Skate, the upcoming skateboarding sim from Electronic Arts, is the most realistic skateboarding game developed to date. But could it also be the most important? EA is hoping so, as it looks to redefine a genre that is synonymous with Tony Hawk, a franchise still going strong eight years after the release of the most revolutionary skate title, well, ever, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater. Hyperbole aside, we look back at the skate games that made the genre what it is today. And like most good things in life, our story starts in the '80s.
720 Degrees (Arcade, NES)
Atari
1986
Few could forget this skate classic that allowed you to session freely in the open world of Skate City. That is, until killer bees or evil bike riders chased you down, angry that you befouled their fine city with your skating antics. The most important of these antics was the 720, two full spins in the air, a move invented in real life by the Birdman himself, Tony Hawk. The goal of 720 is to hit each of the city's four skate parks and win gold in either the ramp, jump, slalom or downhill events. Then you can take your prize money and upgrade your gear at the local skate shop. The idea is so good that skate games today still use the same basic formula: an open city, upgradeable gear, a variety of events -- not a bad legacy for the first skating game created.
T and C Surf Designs (NES)
Enteractive
1987
If you owned an NES you probably got your hands on this gem, a skating-surfing hybrid featuring a thug skater in a tiki mask and a surfing gorilla. What's not to like? The side-scrolling skating adventure takes you through a short track that grows even longer each time you pass it. It was an exercise in trial and error to discover just where that next oil barrel would appear, but fun nonetheless. Aside from controlling your speed, you could jump off ramps over holes in the earth and grind rails on the side of the street. While 720 was superior in terms of gameplay, there's no doubting that T and C had style.
Skate or Die (NES)
Konami, Ultra Games (EA developed Commodore 64 version, but who played that?)
1988
As the NES and skateboarding both continued to rise in popularity in the late '80s, along came Skate or Die, which happened to be the last great skating game for some time. Skate or Die most definitely had attitude as you took control of a rookie boarder, looking to shred among the hardcore locals that don't take kindly to a new face on their turf. The only way to prove yourself is in one of five intense contests: race, jam, joust, freestyle and high jump. Few could forget the joust as you and a friend could battle it out in an empty pool for backyard supremacy. In the coming years, however, skateboarding would lose its popularity, although Skate or Die still remains a classic for all that played it.
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Posted: 10 Sep 2007
