At last, someone's done it. They've taken on the Tony Hawk franchise and have managed to create a compelling and engaging alternative to a series that has until now single-handedly dominated the skateboarding game market. What is surprising, but nonetheless welcome, is that EA has managed to create a skating game that in no way borrows from or mimics the Tony Hawk franchise, thus lending Skate both credibility and a unique identity.

Whereas Tony Hawk games seem to be getting more and more out there when it comes to wild tricks and gravity-defying stunts, Skate has its roots firmly planted in reality. It's all about limits, but in a good way. You won't be jumping the height of small buildings or pulling off nine million point tricks in Skate, but it's this shift in focus that makes the game refreshing and will have you hooked from the moment you pop it into your console.

The entire city of San Vanelona is yours to explore from the very start of the game (with the exception of particular fun spots that become unlocked as you complete challenges throughout the city). Of particular note is that this fictional city is not laid out like one big custom-made trick line. It really does feel like a living, breathing city, with cars driving around and desultory citizens getting in your way. The design of the city is such that skating lines need to be discovered, they're not always evident. Much like a real life skater who cruises the streets, you really do need to explore to find cool spots (or just follow the other city skaters to discover the best areas). We really can't emphasise enough how this works in the game's favour. It's as if Skate is giving control back to you, the player, rather than sitting you down and shoving linear skating lines in your face.

The actual mechanics of the game are also completely different to what you might be used to. We warn you now, the learning curve is steep, very steep, but it is so worth it in the end. The system used is called ‘Flick-it', and it works very well. The left thumbstick controls the skater's body and gestures, as well as turning when in the air. The right thumbstick controls the board, with all of the game's tricks mapped to different thumbstick gestures. For example, to pull off an ollie you need to push the thumbstick down and then straight back up. If you want a quick ollie you flick it, or if you want some more height you need to press down for a bit longer. Of course, things get much more complicated and before long you'll be pulling of quarter circle moves and directional flicks like a pro – with concordant on-screen tricks occurring.

Sometimes, with so many tricks and such a nuanced control system, it can be difficult to pull off specific moves for challenges, but this is more than made up for when you eventually become accustomed to the controls and when skating around starts to feel natural. Your control pad motions are mimicked on-screen, creating a bond between you and the skater, which increases the elation you feel when you finally pull off those awesome tricks. In addition to the thumbstick controls, the face buttons handle your feet (pressing A or X pushes you along), while the triggers are tied to grabs and tweaks.

Skate is an open game that allows you to simply explore the city and, well, skate. The act of skating is so fun that you may even find yourself just experimenting with different approaches before you even contemplate some of the challenges. When you do feel like a challenge, there will be plenty of other skaters (Pros with specific requirements) waiting for you, as well as photo shoot opportunities, S.K.A.T.E challenges (like basketball's H.O.R.S.E), and competitions that work on best trick or total trick scores. The whole idea is to get noticed and perhaps even get your ugly mug on the cover of a skating magazine. Additionally, there are heaps of film challenges that you can access at any time by pressing the left bumper. These can be done anywhere that you like, so it's simply a matter of finding the best spots that suit each challenge and then initiating it when you're ready. It this kind of freedom that permeates Skate's design,

As we've mentioned, there are no high-jumping shenanigans to be had here; nearly every trick that you perform is at the mercy of gravity. Jumps are generally small and short, with grabs taken at furtive opportunities. Half pipes also need to be mastered, as you need to perfect the art of ‘pumping' by pressing forwards on the left thumbstick to duck into the curve of the pipe and then pump out to achieve maximum air.

Then there's grinding, which perhaps best exemplifies Skate's original design approach. In order to grind you simply need to have your board land on an edge in a position that will allow a grind, be that sideways or even straight. However, don't expect to grind that edge forever. As soon as you start grinding, gravity takes over, so you'll slow down and even start falling to one side. It's beautifully realistic and makes you really appreciate it when you do get a long grind or trick sequence.

And of course what skating game would be complete without manuals? In Skate, manuals are achingly difficult to pull off but like most hard tricks in the game they are so satisfying to perfect. Basically, you need to find the sweet balance spot on the right thumbstick, holding it somewhere between the neutral point and either the top or bottom of the circle (depending on if you want to nose manual or not). When you're trying to land a manual after a particularly hectic sequence it can be very tricky, but once again with practice you should be able to pull manuals off most of the time.

Skate's fresh design aesthetic is tied to a robust graphics engine. You'll feel like you're skating in a real city, with depth of field, bloom and reflections all adding to the realism. The game's sound works in conjunction with the graphics so that when you move onto different surfaces your board scrapes, grinds and clacks along realistically. Skate really does immerse you to the point where you'll wonder where those last three hours disappeared to.

So what, if anything, can we say that isn't a glowing endorsement of the game? First of all, the game's camera, whilst great for the most part, can at times obscure your view. At all times it sits at almost waist level, directly behind you (the skater). It would have been nice to be able to cycle through a few different camera options, particularly given the importance of your angle when approaching most objects. The ability to look around you would also be welcome, just for those times when you want to explore the city and constantly turning left or right to check if there's an alleyway there feels tiresome. Closely linked to this complaint is the lack of an off-board option. Too many times during the game you'll get frustrated by some small lip that you want to get over quickly. The ability to tuck your board under your arm and walk up those steps would have been very welcome.

Another criticism is directed at the lack of flat-land tricks. For a game that is all about small, fast and intense tricks, the decision not to include a few fancy footwork moves is disappointing. And then there are the game's loading times. These aren't necessarily bad; in fact you can pretty much skate from one end of San Vanelona to the other and never see a loading screen. It's when you opt to reload a marker that things start to get annoying. You see, it's possible to set your own markers anywhere in the city (as long as it is not in a no-skate zone) so that if you stack it badly you can quickly get back to that particular spot without much bother. Unfortunately, sometimes this can trigger a twenty second loading screen, despite the fact that your marker might only be a few metres away.

Something that's appeared as a very popular feature in a lot of games lately are the screenshot features, Project Gotham Racing 3 gave us a taste, Halo 3 took it one step further and even let us save game film clips, well, SKATE takes it even further. If you perform a trick that is totally worth preserving for all time, all you need to do is pause the game and watch the replay of the last couple of minutes. Find your awesome trick, save the video and maybe also a photo and then upload it to the EA servers for everyone to see. Unfortunately, you're limited to three movies at a time, but this feature is almost as addictive as the game itself and to take this one step further than Halo 3, the video clips aren't only viewable in-game, but on the internet as actual video files! Now that's cool.