EA Black Box polish their skate with a sense of flow and a Hall of Meat system that makes you wince. The Californian cities look beautiful, the tricks deliver rare tactile pleasure, and this is probably the most credible skate game before recent series successors.
Your verdict
Category
Sports1 player16+
Description
Skateboarding game by EA Black Box and EA Sports, January 2009. The player skates around San Vanelona competing in professional competitions with realistic stick flick mechanics. City open world, skater and equipment customisation and varied challenges. Second Skate with richer challenges and world than the first.
Skate 2 review
3/5
Art direction
★★★★★
"Polished"
4/5
Music
★★★★★
"Excellent"
1/5
Story
★★★★★
"Anecdotal"
The sequel widens its record library toward rock and metal without giving up the instrumental base, and above all it lets you cut the music with a single setting to keep only the city: traffic, building sites, passers-by and rolling wheels. Many players adopted that silence, and offering its own disappearance remains a rare choice for a soundtrack.
Skate 2, an EA Black Box skateboarding simulation that refined its realistic stick handling, praised for its authenticity against more arcade skate games. Become harder to find since the online stores' delisting, its collector interest rests on this beloved realistic approach and a tenacious niche demand rather than a mass scarcity. A piece valued by skate fans of the console.
Is Skate 2 still worth playing in 2026?
Released in 2009 on Xbox 360, EA Black Box's Skate 2 extends the series' innovative formula, which entrusts each trick to the analog sticks for unmatched realism, and adds the ability to step off your board and move street furniture. The open world of New San Vanelona, designed for skating, and the spot editor feed an endless creativity. The session spirit and the authentic tone appeal. The server shutdown limits online sharing. But the pleasure of gliding and chasing the perfect combo remains. For fans of demanding virtual skating, this title keeps a strong appeal today.
