The Line Drive 1/9
by 
- The announcement has been up since Wednesday night, but just a reminder the site will be moving to a new server late tonight and there could be temporary difficulties in accessing it. Make sure to follow along with my Twitter where I’ll be able to communicate throughout. UPDATE: The move has been made and things seem to have gone relatively smoothly. If you’re seeing this you made it, congrats!
- I’ve noticed that most people who comment on the articles are doing so without logging into Intense Debate which is the comment system that was installed in November. There are several advantages to signing up with Intense Debate so I encourage you to check it out especially if you are a regular contributor to the comments.
- Shawn Drotar has relaunched 5WGaming (formerly 5W-G). You’ll see me on occasion linking over there for some in-depth articles that primarily have to do with the video game industry but also involvement in the sports gaming community. There is also a guest writer program which is already up and running.
- The Skate 2 demo is out on the 360 and will be arriving on the PS3 next Thursday. Anyone have impressions?
- Another Q&A for 5 on 5 NHL Arcade. Most of the info has been covered in previous ones though it does narrow the release down to early February.
- Jon Robinson interviews MLB 09 The Show cover athlete Dustin Pedroia.
- Look for a new Padrecast to be up by the end of the weekend with discussion centered on the MLB 2K9 features.
January 9, 2009 at 10:35 am
Good deal.
I'm going to have to download that Skate demo.
January 9, 2009 at 10:48 am
I dont have gold anymore so I can't d/l skate. this sucks.
January 10, 2009 at 1:39 am
I have the demo.
Character Customization is awesome. You cant create alien looking skaters.
Skating is the same. Except the 60fps REALLY REALLY make it feel alot smoother.
One grip is that even if you have a girl skater they refer to you as a dude. LOL
Cant wait to take this online not sure if there is any online in the demo tho
January 10, 2009 at 1:56 am
sounds interesting. i read the impressions at 5wgaming and i think ill get it but for the ps3
January 10, 2009 at 1:59 am
Skate. 2 continues amaze with it's warm sincerity and organic controls.
However at the same time, off the board controls are just as if not more awkward than tony hawk's. The thrasher bail thingy mode continues to be as annoying as those type of bail damage counters in every extreme sports game is. Aaaaaaand thats about it. instant buy.
January 10, 2009 at 3:05 am
Skate 2 demo feels exactly like the original Skate. Nothing really new that I have seen so far, save for a few new tricks (which I wish they would have incorporated into the demo/story mode tutorial). U can now get off your board and walk around…but for some reason, you can't walk up ramps (evan small ones) and drop in for some speed and momentum. In a few instances I would crash my board and get completely stuck behind an object and have to restart.
I have to agree with Craig up there…the graphics are really poor. Almost last gen looking–even possibly worse than the original skate. And the animations when you bail are especially bad. The Hall of Meat mini-game would have been much better served if they had incorporated some better ragdoll physics after you bail and allowed you to retain some control of your character as you tumble. Hopefully these issues will be touched up in the final version. I was really looking forward to this game, but was pretty unimpressed with the demo. At this point it feels way too recycled to warrant another $60.
January 10, 2009 at 4:43 am
is it the same camera angle as the first? that angle annoyed me so much but that was one of the only things is didnt like about it. i know im buying it just not right away.
January 11, 2009 at 12:44 pm
Hey Pasta, you realize there is something wrong with your forums? The forums are doing some kind of a weird time jump. Every now and again it jumps about 3 hours back and all the posts from those missing 3 hours disappear. As far as I know it's happened twice now.