Since Skate arrived on the scene back in late 2007, the series has stolen the crown from Tony Hawk with its innovative use of controls and back-to-basics trick-list, reintroducing a real element of skill that the other skateboarding series lacked. But does Skate 3 live up to the success of its predecessors? Or has the game gone too far over-the-top in the Hawk fashion, at the risk of losing the appeal that made it king? Hit the break to find out.

Let me start off by saying that I'm a Skate veteran, owning both previous installments of the series, so I can give you a pretty good comparison of games based on my relative experience. Skate 3 succeeds at bringing back the core of the game that anyone who's played the game knows and loves, but the question is whether they've changed enough to keep the game interesting, especially seeing as EA has opted for a game a year, cutting down development time which could be needed to make changes. And I'd answer this question with a yes, but only just.

Those of you familiar to the series will recognise some of the faces in the game as many skaters return for their third series outing, with names such as Rob Dyrdek , Mike Carroll and Danny Way reappearing with their light-hearted humour and skills to show you how to skate all over again. More interestingly is that Jason "My Name is Earl" Lee also makes a cameo as Coach Frank, who gives you a skateboarding masterclass at the beginning of the game and says some genuinely funny things - something you just don't get enough of in video games. Another thing you'll be more than happy to hear if you've played the previous games is that Reda - your "buddy" and cameraman with a total of about ten unbelievably irritating phrases - quickly gets shuffled along and replaced by a much more calm and quiet Shingo. Thank God for small mercies...

The music is also up-to-scratch as expected, with the track list covering multiple genres, ranging from classics by The Pixies and Joy Division, to some quality hip-hop vibes by The Perceptionists. Most importantly, the scenery has been given a big change-up, moving from the "Hate the Skate" blues of San Vanelona to the board-loving Port Carverton. So for all you Skate regulars out there, that means no more yellow-jacketed security guards nailing you in the middle of that perfect line. Heck, even they skate in Carverton!

Skate 3 also brings some new additions to the series to keep things fresh, such as an updated trick-list with new moves: Darkslides - a grind on the reverse side of the board - and Underflips, and various Kickflips initiated from underneath the board to name but a few. It must be said though that the main focus of this iteration of Skate from EA's Black Box is the online multiplayer aspect, with a huge level of online integration into the main game. For example, if you're attempting a competition offline and you fancy giving it a shot against some online opponents then one click later and you'll be in an online server, getting matched up with others playing the same game. Not only that, but you get bonus points for taking your game online. While there you should also play bingo online. The Hall of Meat challenges also make their bone-crushing return, with even more painful ways to incapacitate your skater in the process.

For the first time, three different difficulty levels have been included in order to improve accessibility to newcomers and to make the game more of a challenge for those who found the first two games too easy. Hardcore mode makes it so that it's easier to bail, and it takes 5 pushes to get up to full speed on the flat, not 3. On the contrary, Easy mode allows you to Ollie higher, makes it harder to bail and much easier to do tricks. These options are invaluable in giving beginners a place to start, as well as providing a challenge to those who had mastered the games before.

Skate 3 does have some shortcomings however, and they are big. For a start, there is no offline multiplayer which was one of the things that gave the game such a lasting appeal. It appears that all the focus on multiplayer in the previous games was put on the online side of things to make them shine. Sure, you can pass the pad in solo play, but it's just not the same when you want to compete with friends locally as it was in the last game; a true disappointment to anyone who played the first two games...

Secondly, the graphics haven't really changed at all since the last game, and a lot of the boards and clothing available are strikingly similar (if not identical) to Skate 2, which demonstrates a real lack of originality by EA Black Box. The storyline is paper-thin too, even more so than the other two games, chucking you into the middle of an open-ended game with little guidance to the player as to what exactly they're supposed to be doing.

Overall, whilst there are some fairly major let-downs in the game, such as the exclusion of multiplayer on one console, Skate 3 is still the best skateboarding game out there, and a whole lot of fun. If you have Skate 2 though, I suggest you consider giving this game a miss because the changes made are fairly incremental, and it's really down to whether you're willing to spend £40/$60 on a product that feels slightly rushed and incomplete. Saying that, I'd really recommend it to newcomers and to those of you who will make use of the vast online tools at your disposal as this is where Skate 3 really steps up its game and outshines its predecessors.