Skate 2 & Roller-Mom
Yesterday I popped in EA’s new skateboarding game Skate 2. Which is a simulation game that lets players perform wild tricks. It’s got different controls than the Tony Hawk series, but that doesn’t matter for me. While the game is very good, I am very bad at it and mostly, for me, it’s an accident simulator. It’s a good game for teens and rated T-Teen but parents of younger kids should be aware that there’s a physics simulator in the game called “HALL OF MEAT.” In this tasty arena all you do is create horribly bone-shattering accidents. Sort of a skating what not to do. How that pain must feel? SHUDDER! Well, not two hours later, GamerMom learned the reality of it.
Yesterday while attending an 8-year old’s birthday party at the world famous ROLLERO Skate Rink my daughter was learning to skate. The disco was raw (Funky Town, I’m told) and the floor was … wood… and Maggie was doing well and dancing with Mom. Yeah, mom was strutting her 1980’s skater girl best and that’s when tragedy struck. Their skates bumped and Maggie went down! Linda twisted to avoid falling on her and their skates locked! Linda felt a sickening pop in her knee and the rest is pain.
No broken bones, no other wounds, but that knee is immobile. This week we go to the orthepedic to see what can be done. Hopefully not surgery. I’ll keep you posted.
But for now? Well, for now… Mwahahahaha! Turnabout is fair play and after a year and a half of her nursing me it is now I that am nurse! And my two children are my underlings. Linda must do as I say, she has to, she’s immobile. I’m in charge of the house!
Uh-oh.
Don’t worry, we’re fine. This hasn’t even shaken our sunny attitude and it’s just what I might need to get me out of my own funk (-ey town!). I’ve got games ready for her and she’s promised Henry some Mario Kart tonight. I’m probably going to make her play Skate 2 at some point – so she can watch brutal skateboarding accidents. Or maybe not. That’d be mean. We’ll stick with the Boom Blox and Cooking Mama. Your best wishes are appreciated! But Linda wants everyone to know we’re fine.
January 18th, 2009 at 2:03 pm
That sucks about the accident. I was actually invited to a similar party recently but didn’t get to go because my parents feared that something like that might happen (my dad is still job-hunting so no health insurance). Also, how did you feel about the actual skating in Skate 2? I played both demos (skate 1 and 2 that is) and I think I’d rather pick up skate 1 because the skating just feels more fluid to me and the controls seem to work better.
January 18th, 2009 at 3:05 pm
Well we’re “lucky” in the fact that Linda has great insurance and I’m self-employed (which makes it really easy to take time off). And oddly, this makes this an upside for the kids in a cruel way. Mommy’s got some time off! From everything! Yay! Oooch, yeah, the pain. Sorry.
I think it’s good for me too in its way. Linda was superhuman in how she cared for me and the house/kids last year. I get to pay her back a bit for that. That feels good.
Right now I know this, Maggie is enjoying playing my assistant. That way I can do chores without worrying about Linda.
I’m the wrong person to ask. Skate was hard for me to control and Skate 2 wasn’t any easier. That’s admittedly my problem, I do know a lot of people who love the sequel.
January 18th, 2009 at 3:23 pm
I’ve played the demo for Skate 2 and I loved the original. It definitely had a steep learning curve but I loved the control scheme. It was much more fluid and satisfying than the Tony Hawk games. I have no intrest in skating in real life but I’ve still always loved both the Skate and TH series’ although I do prefer Skate to the TH games.
I was quite disappointed by the Skate 2 demo. It was too short, the walking controls were a little awkward and the cliche, badly written dialogue was even worse than in the last game. With Killzone 2 being released soon and RE5 being release soonish (mid march), I think I’ll skip Skate 2.
Sorry about the injury. That sounds painful!
January 19th, 2009 at 12:04 pm
I’m just natural at skating games I guess. I’ve been racking up the points in Tony Hawk since the second game on PC. And that thing killed my hands. You had to use the numpad for tricks and the dpad as well as space bar. On a 5-6 year old’s hands this doesn’t work so good. But once I got the GC version of 3 I had a blast and it was a lot easier. Skate came pretty easy to me too.
January 19th, 2009 at 12:43 pm
Ouch. My mom broke her like 6 months ago, and she’s still walking with crutches.
“I’m probably going to make her play Skate 2 at some point – so she can watch brutal skateboarding accidents.” Man you’re cruel!
January 19th, 2009 at 10:18 pm
Ow. My mum went over on her ankle a couple of years ago, broke it, and was not walking for months. ‘Course, I’m not saying Linda’s old 🙂
I guess she won’t be playing PAIN on the PS3 either then, eh?
January 20th, 2009 at 1:18 pm
Are you kidding? Who wouldnt enjoy launching David Hasselhoff 100 ft into the air?!?!?!