- Skate 2 (360, PS3)
True story: We were going to review Skate 2 ourselves, but we ... no, not we ... I, I Justin McElroy sucked too bad at it to review it. I don't know if my thumbs are just too stupid or what, but as a long-time Tony Hawk fan, I found it hard not to pine for a game that let me press one button and automagically grind on a space dinosaur's boner. Here's what more qualified people had to say: GamePlayer (95/100):"Skate 2 is a brilliant game. For the most part it takes the fantastic template laid down in the original and injects it with a smartly integrated new move-set, an exciting world to rip to shreds, and the same addictive, unquestionably stylish gameplay which saw the Tony Hawk series bolt for the hills." Totally 360 (90/100): "Overall the development team should be commended for making another excellent skating title. Everything runs really smoothly and it seems to have come together really well. The new features add on to what was already a fun experience with the original." IGN (83/100): "Technically an improvement over the first title, and anyone who hadn't yet played the original should skip it and go right to the second. It's a really fun game that allows you to play it the way you want with a control scheme that is second-to-none at the moment. However, it's far from perfect. GamePro (80/100): "The first Skate was a refreshing take on virtual skateboarding, so expectations were high for this one. Maybe they were a little too high: Skate 2 doesn't quite deliver the revolutionary skating experience that we were all hoping it would be." Source -- Metacritic: Skate 2 (Xbox 360) Source -- Metacritic: Skate 2 (PS3)
Underachievement: EA selling 'unlock everything' DLC for Skate 2
It won't instill gamers with the same red-faced anger as EA's fizzled plan to offer for-pay weapons in Battlefield: Bad Company; instead, the newly released "Time is Money Pack" for Skate 2 will simply make those who buy it feel varying degrees of guilt, regret and perhaps even fear. That's because, for 400 ($5) on XBLM or $4.99 on the PlayStation Store, owners of the game can literally pay their way past the effort it would take to unlock everything in the game. The "everything" in question includes "all locations, skaters and gear that can be earned by playing through Skate 2's career and online modes," according to the DLC's description. So, basically, you're paying for access to content that's already in the game. Or, to put it another way, you're paying five bucks for a cheat code. A downloadable code, if you will. Next thing you know, people will be paying for good grades and -- who knows -- even Senate seats. Oh, wait ... [Via X3F]
Skate 2 DLC unlocks everything for the lazy gamer
There's a new Skate 2 DLC unlock code available for purchase off the Xbox Live Marketplace which - in somewhat of EA tradition - is more about unlocking content then giving gamers new content. The Time is Money Pack costs a hefty 400 Microsoft points and will "unlock all locations, skaters and gear that can be earned by playing through Skate 2's career and online modes." Lazy gamers love paying for their unlock codes, amiright?
New games this week: Skate 2 edition
Video games are continuing the battle back from the brink of doom this week, with the release of one of 2009's most promising titles yet: Skate 2. We'll have some more detailed thoughts for you soon, but suffice to say it's definitely worth your time, if only to congratulate EA for having the stones to release a big-name title in the cold, bitter darkness of winter.Also of note is early PS2 contender for 2009 Name of the Year, AR Tonelico 2: Melody Of Metafalica. We were going to Google it for more info, but we were fairly sure we'd end up on some sort of watch list.
Worldwide PS3 releases for the week of January 18th
EA continues its January release schedule with Skate 2 which, no doubt, will be a bit better than Lord of the Rings: Conquest turned out to be. Hopefully. Asia continues to play catch-up, as ever, with Prince of Persia and WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2009. Here's the full release list:US Games Skate 2 EU Games Skate 2 Asian Games Skate 2 Prince of Persia WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2009 PS3 games are region free. Not that it matters this week, but if you're feeling particularly barmy you could always import a version of Skate 2 from abroad. It'll still work. Though any downloadable content would need to be downloaded from the appropriate region's PSN Store, so it's probably best not to. Release dates are constantly subject to change, so confirm with your local retailer before you leave the house.
