Let me paint a picture for you. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater dominates the skateboarding realm of video gaming. Suddenly, the screen freezes. A challenger appears. Nosegrinding down a rail in the distance is EA's skate., looking sharp and feeling good, but does it have what it takes to take on the Tony Hawk empire?

The first thing noticeable about this game over Tony Hawk is the realism. Boy, is it pretty. The colors are a bit more toned down than in the Hawkverse, so things look a bit more lifelike, instead of overly lit like an early Pixar movie. The drawing distance is also fairly impressive. From the tops of hills in the city of San Vanelona, you can see nearly completely across the map. Everything looks as crisp during gameplay as it does during the FMV's. Familiar skaters like legend Danny Way are captured remarkably well in the 3D world. The rag doll physics are some of the best I've seen since Half Life 2, although at times it can get buggy - for example, after some bail, you may end up bouncing up a wall. These sorts of graphics glitches only happen about once or twice during each gameplay, but its enough to be noticeable. Rarely do they affect performance (i.e., you're not suddenly knocked off your board by an invisible curb) and they're usually pretty funny.

skate. also has an extensive soundtrack of typical skate songs, but the coolest thing about it is that during loading screens, you're treated to elevator muzak versions of the soundtrack. Voice acting is also top notch, with EA bringing in all the skaters Activision hadn't claimed the rights to yet. Pedestrians also shout at you or cheer you on as you ride by, depending on how impressive or annoying you are.

skate. takes place in the fictional skater's wet dream town of San Vanelona, of which you can traverse either by means of board or subway. The basic idea is to start from the ground up, working your way from pathetic newbie to stunning pro. You'll accomplish this by getting yourself into some skate magazines and impressing other professional skaters. Just like in Tony Hawk, you can compete in challenges against other skaters to show off your sickest flips, grinds, and grabs.

San Vanelona is broken up into four massive areas: The Suburbs, Downtown, Old Town, and The Res; each one having its own unique landscape and different features. The only thing they all share in common are the annoying pedestrians and relentless drivers. Cars will not hesitate for a second to run you down if you're in the street. So while it may be good for some sick speed, skating in the road is not recommended if you don't like blood.

Sporting four main modes of gameplay, skate. has tons of hours for solo or multiplayer gameplay. Career mode is exactly what it sounds like, skate hard, gain sponsors, make the big leagues. Party Play is the game's multiplayer. You can challenge friends to a round of S.K.A.T.E. (skater's H.O.R.S.E.) and show off your stick-flicking abilities. Or you can take it online to XBOX live and compete against the best players around the globe and show off what a total noob you are.

The first thing you have to do to play skate. is to forget everything Tony Hawk ever taught you. Because you won't be using the buttons for tricks anymore, you'll have to wrap your brain around the Flick-It concept. This only takes a little bit of time to get the hang of. That's the beauty of this game; anyone can pick it up. Its very easy to learn to play. Excelling at it, that's the tricky part. You can go around doing kickflips and ollies to your heart's content, but that's not where the points are, and it won't get you very far in Career mode. To become pro, you'll have to flip in and out of every grind, jump gaps like the Duke boys, and master the art of linking tricks. This, as it would in real life, takes tons of practice.

Because the game heavily relies on physics, you'll also find yourself trying to perfect each trick. No longer can you land in any stance and pull off a flip. How you land affects your skater's balance, and ultimately affects how the next trick is going to go. For instance, if you're pushing with your right foot, some tricks work better than if you were pushing with your left. Land awkwardly, and you'll stumble on the board, which can throw off your direction. Also, forget to press one of the grab buttons in midair off a ramp, and you'll let the board go. The beauty is in the details.

You are not your own worst enemy here, you'll also be dodging cars like nobody's business. They'll sneak up behind you when you're at the end of your longest line of tricks ever, and just as you're completing that 500 foot long manual, an SUV mows you down. Cars aren't your only worry either. Some areas are deemed "no-skate-zones" which are patrolled by underpaid security guards who'll knock you down and steal your cash.

As stated before, you won't be using the buttons for your tricks. Instead, you'll utilize skate.'s brand spankin' new Flick-It technique to pull off your flips and grabs. Pull the right stick back and flick it in any direction to do a variety of tricks. And button-masher's be warned, it is all about precision. Each trick will take time to master, because the stick has to be flicked in a certain spot to pull off your flip successfully. The right stick maintains direction, both on the ground and in the air; push it forward, do a flip, push it left, pull off a 360, et cetera, et cetera.

Timing and precision are the biggest key elements in the game. No longer will simply being near a pole or a ledge be enough to pull off a successful grind. How you land is how the board is played. Land perpendicular on a rail, and that's a 50-50. Also, the position of your board during a flip will also determine your grind. This means if you start a flip late, your board might not be under your feet by the time you land on a rail.

One of the coolest parts about this game is the ability to create, customize, and share your own skate video. After getting your cameraman to record, should you manage to pull off some miraculous jump to flip to grind to manual, you can go back and edit your footage, changing angles and movements to tweak it out. Then you can load it onto XBOX Live and share it with your buds.

As with other skating games, most of the major labels are represented. It'll take some saving up and poking around to unlock new stuff, but there is a ton of gear you can get at the game's store. Customize your skater with clothes, hats, boards, and shoes. The skater creator itself is pretty generic, offering a moderate amount of possibilities for your skater's appearance. Famous skaters are also available as playable characters after you unlock them, usually after completing one of their challenges in the game.

Though it is missing a few things, like lip tricks and flatland tricks, skate. is hopefully the first in a long series. I prefer its precision and look over the Tony Hawk franchise. Give it time, and we may see some skaters cross over from Activision to EA. Only time will tell.