With its minimalism intact, it is important to point out the graphics of the game. The same sort of dithering and color filter is used here that was used in another EA Black Box game, NBA Street Homecourt. Overall the graphics are sharp with just a few pop-ups here and there. The most interesting thing about the graphics is how they are presented. Instead of seeing your whole skater on the screen, the camera is pointed toward the lower half of your skater and it is obvious your moves are the most important thing to see.

The core sound effects are realistic and the EA Trax presented here are also very good and are not as rap heavy and some other EA games have been in the recent past. The online play is very hit or miss. Lag was encountered repeatedly, but it is fun to play with people and show off some tricks.

EA Black Box has made a good first game in skate. The controls are the big draw here, but they are also the biggest hindrance. Given a good amount of time with the game you will get the controls down, but it is hard to guess how long it will take to master. This is not a casual gamer’s game. Coming into a genre that is monopolized by one game is a tough thing to do—and skate. is a good first effort that will hopefully lead to better games down the road.