Machogames: Skate It Is Tough To Control Til You Get The Hang Of It

You have to give the companies that are developing new games for the Nintendo Wii credit for trying new things. Given the systems unique hardware and peripherals, why wouldn’t you try to play to those strengths.
EA’s Skate It is the latest to do this, and has done it well. Why just mash buttons to hit tricks when you can actually stand on a board?

That’s not to say it doesn’t take some getting used to. Skate It makes use of the Wii peripheral board that comes with Wii Fit, so to get the true feel for the game you’ll have to pick up that title as well, since the Wii Balance Board is not yet sold separately.
As for the gameplay, using the balance board to ride as a skateboard is a genius idea, provided you get the hang of it. If you’ve ever ridden a skateboard, you’ll instinctively want to put your foot on the ground to propel yourself forward. With Skate It, you move forward by pushing a button.
And when its time to do kick flips and hit rails, you’re gonna wanna jump up to do them. Don’t leave the board when you make that jump! Just gently raise your body up, and the game will react to your motions.
Now, you don’t have to use the Balance Board to play this game. In fact, you can just use the Wiimote and a nunchuck, and we found that to be mush easier. And you could play sitting down! While the controls here are different from other skate games many of the features are the same as any you’d find in a Tony Hawk product. You can skate against the pros. You have to start from the ground up and work your way to the top through a series of more challenging levels. And you can customize game levels.
Other than the learning curve on the balance board controls, there’s really nothing to dislike here. If you have a Wii, and you like skateboard games, pick this up. Recommended.
Available for the Nintendo Wii. On sale at Amazon for $49.99.