Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: Electronic Arts
Consoles: Nintendo Entertainment System
Skate or Die was an incredibly good skateboarding game back in the days of 8-bit. The game had a few recurring characters, and included five games - two halfpipe games, two downhill games, and a skateboarding joust that took place in an empty pool. It was well done, and the Commodore 64 version's title theme is still known to this day as one of the best 8-bit composed songs ever, which was done by Rob Hubbard. The game was well liked, enough to warrant a spin-off, Ski or Die, and a true sequel, Skate or Die 2.
Skate or Die 2 strayed away from the minigame styles of the original, and had two modes: an Adventure mode, and a Ramp mode, which was a bigger, better version of one of the halfpipe games in the first game. We'll get into the Ramp mode later, let's talk about the Adventure mode first.
The game starts with an introduction to the characters. Rodney and Lester, whom were previously in the first game, are a father and son team that helps the player out in the first and third level. CJ is a female skater, very much resembling Disney's Ariel of "The Little Mermaid" fame. Icepick is a bald douchebag, whose gang does nothing but mess things up, and then there's the unnamed hero, the introduction referring to him as "you."
The story begins in Elwood, where your character, distracted by Icepick, accidently runs over and kills the mayor's wife's poodle. In a rage, she yells at her husband until he puts up a ban against skateboarding. While the game doesn't necessarily tell you where to go from here, your objective is to find the mayor's wife. You can find Rodney and Lester here, who can trade you new boards and tricks respectively for CDs, cassette tapes, tacos, and fries. And after avoiding rival skaters, dogs, boxing alligators, and sewer rats, our hero must fight the mayor's wife with an arsenal of paint guns, M-80's, and eggs.
Afterwards, it's time to hit the halfpipe when you discover it's been destroyed. Apparently, the mayor ordered it to be destroyed due to lack of a building permit. So level two begins with your character trying to make some money by delivering packages around the local mall. This is where the speediest board Rodney can sell you in the last level is needed, as you're timed to get the deliveries made. Look out for skaters, shoppers, and the lame ass security guard.
The third of the four levels takes place on the beach. After an incident in confusing the light switch with the wall controls for a fan, all of Rodney's building plans and blueprints are scattered across the beach, and guess who's gotta retrieve them. Rodney and Lester return to help, and you have to avoid crabs, roller blading girls, posing body builders, and the most annoying of them all, these mother fucking seagulls that dive bomb down to attack you. This level's a bitch, because you have to get all the plans before they blow off the beach, but you can touch the sand to get to some of them, and the wind only carries them down the beach occasionally.
Lastly, when sending in the building plans and permit, CJ is kidnapped by Icepick and his gang, so you have to save her. This level can go straight to hell. It's a four story warehouse maze, and it's confusing as shit. You first have to find the permit, and then rescue CJ. I think I've found the permit once, and I'm not sure I've ever beaten this level. Unless you have a pen and paper to draw yourself a map, good luck, because this fucker is brutal. And each room can have as many as three skater punks bouncing off the walls trying to shoot you. And when you finally find your way to the roof, you have to fight Icepick, who can drain your life with a charging attack.
The control seems a little odd at first, but after a short bit it should be easy to pick up. The board will not turn unless you are moving, so you can't move up or down, and you, like a real skateboard, need to kick off the ground several times to gain speed by pressing forward a few times. To use items and tricks, you need to press up, forward, or down with the B button, and A jumps. It takes some getting used to, but some parts of the game feel impossible without mastering this.
Lastly, there's Ramp mode. The halfpipe, Double Trouble, has been finished in the Adventure mode, and now you get to skate on it all you'd like. The halfpipe has two large ramps, and a small section in the upper middle of the pipe has a sloped peak, making it look like two mini halfpipes in their place. You perform tricks while in the air (or lip and grind tricks at the edge of the pipe) to score points, and if you get on a high enough streak, a girl that could be CJ pops her head out of one of the houses in the background and cheers for you with hearts over her head. It's entertaining to say the least.
The music and sounds are pretty good in this game, especially the music. It's incredibly catchy, and some songs, especially the title theme, can get stuck in your head easily. The game also had a few voice over bits, which was new and not used often back then; so failing the ramp isn't half as bad when you get to see the boarder snap his board in half over his head and say "No way, dude!" The graphics are dated compared to today, but it was neat to see such backgrounds and character models, especially the mini cutscenes between each level.
The difficulty level is a bit high, especially in later levels, but the game is legit fun and very easy to get into. Even if the Adventure mode isn't what you're looking for, the Ramp mode is incredible fun. I'd say anyone that likes classic NES titles should give it a try, even if you're not much into skateboarding.
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