Skate does exactly what it boasts; it is the truest to life skateboarding title, for better or for worse. Some gamers will love the no frills style of short grinds, small hops, and realistic physics, but many will still prefer Tony's brand, which while a little nutty at times, still provides the fun aspect of video games compared to Skate's authentic take on the sport. For a first effort though, Skate is an enjoyable title if you can just get past the frustrations of completing remedial tasks early on.

Skate is visually compelling with some gorgeous backdrops, fantastic special effects including motion blur and slow motion, and rich with detailed textures on both the player models and environments. The game runs at a solid frame rate and sports some wonderful animations both in tricks and on bails, as even the sense of speed in the downhill portions of the game feel blistering fast, while still staying on the side of realism.

Audio is filled with some decent voiceovers from real skaters, a great selection of music from some great metal, punk, and hip hop bands. Oddly enough the music doesn't play continually and you will hear breaks in songs between unending menu screens and tip icons. There's even some catchy bossa nova covers on the menu screens that sound a bit like elevator music. Granted the song list isn't quite as grand as the Tony Hawk series of tracks, but even if there are songs you don't like, you still have the option on the 360 to utilize the infamous custom soundtrack feature. The skateboard and sound effect samples sound as real as the game feels, allowing you to close your eyes and know you are playing a game that is shooting for that authentic feel.

It's the game play aspect of Skate that gamers will either love or hate. Skate provides a "realistic" look at skateboarding allowing you to rely on Ollie tricks, heel flips, pop-shuvs, kick flips, and various spin and flip maneuvers while not letting you stray away from what you can perform in real life. Forget those extensively long grinds, leaping from rooftops, grinding off statues, etc, as Skate is known for bringing out the basics, nothing more. While this will appeal to the groups who have been complaining about the silly route the Tony Hawk series went to, it also takes you out of the virtual world and keeps your feet planted firmly on earth's strict gravitational rules. I for one didn't like the Underground titles, but enjoyed Project 8, so after playing Skate, I did miss that "fun factor" that the Tony Hawk series provided. Heck you are supposed to be playing a video game right? Not that I don't admire Skate's realistic approach and the offering of an alternate to the Tony Hawk series, I just personally didn't find myself as addicted to it, as I hated to perform simple tasks that shouldn't be so difficult to pull off.

I do, however, love the fact that Skate does revolutionize the skateboarding title with the use of the right analog stick to perform tricks. Though unfortunately, the variations are too minimal and seem too difficult to pull off combinations successfully since trick maneuvers are a little too similar. This leads to little depth and creativity which really affects the overall fun factor.

If you do find yourself comfortable with this stricter style of game play, then you'll be happy to know that Skate is far from bare bone. You can freestyle skate, enjoy a career mode, and even take your skills online to boast to your friend on how skilled you are. Another cool addition is the video editor, which allows you to capture your sickest moments and display them online for the world to see.

All in all, Skate is a solid first effort and actually makes me look forward to a sequel. I really hope they can mess around with the control scheme a bit next time to allow for more versatility in your trick making so you can be more creative on the pavement. Otherwise, is there really room for two skateboarding franchises? I'd have to say, "why not"?