he Tony Hawk series was once heralded as the closest thing there was to actually standing on a skateboard and attempting tricks in the real world. In the years that have followed, the series has sacrificed its basis in realism for fantastical feats. The thrill of performing a flawless kickflip has been crushed by the larger-than-life feats, such as having the ability to grind an entire rollercoaster rail or perform a 900 over the spinning blades of a helicopter. The incredible scale of these goals suits Tony Hawk’s gameplay well, but you can’t help looking back to the days where this series made you feel like a legitimate skateboarder. That’s precisely what Skate, EA Black Box’s first foray into video game skateboarding, accomplishes. It makes kickflips fun again, and through its accurate depiction of the sport, makes you appreciate the skill and determination that goes into each and every trick more than you ever have.

In a way, you could call Skate a simulation. Its gameplay is more heavily tied to realism than any of the Tony Hawk titles. Never once do you feel that a trick performed in the game couldn’t also be replicated in real life. You won’t be launching over building tops, altering the terrain with your mad skills, or finding ways to grind uninterrupted across an entire city. Rather, you’ll find yourself salivating uncontrollably over a simple rail on a staircase. The feats are small, but the thrills couldn’t be larger. When you bust out an incredible trick, you may cheer with just as much zeal as baseball team celebrating a World Series.

The desire to make this experience as authentic as possible is also passed on to the masterful controls, which replicate the actual motions used by skaters. For instance, on Xbox 360, to gain speed, you can either hit the A button to make your skater kick off the street with his right foot, or the X button to have him use his left. To perform an ollie, you’ll first need to press down on the right analog stick to transfer your weight. When your skater crouches in a ready stance, pushing the right analog stick forward will make him pop up. Grabs, as you would imagine, are handled on the shoulder buttons. To grind, you simply need to land your board on rail. Manuals require a gentle shifting of weight on the board.

These controls feel great, and they really need to since the game isn’t in the slightest bit forgiving. When you go for a grind, you won’t magically be transported onto the rail. You have to line it up and pray that you time your jump and adjoining trick correctly. When you do nail a trick, the game allows you to go back and view it in a replay editor. It’s here that you see just how amazing this game’s physics and graphics are. Wheels stop and spin back when they make contact on a grind, and you’ll also see that board balance is dependent on the surface it rests on. If you love one of your runs, you can save it, alter the camera angles and color tones, and best of all, upload it online so you can brag to your friends.

In addition to a number of great head-to-head multiplayer games which include the death-defying ramp from the X-Games, Skate offers an expansive Career mode where you’ll learn the tricks of the trade, perform the toughest feats skating has to offer, and earn cash that can be used to alter your created skater’s look. The challenges range from entertaining games of S.K.A.T.E. (which is like basketball’s H.O.R.S.E.) and Best Trick to difficult photo shoots and pro skater challenges.

As amazing as it feels to excel in this game, it can also prove to be unfairly frustrating. As you begin a goal, there’s a random chance that a person may walk right in front of where you are skating or you may get splattered by a car. The terrain also works against you more than you would like, as your skater will bail on any exposed lip (even if it looks to be no thicker than an inch).

Skate is a great first foot forward for EA. And the beauty of it is that it doesn’t infringe on Tony Hawk’s turf. The two games share similar content, but couldn’t feel more different. At the end of the day, it gives skating fans another must-play option.