EA dates SKATE

EA has turned its cap around and stamped an official release date on its answer to Tony Hawk, SKATE.

First to hit the ramp will be the Xbox 360 version on 14th September, followed a few weeks later by the PS3 copy on 5th October.

Those of you on Live will also be able to enjoy at demo on 15th August.

Developer EA Black Box is making no secret of its comparison to established genre-leader Tony Hawk, but has made several additions to make its game stand out.

First are the skating "Flickit" controls. Left stick dictates which way you lean when you're in motion, and the right is your board control - face buttons start and stop you. Pushing the right stick around makes you shift your weight around on the board, so snapping it down and then up should potentially make you Ollie, for example.

The other biggie is the video footage, which you can capture at any time, edit, and then share.

Your skating will also have an effect on the world around, landing you headlines in newspapers and unlocking more prestigious events as you go along.

Up and coming UK boarder Lucien Clarke told us at a SKATE event that it was "more real than Tony Hawk". He might have been laying it on a bit thick, although we couldn't help but agree.

Head over to our first impressions of SKATE for a more in-depth dissection. Or pop into our SKATE gallery to see the new screenshots.