It’s not often that Activision and their Tony Hawk games get any real competition. So with EA pumping up the heat by bringing on a game that’s bound to boil some blood, it only makes sense to us here at CB Games to instigate the matter like the [un]biased group of video game journalist that we are.

So it seems a bit early to start a comparison, but just think of this as Round 1 of what’s sure to be a burly brawl between these two titans. I mean, it’s no surprise that Tony Hawk games have been around for a long time; tons of TH games were pumped out over the course of several generations of game consoles, and yet they hardly broke any territory while doing so. However, this latest offering from Activision grants gamers with a completely revamped story mode that literally puts players in control of their destiny; advanced graphics and more playability are just some of the additional features of the game. I’m almost convinced that TH’s Proving Ground is to the skateboarding genre what the Smackdown Vs Raw series is to the wrestling genre.

Nevertheless, in the opposite corner, appropriately standing tall as an abutting force to the immovable Tony Hawk franchise, is EA’s new IP, Skate. This game re-writes the rules on extreme sports skateboarding; a whole new method for controlling the character, and a brand smacking new engine to carry the darn thing, is nothing short of a mountain climb. The graphics look excellent and the character movements are nothing else but...stiff? Yep, stiff.

As much as I would like to say that Skate moves better – in comparison to TH’s Proving Ground – Skate looks a bit amateurish. Again, the visuals in Skate are good, but notice the difference in the skater’s transitions from kick-flips to a prone skating position. There’s a bit of snap to the whole trick process. Also take into account the difference in how the skaters re-position themselves after the simplest of moves – Tony Hawk definitely has the edge. For now, it looks like Round 1 goes to Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground. You can check out the side-by-side trailers below and see how they measure up for yourself. And stay tuned in with CB Games for further comparisons between these two giants.

Score:
Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground - 1
EA’s Skate - 0