Reviews// Skate it

OK, let's try that again - after a little practice, and I mean a little - the ollie move is one of the most natural in Skate it - you are popping ollies in no time. Nollies are pretty much the same. A flip of the front or rear foot to the toe or heel side will produce a kickflip or a heelflip. Adding a quick dab on the d-pad will add a board spin to make it a shuv-it. This is fun!

Within minutes of first playing the game, I am pulling moves that take months of practice in real life. Pull them near a curb or rail and I'm performing slides and grinds with consummate ease. This is really fun.

The action in Skate it takes place in San Vanelona, the location of Skate, but now the city is partially destroyed by a catastrophe of some kind, and is deserted. So it's just one big skate park for you. The box describes this as “Real World Skate Spots” but I think that is wishful thinking, because San Vanelona is fictional. I checked on Google Maps.

OK, so now all I need to do is go over there. Lean and my board turns, whoa.. too far. Lean back and whoa... over corrected. OK, so what's the deal here, pulling a 50-50 grind flipped to a darkslide then flipped onto a separate rail before doing shuvit into a nose manual is easy. Getting over there is impossible! One second I'm Daewon Song, the next I'm a lamer n00b!

One of the inherent problems of the Wii Balance Board is that it requires no actual balance, it is rock solid - it gives no feedback. There is nothing less intuitive to a skateboarder than to lean, and not have the plank under your feet lean with you. The balance board is dead and lifeless, good maybe as a step in fitness games, but not up to the job of being a balance sport controller. I felt the same way after playing the skiing and snowboarding games, but Skate it confirms the fact for me.

Things get worse when I go into the pipe. The natural tendency is to try and body-pump to get height, but there's no need for that. All you need to do it keep straight on to the fall line and you pick up speed with each pass through the pipe bottom. But keeping straight is part of the problem.

No, GETTING straight is the problem. Once you get straight, keeping straight is not so bad until you pull a trick, which once again is really easy to do. So, here I am unceremoniously skating out of the pipe then bouncing about like a pinball trying to get back in. And the annoying thing is in real life, this stuff is easy! I'd carve round if there were space; kick-turn or powerslide if space were tight, or flick the board into my hand and schooch round if there were simply too many obstacles. But in Skate it, I feel helpless. Simultaneously stoked and frustrated.

Two of Skate it's features mitigate the problem, the first is that when you need to pull a trick, you can do so in a place of your choosing. So, if you can't get to there, you can do the trick right here. The other is the 'My Spot' feature that enables you to build your own trick spot using tables, ramps and benches.