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Street Sk8er
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Graphics & Sound:
The graphics for Street Sk8er are pretty good and get the job done, but aren’t really amazing. I noticed a bit of poly break-up, but on the other hand, the frame-rate is high. There are several song tracks to jam to by such bands as I Against I, Gas Huffer, and Less Than Jake. I have stated many times in the past that I like “real” music being used in video games instead of muzak, midi files, or no-name garage bands. That being said, I couldn’t get into any of the music in the game. That is a personal opinion, not a defect in the game. The fact that I didn’t care for the music in Street Sk8er was not reflected in my rating.
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Gameplay:
Shred asphalt (and skin, ewww!) in two different game modes for Street Sk8er: Street Tour and Free Skate. In Street Tour, you race “around the world” (which is a joke -- there are only three tracks). Grind hard enough with each character and new characters become available, and secret paths will open in the tracks for more playability. (But pssst! There are still only three tracks!) There are a few hidden areas like a “bowl” and a half-pipe. In the Free Skate mode, you just, uh, like skate, dude. There is no timer, so just kick back and grab huge air, practice your tricks, and get mad chicks (well, not the chicks part).
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Difficulty:
Balanced. I would “just” miss advancing and I would be compelled to try again because I had “just” missed. Ever play a game where you just totally never come close to moving to the next stage? You get so frustrated it ends up in that shoebox on the top shelf in your closet... ya know, the one with the Vanilla Ice cassettes?
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Game Mechanics:
After falling flat on my face after a few poorly timed jumps and tricks, I was tearing up the place like I used to back in the late ‘70s at The Paved Wave. (sigh) The game packaging states that there are more than 200 tricks, but most of the moves are controller inputs such as a direction on the joypad and a button, so I can’t see how that adds up to 200... but I sucked at math, and if it wasn’t for Mr. Gray pushing me through his class, I’d probably still be in high school, all old and stuff. I really liked playing as the girl with the inline skates, and I thought the Japan track was really fun and looked cool, but I just feel that three tracks does not make a game. It just seems like it’s a demo disc or something. I was really looking forward to Street Sk8er, but I’m afraid I was slightly disappointed. Maybe Street Sk8er 2 will really blow up. Street Sk8er is a really fun game to rent, although die-hard shred-heads will probably want to add it to their collection.
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-Glom, GameVortex Communications AKA Pete Maher |
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