GameCyte

When the first "Skate" title came out in late 2007, it was an unknown property directly challenging the King of the Genre: "Tony Hawk." Needless to say, the new franchise soundly handed the Hawk man his skateboard, declared the skate park its own, and became recognized as the new premiere skateboarding franchise. It is with that kind of success and expectations that EA Black Box releases one of their final games, "Skate 2." While the first title put the emphasis on re-imagining the skateboarding genre by mapping controls fully to the two analog sticks, "Skate 2" does less to redefine and innovate, and more to fine-tune what was already available, and fill in some holes previously left in the blueprint.

Just as in the first title, "Skate 2" controls primarily using the left and right analog sticks. The left analog stick controls your skater, and the general direction he or she wants to move; the right analog stick is used to perform or modify any and all tricks. They worked in the first title and helped breathe life into a genre on its deathbed, so unsurprisingly things don't change much in that department.

That's not to say "Skate 2" isn't without new features, though. Handplants, footplants, and nearly double the repertoire of moves in the original make their debut in the game. One of the biggest (and most needed) changes is the ability to hop off your skateboard and hoof it on foot. No longer will a staircase stand between you and skating glory! Unfortunately, the on-foot controls of the game obviously didn't get as much attention as the skating, and thus the controls and aesthetics of moving on foot look like an entirely different -- and lower budget -- game.

Also new is the ability to move objects in the environment while you're on foot. This allows you to drag ramps, boxes, and other similar environmental hazards to wherever you please. See a jump too big to make? Maybe you can create a makeshift ramp and fly across it. Maybe not. Experimenting and seeing what can and can't be done is what "Skate 2" is all about.

It's the better-developed open nature of the game that makes it feel fresh, even if it is just a bunch of minor changes here and there. The first game told you to do something, and do it in a very specific way with a specific move; "Skate 2" tells you to do something, but how you do it is up to you. The off-board abilities also open up the city of New San Vanelona, making this game feel very much like "Burnout" on much smaller, non-powered wheels. This is especially true during cooperative online play.

My favorite new feature only helps to further cement the comparison: the Hall of Meat. Like "Burnout's" Crash Mode, the Hall of Meat revolves around you trying to make your skater crash in the most spectacular way possible, and break as many bones as you can. Call me a psychopath, but it's very fun seeing how many bones I can break as I force my skater to hang on to a car downhill, build up speed, and then jump straight into oncoming traffic.

Is "Skate 2" as revolutionary as the original was when it came out? Not close. It has just enough new features for this sophomore attempt to be a true upgrade in the franchise, though. Not a whole lot is different in New San Vanelona, but what is different should be more than enough to please fans of the original.