Skateboarding games were (kick)flipping awesome – let’s look at the legacy they left behind
Taking a nostalgic trip back to the archaic times of the late 90s/early 2000s, it seems as though a staple of the video game market was the alternative sports game.
Games like snowboarding SSX and the lesser known Pro BMX biker games from Dave Mirra or Matt Hoffman spring to mind. Even football (or soccer, if you swing that way) had the alternative FIFA Street series to cash in on the cool, edgy, alternative sports vibe.
However, none of these had the power or influence of the ruler of the alternative sport scene at the time… Skateboarding.
For almost a decade, skateboarding reigned as one of the biggest subgenres of gaming out there, akin to wrestling and racing games.
Inspired by the rising trend of the skateboarding subculture, and maintaining its popularity even after the decline of the mainstream appeal of skateboarding in the 90s and early 2000s, these games were a pinnacle of a lot of gamer’s childhoods – even if they weren’t skateboarders themselves.
So let’s grab our metaphorical boards and grind into the legacy of skateboarding, with the help of a Newplex pal…
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater Series
The name most associated with skateboarding, the Tony Hawk Pro Skater series was a foundation of the home console collection, with the original series beginning in 1999 and running until 2002.
The original games had a very arcade feel to them (a la the FIFA series), including a roster filled with the more renowned skaters of the time.
With no real story mode or anything, it was a real pick up and play kind of series – something to do if you had a couple of hours spare on a lazy weekend morning or after school (instead of doing lame homework).
For me, one of the main appeals of the game was the aesthetic and tone, spearheaded by its soundtrack.
Complied of punk, classic rock, and – of course – ska, the music had a real alternative feel to it, and featured tracks from the likes of Flogging Molly, Reel Big Fish, AC/DC, and many, many others.
Couple this with plenty of challenges across several different levels, each ranging in difficulty and challenge, and you had a pretty killer game.
For me, being a wannabe rebellious pre-teen who couldn’t skate in real life, this was perfect in allowing me to experience the thrills of skating, combined with a music taste that has remained with me this entire time.
So the arcade skaters were fun… But that was changed when Tony Hawk’s Underground arrived.
Tony Hawk’s Underground and Underground 2
Manualing away from the arcade sports feel, the Underground series decided to go more towards a narrative route.
Still keeping aspects from the previous games, including a deep character customiser (your own tricks, skateboard designs), it decided to tell a rags-to-riches story.
Starting as a lowly New Jerseyan (let me know if that’s a thing), you climb the ranks of the skating world with your friend/salty bumhole, Eric Sparrow.
This was a new step for the game, produced by Activision and Neversoft, as it introduced many new features, ranging from little things like having a voiced protagonist, to major ones like getting off your skateboard whaaa?….
The follow-up, Tony Hawk’s Underground 2, did also have a story – of sorts, possibly…
Cashing more on the rising popularity of Bam Magera and the Jackass crew, and less focused on the sanctity and integrity of skating, Underground 2 focused more on bat-shit crazy stunts for the pure lols.
Nothing really changed between the two games in terms of major developments, purely because the first Underground had built such a solid foundation.
Number two was certainly a little bit more out there though, including some weird voodoo in New Orleans.
Other Tony Hawk titles
Although this is when I stopped playing Tony hawks titles, the franchise kept on rolling, with American Wasteland and Project 8 being particular highlights.
The games after these proved to be quite mixed. Neversoft themselves has since rolled off into the sunset as a company, with the lowest point bring the universally panned Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5.
Skate
For a time however, there was an alternative to King Hawk of the Board.
Skate was a bit more of a grounded game, compared to the zaniness to it’s counterpart.
I myself did not play much of the game, but I have called upon the expertise of fellow Nexplexer Charlie to drop some knowledge on this series.
Tyler demands it!
My very first memory of any skating game was the now iconic Skate 3. Years ago, I was scrolling through the demo marketplace on Xbox 360 and out popped a teaser for Skate 3. Out of nothing but curiosity of the skateboarding and extreme sports gaming genre, I downloaded. The rest, as they say, is history.
But that was 10 years ago, and it and it’s fair to say – even now – I long for a fourth entry in the Skate franchise. Yet despite tweets from celebrities like Tyler, The Creator calling for a Skate 4, EA seem to be reluctant on giving us a new Skate game anytime soon. Sigh.
But, the memory that is the Skate trilogy still lives on as all fans most definitely have at least a copy of Skate 3 – and fond memories of Skate 1 and 2. There are so many contributing factors as to why this game is more loved than hated. It gave us a fresh new take on the skate-boarding genre as its fans had only grown up on Tony Hawkes games.
Although fun and the good kind of silly, the Tony Hawks games didn’t require the player to have much imagination when it came to play-style. The Skate trilogy offered gamers different skating styles from not only the way your board was put together – affecting the feeling of the controls – but also offering a plethora tricks to choose from, allowing the player to pull off some outstanding tricks or just to breeze right through the game with ease.
Throughout the trilogy the mechanics/controls of the game stayed the same, the left analogue stick was used to not only move the camera around but whilst catching some tasty air you could move the board around to create some rad grabs. But what was revolutionary to the genre was being able to use the right analogue stick to pull off flip tricks, and if you had spent time learning the combinations, you could pull off some seriously impressive flips like the Nollie Laser Flip.
One constant change in the franchise were the graphics, of course as technology progresses games can become more realistic-looking without the bad effects of the uncanny valley. The Skate games really utilised the upgrade in technology available to push the limits of the more gruesome but funny part of it’s games called The Hall of Meet. This was where EA had exaggerated the cringe moments of a skater falling off their board and not having the best landing (if you catch my drift), in the smallest of scenarios in game you could purposely fling yourself at a moving car. Or if that doesn’t quench your thirst for gore then you could throw yourself off a cliff edge, land face first on the ground and watch all your bones snap…
I have nothing but great memories from this franchise – this year in fact I even bought an Xbox 360 to play Skate 3 (after leaving the old gen behind for the new sexier generation of gaming). If I had one wish it would be for a sequel, to play a more updated Skate game and feel the freedom of pulling off some sick tricks and pretending to be a pro skateboarder again.
So there we go.
What was your favourite skateboarding game? Team hawk or Team Skate? Do let us know.
This post was originally published on The Newplex on 13th December 2018 and was revised January 2021.