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8A - Monday, October 22, 2007
You need to work
for your sadism
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
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SKATE From page 5A
built upon a series of bland tasks
and objectives that come off as
something you need to do, instead
of something you want to do.
Maybe this game is just too real
for its own good. The life of an up-
and-coming skateboarder never
seemed very interesting, soit's not a
surprise that its digital representa-
tion isn't much better.
Your alternative career choices:
Unsurprisingly, "Skate" 's career
mode involves building up an
unknown skater into a successful
skater with a large collection of free
Nike SBs and N.W.A. shirts. The
game does offer a degree of freedom
in determining your character's
objectives though, with tasks inch-
ing him closer to either Thrasher
Magazine or the skateboard MAG.
Thrasher tasks emphasize the
extreme side of skateboarding-like
trying to see how many bones you
can break-while the MAG wants
you to pull off more traditional,
technical feats.
Vision problems: Because the game
focuses on technical nuances and
controlling your character's feet
with the right analog stick, the cam-
era is fixed closeto the ground, right
behind the skater. This is supposed
to provide for a more intimate expe-
rience that allows players to focus
on subtle board manipulations, but
it's an imperfect system. Lining up
for ledges and rails is more difficult
than it needs to be, and it's far too
easy to skate into oncoming traf-
fic when heading downhill because
your skater's ass blocked the view of
the Durango barrelingtowards you.
Rick Ross? Really?: The original
"Tony Hawk" games were marked
by their soundtracks, which synced
perfectly with the games' timed
runs. "Skate" is more of a free-for-
all where you skate from event to
event in a less structured manner,
and the in-game's soundtrack plays
a more passive role, just lingering in
the background. Thiswould be more
disappointing if the soundtrack
was actually good, which it's not,
although Bowie's "Queen Bitch"
almost singly handedly saves it.
Sex, lies and promotional shoe
company videotapes: "Skate" lets
players exercise their inner War-
ren Miller (of skateboarding?) by
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For your inner sadist: With "GTA is it worth a rental?: Sure, but I think
IV" getting pushed back to 2008, people stopped rentingvideo games
gamers are going to need another in 1999. If you've been holding out
way to maim virtual pedestrians for a serious skateboarding sim then
this holiday season. "Skate" may not "Skate" is worth investigating. Oth-
producing in-game videos with a if you're into that kind of thing. A have flamethrowers or shotguns, erwise you're better off dusting off
set of crude editing tools that make good portion of the game's career but you can intentionally slam into an old Dreamcast and your bootleg
iMovie look like a professional Avid mode involves making videos for the curb and launch yourself into copy of "Tony Hawk's Pro Skater
setup. After you've compiled your sponsors or magazines, but they're unsuspecting senior citizens. Sadly, 2" that kid in your word processing
masterwork you can share it online essentially just timed runs that can that's probably the best part of the class burned for you.
MUSIC IN BRIEF
A 'Jubilee' with
little jubilation
Laura Bates & Brandon Foote
Jubilee
Earthwork
Jubilee: an ironic name for an
album from a band with so little
affinity for theatrics.
Laura Bates & Brandon Foote's
freshman release pointedly lacks
a contemporary fervor. A Chris-
tian folk group from Lansing,
Bates and Foote deliver a persis-
tently mellow experience, never
quite reaching the potential their
respective talents hint at.
The album's biggest flaw is its
inconsistency. Bates, for instance,
attempts to bring the music to
a more powerful level with her
soaring voice on the opener "The
Lonesome Whippoorwill," but
she's held back by mellow instru-
mentation. "All Will Be Well"
presents Bates's voice as full of
clarity and power, but the musi-
cal backing falls short, even when
the song reaches its would-be cli-
max.
Bates & Foote occasionally suc-
ceed with a warm, folksy sound;
the simplicity of the mandolin
and guitar works well as elevator
music. But toward the end of the
album, as Bates sings "march-
ing marching marching on" in
"Backwoods Baxter Chapel," the
tedium of Jubilee becomes obvi-
ous.
E RIC E ATON
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DEFEND YOUR
BLASPHEMOUS
OPINIONS
HERE.
We're always looking
culture critics.
Do you have the chops?
E-mail
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an application.
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Blue Shield
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