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How's Wii Skate It? We Skate It To Find Out
Posted by Michael McWhertor at 1:00 PM on July 8, 2008
We hope you're ready for a world in which all games are controlled with your feet, because following the success of Wii Fit and the welcoming of the game's Balance Board peripheral by third-party developers, it's only going to ramp up from here. Fortunately, in the case of the Skate It at least, playing games with your feet may not be such a bad thing. It has the potential to be about as awkward as any attempt to ride a skateboard, if it's your first time, but you might be surprised at how easily one can pull off nose manuals and nollie kickflips within minutes.
Obviously, one isn't required to have a Wii Fit Balance Board to play Skate It. It can also be controlled using only a Wii Remote. And that, somewhat surprisingly, works rather well, too.
Still, it's a bit unnerving at first. It's simple, though, with little in the way of button pressing. Simply press A to accelerate, down on the D-pad to stop and B to perform grabs. Everything else is motion controlled -- kicks, flips, ollies, turns, everything.
Turning your board with twists of the remote requires a steady hand. Skate It will require just as much extremity agility and concentration as the original Skate and sticks closely to the formula established by the first. You won't be doing as much wild waggling and joint-killing shaking as some of the Wii's other offerings. Instead, because Skate It's controls are about finesse and precision, you'll find yourself looking a bit more zen as you try to avoid unintentional board slides and the not-uncommon faceplant.
As with the original Skate, I had a bit of trouble shaking off my Tony Hawk Pro Skater past and becoming reaccustomed to EA's approach. But after a few minutes with the Wii Remote and the Balance Board schemes, both rewarding in their own way, it was very much a peaceful, enjoyable experience, similarly sandbox-y and mostly pressure free -- editors from other outlets waiting in line notwithstanding.
My only complaints with the control scheme lie in their unfamiliarity. The Wii Remote would perform well in some parts, with nose manuals via a quick remote hop and downward angle working like a charm. But in other instances, I'd find myself steering wildly out of control. It was also pretty easy to lose one's centre on the Balance Board and feel the strain of fake skateboarding on the underdeveloped calves. (Perhaps that possible skateboard-like frame could address this, but we'll have to wait to find out.)
Still, I left Skate It pretty impressed, admiring the control scheme and seemingly smart implementation of the Balance Board. We're looking forward to spending more time with it at E3, but for now we'll just soak in the screen shots and become more familiar with the controls.
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
kumuasata
Posted 1:59 PM 8/7/08
I'm an actual skater, so this better be like a real skateboard or fail :D
Then i'll stick to the 360 version :D
kumuasata
Netnavi
Posted 1:48 PM 8/7/08
These graphics look ok. Not as good as they could be but you've got some work being done. Some bump mapping on the bricks, bloom lighting and a nice draw distance. If the control scheme works then it should be good.
Netnavi
Robotube
Posted 1:40 PM 8/7/08
@mlubczyn: I'll take PS1-era graphics as long as I don't have to use a PS1-era controller.
Robotube
ggodo
Posted 1:35 PM 8/7/08
@mlubczyn: ps1 my ass.
ggodo
mlubczyn
Posted 1:27 PM 8/7/08
Now if only they would give us better than Brawl graphics instead of some PS1-era graphics.
mlubczyn
Megan Fox iz Hot ^-^ -ph15h
Posted 1:21 PM 8/7/08
Finally Motions that make sense. Yay!
Megan Fox iz Hot ^-^ -ph15h
Jayl3w
Posted 1:16 PM 8/7/08
I was actually expecting some godawful control scheme here, I'm pleasantly surprised to find out otherwise. Maybe I'll have to put my boycott of skateboarding games on hold for awhile to give it a shot.
Jayl3w
Neocorey
Posted 1:15 PM 8/7/08
Very surprising...
Neocorey
nick.soapdish
Posted 1:14 PM 8/7/08
This is a game I'm actually looking forward to trying out. The balance board has a lot of potential as a peripheral, and since I've got one anyway, why not give it a try for something a bit more interesting than holding the tree pose and finding out that my centre of balance is just slightly to the left.
Glad to hear that both control styles seem fluid. Having a slight learning curve, like controlling a real skateboard, is kind of reassuring in that it isn't just leaning this way or that plus a button combo on the remote. Skate controls differently enough than I'm used to with the controller in hand, so I imagine it'll take a bit of getting used to with my feet.
Waiting to seeing more, definitely.
nick.soapdish
drbrownt0wn
Posted 1:14 PM 8/7/08
Seeing how suddenly, some developers are interested in cultivating a well-thought and implemented control scheme makes me really anxious in a good way. Me want look awkward while playing! Usually its an indicator that I'm... having some fun!
drbrownt0wn
Torgen got his apology faceplate but not his fixed GH3 disc
Posted 2:22 PM 8/7/08
@Jayl3w: Gameplay first and graphics second, not gameplay first and graphics never.
Torgen got his apology faceplate but not his fixed GH3 disc
lenandude
Posted 2:15 PM 8/7/08
Some of the stuff looks muddy and blurry but this looks like some of the best graphics the Wii has to offer. Too bad I only have a PS3. Just kidding. But this does look good.
lenandude
Jayl3w
Posted 2:09 PM 8/7/08
Wow, complaining about graphics on a Wii game?
It's been made pretty obvious at this point that the Wii is about the gameplay (see: 'novelty') first and the graphics second. If this is actually as well put together as said, I may have a reason to enjoy the Wii. I am so very, very tired of kiddy games. (No More Heroes excluded, that game was awesome.)
Jayl3w
Jonathan in Kichijoji
Posted 2:07 PM 8/7/08
I played skate on a PS3 demo unit a few months ago and thought it totally rocked, so when I'm _very_ excited about this version. Can't wait!
Jonathan in Kichijoji
pewpewlazer
Posted 2:06 PM 8/7/08
Tony Hawk made me all Skated Out, I think it's WoW Clone and Cover based Third Person Shooter year now, no more "Xtreme" sports please.
pewpewlazer
thezman
Posted 3:15 PM 8/7/08
@Torgen got his apology faceplate but not his fixed GH3 disc: True, but if the game looks like shit, but plays great... who cares about the graphics?
Good gameplay can make a shitty looking game great.
But good graphics can't make shitty gameplay great.
thezman
Pammeh
Posted 3:14 PM 8/7/08
Yes!! Skateboarding minus the danger of skinned knees, perforated fingers (yes, this happened to me), infected wounds (this too), and an inherent inability to stop once on any object with wheels (ALL THE TIME). Skateboarding for the accident-prone!!!
Pammeh
thezman
Posted 3:13 PM 8/7/08
Sounds great... and I was gonna be happy with a shitty Top Skater port. :)
thezman
NeVeRMoRe666
Posted 3:03 PM 8/7/08
This looks pretty fun. Now if only I could find WiiFit for the balance board...GRRRrrr...
NeVeRMoRe666
dead_red_eyes
Posted 3:03 PM 8/7/08
I love the hell out of the 360 version of Skate, so I'm definitely interested to see how this turns out. I'm wondering how the DS version is coming along too.
dead_red_eyes
Torgen got his apology faceplate but not his fixed GH3 disc
Posted 3:35 PM 8/7/08
@thezman: Yes, but better graphics can make a game with great gameplay stand out compared to other games that also have great gameplay but worse graphics. Square trees don't make me think they're trying really hard.
Torgen got his apology faceplate but not his fixed GH3 disc
Sathias
Posted 3:51 PM 8/7/08
How do you do grabs with the WiiFit board?
Sathias
Torgen got his apology faceplate but not his fixed GH3 disc
Posted 3:45 PM 8/7/08
And why do the trees cast blue shadows?
Torgen got his apology faceplate but not his fixed GH3 disc
mfwahwah
Posted 4:26 PM 8/7/08
I think this is the only game I really want when it comes to the Wii. Then again I already have skate. so it's not that big a loss :P
mfwahwah
DariusEnigma
Posted 9:12 PM 8/7/08
@Torgen got his apology faceplate but not his fixed GH3 disc:
They got tired of brown?
Considering the overall visual presentation, I'm sure you could let blue-toned shadows slide...
DariusEnigma
wassermelone
Posted 11:52 PM 8/7/08
@Torgen got his apology faceplate but not his fixed GH3 disc: Yellow light (the sun!) creates blue shadows. Albeit, it is exaggerated here, but its something painters have been doing for... hundreds and hundreds of years.
wassermelone
dArk_stAr
Posted 11:51 PM 8/7/08
sounds like my next wii game
dArk_stAr
Domasai
Posted 12:20 AM 9/7/08
Damn it. The last thing I needed with my current budget is another game to buy for the Wii. Looks and sounds awesome though, so I think I'll support the effort. Nicely done, EA. (Never thought I'd say that.)
Domasai
Schmatz
Posted 12:11 AM 9/7/08
After looking at some old Tony Hawk game screens and comparing the two, this still has pretty good graphics, but a lot of the stuff needs to be touched, such as the jaggies from no anti-aliasing. That is what sticks out the most to me.
The thumbnails make the game look great though!
I gave up on the Wii a while ago. Got tired of paying for more glorified accessories :P
Schmatz
wassermelone
Posted 2:37 AM 9/7/08
@Torgen got his apology faceplate but not his fixed GH3 disc: Actually you do :)
Its an optical effect of comparative contrast against the yellow light of the sun combined with a blue-ish ambient light.
A strong photo example:
[k43.pbase.com]
Obviously, the less yellow the light, the less blue the shadows.
wassermelone
Torgen got his apology faceplate but not his fixed GH3 disc
Posted 2:21 AM 9/7/08
@wassermelone: Are you telling me you cast blue shadows under sunlight? Because I sure don't. Also, the shadows the guy is casting look like the traditional black kind, and the parts of the guy that aren't getting sunlit don't look blue.
Torgen got his apology faceplate but not his fixed GH3 disc
Torgen got his apology faceplate but not his fixed GH3 disc
Posted 4:08 AM 9/7/08
@wassermelone: But in the situation you describe, it wouldn't be the yellow light causing blue shadows, it would be the blue ambient light illuminating the black shadows. Anyways, your photo looks like it was taken at sunset, and the shadows in the screenshot aren't long enough for that to be the case, and the rest of the scene looks like it's illuminated with pure white light--there's no blue in the dark parts of anything else.
Torgen got his apology faceplate but not his fixed GH3 disc
wassermelone
Posted 4:57 AM 9/7/08
@Torgen got his apology faceplate but not his fixed GH3 disc: Well, yes its from the blue ambient light scattered in the atmosphere, but as I said it also has to do with comparative contrast (this is where our brain interprets colors/values differently depending on the surrounding colors/values).
Besides, Im not not arguing with you that it might be taken too far in the screenshot. I even said in my first comment that it was exaggerated. But blue tinted shadows happen; they are exaggerating an actual visual effect and as a painter I prefer that than lifeless black/grey shadows.
wassermelone