Skate It (Wii)

When skating games stop getting fun start getting real...
12/1/2008 7:32 PM | 0 Comments | Page 3 of 3

It could be argued that all these control struggles and virtual pain make the success all the more satisfying when you finally pull off that perfect line. But these moments are too few and far between -- and even when they happen, the results are often so cautious and pedestrian that you'll wonder why you bothered investing the time. This is especially true when you compare the results to the crazy spins, twists, flips, grabs and grinds that punctuate some of Tony Hawk's most impressive combos.

Most gamers are used to games that allow them to escape from real life -- to perform impossible feats like flying through the air, knocking bad guys 100 feet with a single punch, or fighting off a zombie horde. The real problem with Skate It is that it takes the realism trend too far, bringing the player down to earth with all the frustrations of real-world skateboarding when it could be lifting them up with fantastic visions of things that could never be in real life. If the choice is between realism and fun, I'll take fun any day.

This review is based on a retail copy of the game provided by the publisher.