Skate 3

Skate 3 brought to its final form the control system that completely changed the way skateboarding games were viewed. Instead of a sequence of button presses, tricks are performed through movements of the right analog stick that mimic the actual motion of feet on a board; a different direction and a different speed of movement produce a different trick, so the player ends up learning timing and finesse rather than combinations. The result is a slower, more technical, and far more tangible experience than the arcade predecessors of the genre, where the point was mainly an endless combo.

The third entry shifted its focus toward building your own team and creating content. The player founds a brand, fulfills orders for photos and videos, and gradually builds a name for themselves in the city of Port Carverton, which is divided into districts with distinct characters, from smooth beaches to industrial zones. The park editor plays a big role, along with the ability to share your own spots and recordings from the built-in video editor, which let you cut together your own skate video with various camera angles. Cooperative play for several people in the same city was new to the series and fits well with the laid-back, unhurried atmosphere of the whole title.

The game was well received, though some players saw its lighter tone as a step back from the harsher realism of the first entry. It gained a peculiar second life thanks to its physics: a generous ragdoll mode, in which the character flies through the air and bounces off railings, became material for an enormous amount of videos, and the game earned a reputation as a source of absurd fun. Today it stands out mainly for controls that were never repeated anywhere else in such a pure form, and for its relaxed vibe backed by indie rock and hip hop music. It's a game that rewards patience, since the first hours can feel clumsy, but the movement, once learned, brings great satisfaction.