by Zynga’s Skateboard Slam pulls out some solid tricks and coasts over the finish line without ever breaking a sweat, although its upgrade and level unlocking systems seem cynically balanced to drive additional in-app purchases. In a fun, surprisingly deep, but ultimately somewhat frustrating experience, you stack up gnarly trick combos and race through four vibrant worlds of 10 levels each in a challenge-based single-player campaign, along with multiplayer match-ups.
The core experience involves racing your opponent’s ghost through a colorful and hectic course with multiple pathways (usually one high and one low), in which you’ll swipe up, down, left, and right to attempt different kinds of slickly animated tricks. Landing tricks fills up your boost meter in piecemeal fashion, while executing a trick as you pass through a trick icon — or a set of consecutive trick icons — maxes it out right away. Each level has three stars available: one for winning the race and two for meeting the challenge goals, which usually involve performing a trick a set number of times, or grinding or soaring through the air for a certain amount of time.
Difficulty rapidly ramps up, and a single minor error can ruin your run. The real problem, though, is that your efforts are not rewarded by enough coins to pay for the upgrades and new skaters required to keep the pace. This seems to be in an effort to subtly push you toward shelling out for in-app purchases of additional coins, and only diving headfirst into the multiplayer mode — which is rather more generous with its coin giving — offers a viable alternative.
It wouldn’t be an issue at all if the levels weren’t heavily guarded in lots of three. You’ll need to earn two-thirds of the available stars to pass the first gate, but then nearly 90 percent to unlock each subsequent set. This forces Skateboard Slam into tedious repetition as you struggle to master each and every level in turn just to see the final world.
The bottom line. Skateboard Slam tears up the course with charm and skills aplenty, but then hits the wall hard when it comes time to level up.
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