I didn't play the previous Skate, but I've dabbled in the Tony Hawk games. I like them. At least in theory. Then I hit that early-mid-game wall where I'd have to practice long enough to build some muscle memory into my fingerwork. For various reasons - the game is too rough-hewn, the subject matter doesn't interest me, I feel I've seen all I need to see - I move on to something else. Sorry, Tony. You're just too demanding for a long-term relationship.

So I'm strictly casual when it comes to the skateboarding genre. But I like the gratifying interaction of level design and animation that became the centerpiece of the Tony Hawk games as they progressed away from the Pro Skater motif. And as I'm figuring out Skate 2 - so far, it's a lot easier to wrap my head around than a Tony Hawk game - it occurs to me that's also what the most recent Prince of Persia was all about: the interaction of level design and animation. Yet these games couldn't be more dissimilar.

Read what Prince of Persia has on Skate 2, after the jump.

Prince of Persia is laid back, perhaps to a fault. It's all, like, "Okay, dude, hit the B button so I know what you want to do. Good. Now, you just hang out and relax while I play this animation of the Prince swinging from one of those round rings like you would hang a towel from. Cool, huh? And dig how I'm going to have him reach out and bring along the chick in the hippie blouse. Also, cool, huh? Okay, whenever, you're ready for the next part of the jump, hit that A button. Any time is fine by me. Don't sweat it. If you die, I'll just reset you myself."

At times, Prince of Persia is like watching a movie. It's a more relaxed and more elaborate version of Dragon's Lair, all about getting to certain points of the level and enjoying the animation along the way.

Skate 2 is also an elaborately animated game about reaching certain areas with specific animations. Ironically, is much more uptight than Price of Persia. But it's all, like, "Okay, pay attention now. Flick the stick when you want to do an ollie, but tilt it over to one side to make it a kickflip, or give it a little hook at the bottom to make it a pop shovit. Now invert all that if you want to start off with a nollie. But don't forget that you have to time it just right. And keep in mind the modifiers you can use before, during, and after the move, such as the X and A buttons for each of your feet, and the right stick for your upper torso, and the triggers for your hands. I'll tell you about the right bumper later. Now put them all together - and remember to be very particular with your timing - and then you can do stunts, but hurry and do then before your multiplier expires and...oh, look, you wiped out because you held the trick too long. Do it again and get it right this time."

Whereas Prince of Persia is like watching a movie, something any old fumblefingered klutz can do, Skate 2 expects you to develop a skill. It reminds me a bit of the only time in my life I've been skiing. I was out there for three hours and they went like this: First hour: "This is miserable. Who would ever voluntarily come out here to do this?" Second hour: "Ah, well, okay, I guess I can see how this is supposed to work, but it still seems hardly worth the point." Third hour: "Boy, this is fun. If only I was good at it! Can we stay for a fourth hour?"

After an hour or so, Skate 2 is starting to click and every hour is playing like my third hour of skiing. Now to get past that language barrier.

Up next: Pumping trannies. Yeah, you read that right: pumping trannies.
(Click here for the previous Skate 2 game diary.)