Daily Sizzle: When Skateboarding isan’t Skateboarding at all
The Daily Sizzle is where us here at FM, rant, rave, hate, and date pretty much anything we want.
http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/26/tony-hawks-ride-120-at-gamestop-october-13th/
Remember a simpler time? When young children would wake up one morning and think; “I want to destroy my body on some sort of four wheeled death trap while trying to jump mere inches off the ground for hours and hours.” Remember when counter-culture wasn’t just an industry word for sold at participating Hot Topic and PAC SUN stores?
I remember watching the X Games in my formative years. When Tony Hawk was a man on a mission but everyone really just wanted to be Bucky Lasek or Bob Burnquist. When the X Games were just shown on ESPN 2 because it was too edgy for real ESPN. The X Games that made that one rasta haired dude’s career. At some point, the mass appeal of “extreme sports” pushed it across the threshold into mainstream culture. Skate shoes started being worn by people who would never touch a board. Baggy Volcom tee’s were neoning up the young whippersnappers at their rock and roll disco concerts. I contribute this trend to two things. The creation of viable stars in the extreme sports world (Shaun White, Tony Hawk, Travis Postrana) and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater.
THPS made everyone think they could do 720 nosebone to 540 modanna’s in their backyard with enough practice. I remember the first time I did a 900 to darkslide to front-side heelslide to heelslide to ollie to ollie to ollie to heelslide to 180. It was a beautiful day in June. After the original, the games became more complex and the scale grew dramatically. The dozen or so iterations of the Tony Hawk series have seen it grow from gaming phenomenon to a lukewarm but consistent sports gaming franchise.
Which brings us to the latest and lamest: Tony Hawk’s Ride. Ride follows the same premise of the Wii or Guitar Hero franchise. Everyone WANTS to do X but they don’t want to LEARN how to do X. (X being playing instruments or in this case, riding a skateboard) Details on the game are very scant to this point but it’s clear that Activision thinks the board peripheral is the future. (fun fact: Activision also makes Guitar Hero) I think they just need to slow down and think to themselves; “Do people actually want this?” Honestly, which person seems like more of a loser;
A) The guy doing a 1080 using a controller
B) The guy doing a 1080 but flicking the front a fake skateboard up in the air with his can of SURGE in one hand and a fitted Nixon cap (backwards) keeping his long bangs out from covering his eyes.
If you answered A then you will probably own and enjoy this game while your parents consider where they went wrong. Granted, I may have handicapped the “Ride-r” by giving him a can of Surge but honestly I cant think of any normal person playing this. The game carries a 120 dollar price task, I will not list what else you can get for 120 dollars;
A) A REAL SKATEBOARD
B) A REAL SKATEBOARD
D) A REAL SKATEBOARD
by
roninpowride
2 years ago
