Skate Attack makes no secret of aiming at the younger end of the skating games market - press releases describe it as "an ideal entry point for those maybe a little too young to get a handle on the Tony Hawk's series." It's an admirable goal - particularly as the latest incarnations of Tony Hawk's have moved away from fantasy skating and closer to a genuine simulation game, with quite challenging control mechanisms. However, introducing younger gamers to skateboarding is quite a responsibility - it would be a shame to see their enthusiasm dampened because of a sloppy game. Is Skate Attack up to the task?

One of my first grumbles with the game is the sudden barrage of cut scenes and dialogue I encountered when starting a single player campaign. Some were tutorials - explaining the basis controls of the game - and others set the storyline in motion, introducing each of the different characters. Yes, they can be skipped, but surely it would be better to see them condensed somewhat? Younger gamers are notorious for having short attention spans and they may find this a little off-putting. As far as the tutorial videos go, I suspect that they could be a bit more spread out - they all seem to come at once, explaining the objectives of the whole mission. Why not break the mission down into smaller tasks and explain each one as you go? Surely this is the best approach to help youngsters learn the basics of the gameplay?

However, as soon as you start playing you find yourself forgiving Skate Attack; the gameplay is great and a lot smoother than the opening tutorials. In fact, the gameplay is fantastically fluid - you can build up speed quickly and manoeuvring around the courses and levels is simple enough, with no awkward terms or tricky navigating to deal with. Unfortunately the camera tends to swoop after you a little too quickly, rather than following your character at a decent pace. Apart from that, the basic gameplay works tremendously well - the arenas are spacious enough to allow you to whiz your way through them and there are plenty of ledges to attempt some big jumps.

As well as this, the game modes are also more friendly to the younger gamer - rather than being heavily dependent on tricks or skilled competition, they are much more levels and ladders based. Think of Skate Attack as more of an adventure game on wheels than a real skateboarding game. Most missions involve having to jump up and collect tokens, or skate through checkpoints dotted around the arena. It's all pretty simple stuff, but the time limit adds a degree of challenge. With all that said, it would have been nice if the skateboarding was better crafted into the gameplay. Pulling off tricks does give you more speed, which is sometimes needed to attempt jumps, but apart from that the tricks are rarely necessary - they're simply there for flair. It would be nice to see kickflips put to better use - perhaps to knock through doors or barriers.

Aside from the missions, there are plenty of opportunities to explore - you're free to skate around and choose which missions to attempt. This is a great addition - there are some thrilling jumps and tricky structures to manoeuvre in the surrounding city. When young gamers get stuck on a particular mission they can let off steam by skating around the city and indulging in some impressive stunts. Stunts are pretty easy to land (as long as you time them correctly, there's very little that go wrong), but they look fantastic and can be combined easily, provided you get enough airtime.

All that's missing is a comprehensive multiplayer mode. Skate Attack allows two players to compete against each other, each trying to pull off the most impressive amount of tricks in the shortest amount of time, but the tricks aren't really a big part of Skate Attack - in fact, the multiplayer mode mainly consists of doing the things you'd do in single player when you're a bit bored. It's not too bad, but in comparison to the single player it seems ultimately pointless.

The game looks pretty good - especially for a budget title. The skaters are brightly coloured, with elfish animé type features, but it's not all simple and cartoon-like. As you explore the city, some of the textures are a lot darker - dimly lit car parks and sprawling urban canvasses splashed with graffiti. Graphically, Skate Attack manages to look pleasant and cartoonish, whilst still being ultimately believable - and that's quite an achievement! Unfortunately the sound is less of an achievement - in fact, there doesn't seem to be a single line of recorded dialogue, which is a real shame, as some well-crafted and imaginative voices would certainly appeal to younger gamers. That's what you have to do when you're entertaining children - be as vivid as possible. This would really have brought the game to life and certainly would have stood a better chance of raising a smile than the current pedestrian bleepy soundtrack and the dull clatter of skateboards.

Skate Attack is a brave budget title that attempts to bridge a gap in the market, rather than cloning and condensing the latest bestseller. The developers should be applauded for taking this approach - the game shows signs of extensive effort on their part. There's certainly room for improvement, particularly when it comes to multiplayer, but overall this is an enjoyable ride. With summer on its way, if your child or siblings are showing enthusiasm for skateboarding then this is a good buy - they certainly won't pick up any bumps or bruises playing Skate Attack!

Reviewed by Robert Jackman for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).