
If you're looking for "lighter" gaming-related entertainment, try /r/gaming! Please look over our rules and FAQ before posting. Overall, Skate 3 enhances and extends the gaming experience the series is already known for./r/Games is for informative and interesting gaming content and discussions.

But we cannot forget its negatives, such as its lack of mission variety, camera problems, and its frequently lonely online experience. It provides a great simulation experience, with the ability to edit city’s skate parks, and all of the games social features, certainly make it a step up from previous installments. Skate 3 is a game aimed at fans of the sport. Often it will struggle to find the right angle for the action, switching position at inopportune moments to make your character harder to control. Unfortunately, the games one big problem is its camera. This could in large part be down to the fact that the world’s inhabitants are quite thin on the ground with the online social aspects meant to populate the environment – a choice that leaves the city feeling like a ghost town much of the time. Despite its large, solid, and varied open-world, nothing about it will really wow you.

The graphics are not really a huge step forward for Skate 3. This makes it truly satisfying when you manage land an aerial maneuver, rather than simply being business as usual in the more arcade focused Tony Hawk. It is this level of difficulty and reward that really elevates Skate 3 as a simulation. The same depth applies to the rest of the tricks, with more technical moves - such as one and two handed grabs – demanding true skill to pull off.

Combos and tricks require deft use of the sticks to execute, with moves like an Ollie requiring a quick flick of the right stick down and then up.

Board movement is executed with the right analog stick, while you control the movement of your skater the left (this really is one for gamepad). The Skate franchise’s control system has been incredible. So, providing you know what kind of game you are getting into, there should be a challenge level to suit you. There are three levels of difficulty which alter the challenge of the maps and the abilities of skaters to make it easier for you to perform jumps and tricks. It’s not without flaws, such as the loneliness you feel when entering the free play area only to find that no one else seems to be playing, but for the most part it does create a convincing social experience. This is all done with a single, clear purpose: to blur the line between offline and online. You can participate in individual events in the (theoretically) busy hub area, compete in teams, and even take part in Story mode events with a friend to make them easier.
