Skate 3

Skate 3 is the third main installment in the Skate series of video games, developed by EA Black Box and published by Electronic Arts. It was released on 11 May 2010 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.^[1] The game was a critical and commercial success.

Plot

Some time after Skate 2, the skater has proven that he's one of the best, and now goes by the alias "The Legend". Now he's attending the Port Carverton University. He was just stunned how the city is the "polar opposite" over San Vanellona. After a failed attempt to "Jump The Shark", a Thrasher challenge at the stadium, his next goal in life is to be the best skating mogul. By making a team composed of skaters like him, his goal is selling over 1 million boards while doing the same odd jobs around Port Carverton.

Gameplay

The game takes place in the fictional city of Port Carverton, which embraces skateboarding, unlike the "skateboarding is a crime" mentality portrayed in the second game. Although the location is a more colorful and friendlier place than Skate 2's desaturated, and grainy streets, the gameplay provides a similar feel to the first and second games.^[3] Port Carverton is made up of three districts, Downtown, the University, and Industrial. Although the overall look of the city is very clean (except industrial) each district has its own unique designs and monuments. Downtown is full of slick rigid ledges and rails, while the University is full of banks and open areas. Industrial is the most unusual; it is home to a huge quarry that has bricks of stone.^[4]

Several notable skateboarding professionals appear throughout the game, such as Darren Navarette, Terry Kennedy, Eric Koston, Chris Cole, Pat Duffy and Jason Lee.

In contrast with the original Skate, two new difficulty levels have been added: "Easy" and "Hardcore" modes. "Easy Mode" allows the player to perform tricks easier and provides greater control of the character. "Hardcore Mode" attempts a closer simulation of skateboarding and the player must perform tricks precisely. The game also features an introductory "Skate School", where Coach Frank (Jason Lee) teaches players the basics of skateboarding, such as grinding and performing ollies. This feature is optional and the area can also be visited for unrestricted skateboarding.

Similar to the Tony Hawk games, Skate features a "Skate Park" that allows players to build custom skate parks.

EA introduced three new online game modes: "1-Up", "Domination", and "Own The Lot". In "1-Up", players compete in turns to beat the other team's last score in a given time period. In "Domination", teams compete to gain the most points on set spots in an area within a time limit. In "Own The Lot", two or more players try to complete tasks before their time limit ends.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack, which was revealed on the official EA Skate website on March 19, 2010, contains 46 licensed tracks.^[5]

John King of The Dust Brothers composed original score for the game. According to Mutato Muzika's website, Mark Mothersbaugh of Devo and Del the Funkee Homosapien were involved with Skate 3's soundtrack. The game also features music by composer Dan Diaz, who continues his work with the franchise after writing for Skate 2 and Skate It. A notable song is "I'm Comin' Home" by Cheeseburger, which is played during the opening scene of the game.

Development

In the developers diary, it was revealed that characters such as Joey Brezinski, Dan Drehobl, Benny Fairfax, Josh Kalis, Lizard King, Andrew Reynolds, Chris Haslam, Terry Kennedy, Chris Cole, Jason Dill, and Rob Dyrdek would be featured in the game. New tricks were introduced, like the darkslide, underflip, and dropping into a ramp or bowl.

Black Box has announced that they will be bringing the game mode "Party Play" back that was in EA Skate and Skate 2. Skate 3 freeplay is rated T.

Downloadable content

Downloadable content has been made available for the game for purchase through Xbox Live Marketplace and the PlayStation Store.

Time Is Money Pack (released May 14, 2010)

Unlocks all locations, skaters and gear, and Skate Park objects that can be earned by playing through the career and online modes.

Skate Share Pack (released May 14, 2010)

Enables the ability to share skate creations (videos, photos, parks) as well as access Skate. Reel footage and custom Skate. Parks created by the Skate community. This is available as a free unlockable code for players who buy a new/sealed copy of the game

Filmer Pack (released May 14, 2010)

Gives the player more options for control of the camera during video clip editing and adds the option of uploading in high resolution.

Maloof Money Cup 2010 NYC Pack (released June 12, 2010)

This pack (which is based on the actual Maloof Money Cup) includes a re-creation of the custom street park built for the 2010 Maloof Cup and the ability to compete in the competition.

Black Box Distribution Skate Park (released June 22, 2010)

Zero, Mystery, and Fallen's private training facility. It was originally available for free for players who pre-ordered the game.

Danny Way's Hawaiian Dream (released July 6, 2010)

An enormous skate park loaded with everything from original street terrain to flowing skate parks to mega ramps, unlocks a new Plan B Skateboards gear and a new Danny Way outfit.

After Dark Pack (released July 27, 2010)

Includes two new areas (the Sanatorium and the San Van DIY) and the ability to skate at night. It is available for free for players who have activated the Skate Share Pack code included in the box.

Skate.Create Upgrade Pack (released August 17, 2010)

Includes two new skate Park lots to build in (the Back Lot Park and Downtown Night Park), 11 new terrain pieces, 10 new branding pieces, 3 new foliage pieces, over 25 new miscellaneous terrain pieces (such as green screen and buildings), over 15 new props, Slappy and Fabio characters from Skate, new Create-a-Character items, and new features to the replay editor as well as new Miracle Whip themed items unlocked with the cheat code "dontbesomayo" However You can not use the customisable graphics option any more because EA shut down the old website because of the lack of players.

San Van Party Pack (released September 21, 2010)

Includes new Party Play feature and party style challenges, a large part of the Urban Rez area from the original Skate game, a new Pacific Northwest style skate park, a large new skate park lot to build in, and new skate park pieces.

Reception

Skate 3 received generally positive reviews, with 7.5 from GameSpot. 1UP.com also gave the game a favourable review, rewarding the game an A, and praising the tutorial in this installment, saying, "Skate 3 also revamps the tutorial and in-game aids. New training techniques [...] ensure that this iteration's tutorial amounts to more than just an exercise in trial and error." IGN UK also gave the game a positive review, awarding it an 8.0, but voiced concerns over the yearly release of the games, and stating that there are very few features that Skate 3 "could call its own".

The game has become a popular staple of Let's Play channels, due to its humorous physics and glitches, resulting in the game being a high-selling game as late as 2014, requiring EA to issue a reprinting of the title.^[12] The game was also one of the most requested titles to be added to the Xbox One backwards compatibility feature, and was added to this on November 10, 2016.^[13]

Demo

The demo for Skate 3 was released on April 15, 2010. It contains some tutorials from Skate. School, an introduction to Hall of Meat, two areas from Carverton and several challenges, some of which can be played online team-on-team or cooperatively. It is the first skateboarding demo to be released with online play and access. There is a 20-minute time limit on the demo, after which progress is reset, and the player is given the option to restart or quit.

References

External links

• Official website