Skate review for PS3

Could this be the game that knocks Tony Hawk off the skateboarding top-spot? Skate, from EA Blackbox, is a new skate-boarding sim that, thanks to its innovative control system, brings you closer to the skating action than ever before. It's a next-gen beauty, with a host of locations to try out and plenty of skills to rack up. Newcomers to skateboard gaming might find it hard to get into, but is that enough to stop Skate from taking the crown? Find out now in our full Skate review!

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Skate review for PS3

With eight games under its belt and a ninth imminent, the Tony Hawk franchise has been the best skating game in town for almost a decade. But now it has met its match. EA's Skate is based on much the same premise, but revolutionises the gameplay, controls and visuals to a degree that Hawk coders Neversoft could never have anticipated. It's fresh, it's vibrant, it's new, and crucially it's a great game once you've got to grips with it.

Key to Skate's appeal is its ingenious use of the twin analogue sticks, controlling both body movement and interaction with the board. It makes you feel more in touch with the action, more involved in the tricks. It's a world away from Tony Hawk where the most complex manoeuvres could be dialled out with a series of button presses. In terms of style, Skate also wins out easily with a unique range of graphical effects. From its fish-eye camera lens viewpoint, its supersaturated colour palette through to the sublime use of motion blur, it gives the impression of a game quite unlike any other.