Skate

With Tony Hawk's stranglehold on cyberskating, the creation of a competing thrasher makes us wonder if EA's banged their collective skull on a vert ramp one too many times. But the publisher is smartly creating a skater that is everything Hawk isn't.

And it starts with more realism (meaning no easy-to-execute 900s), which is derived from a physics-driven animation system where the analog sticks do all of the trick work. "Skate isn't about frantic button mashing and memorizing button combos," says Executive Producer Scott Blackwood. "I hate memorizing things." Instead, the game relies on "feel," according to Blackwood, who adds, "You'd be hard-pressed to find another next-gen game that gives the player such a visceral and rewarding rush."

Question is, can Skate capture the counterculture spirit that Activision's franchise has nailed game in and out? With a development team consisting of several former pro skateboarders, it's possible....