Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 recently released to amazing success, illustrating the series’ continued popularity two decades after the original game’s release. And, with its wide audience, some may be tempted to compare it to EA’s Skate series. However, they would be utterly wrong to do so.
On the face of it, the Pro Skater series and Skate share multiple things in common. The games, of course, are centered around skating, but they also involve pulling off stunning tricks for numerous rewards. In both, you get to customize your own skater to your liking and either pull off moves with ease or fail spectacularly to morbid enjoyment.
Unfortunately, though, this is where comparisons end.
Like the originals before it, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 airs on the extreme and arcade-y side of skate mechanics. As such, it’s difficult to classify it as a “skating game.” At times, it feels more similar to an arcade game than anything else, with its focus on pulling off ridiculous stunts that a large number of skaters would likely roll their eyes at. With a bevy of collectibles to obtain, often requiring impressive momentum, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 is more game-y. That’s definitely not a bad thing, and the game’s reviews bear that out.
Skate is a whole different experience, strangely enough, and feels like more of a straightforward “skating game” than anything else. With the fluidity of using the right stick entirely to pull off stunts, the game maintains a sense of immersion in the skating world. This is especially true for non-skaters. However, the Skate series is also prone to its moments of ridiculousness with injuries only superheroes can sustain and tricks few skaters would even ponder.
No disrespect to Tony Hawk or his Pro Skating series, which includes some of the most revered games of all-time, but Skate is just more of a skating experience in the strict sense.
Ultimately, both the Pro Skater and Skate series are excellent. While some installments have been better-received than others, they fantastically represent the extreme part of skateboarding in highly entertaining fashion. They’re just incomparable in how they represent the skating culture.
