Show Off Your Finger Skateboarding Skill With PureSkate
PureSkate ($1.99) by Orbi Labs tests whether you have the finger-skateboarding skills to pay the bills.
Those familiar with Touchgrind know the drill: your fingers are “feet” on a skateboard, and you’ll need to do some fancy footwork (a.k.a. skills) to earn points. But while Touchgrind has you manipulate the board through the level, Pure Skate has the board control a character.
Three different characters are available: Wyatt (good for big air), Herdez (well-balanced skills), and Jamal (good at grinding and sliding). Herdez will most likely be your best bet when starting out, especially since he identifies himself as a “skater noob.”
You start off with a tutorial, which will show you how to get started with your deck. On the side of the screen (which will differ, depending on which dominant hand you select), there is a control area with your board.
The tutorial prompts you to think of your fingers as feet, with your middle finger being your right foot and index as your left foot.
Place both fingers on the board and try an "ollie" (lifting the front foot first, followed quickly by the second foot). Those familiar with skateboarding will recognize this as a basic move that is the bread and butter for tricks. For those unfamiliar with the term, it’s essentially the “Hello world!” of skateboarding.
Pushing the board is accomplished by keeping your front foot on the board and dragging your back foot alongside it.
By default, the camera angle is “close” (basic, third-person view). However, you can select a range of options, from “in the cement” to “far out man!” I wish I could say changing camera angles improved my game, though it at least helped get a better view of the course.
Selecting the view stats menu will show level goals and skater goals. You’ll earn a skill point for each level goal you complete, which can be applied toward pulling off trickier skills. Skater goals can be worked on any level at any time and apply toward the level goals.
So, how well did I do at this game? Probably with a lot more practice I would become better at it. My main issue was the lack of momentum my character kept experiencing, combined with not being sure what the heck I was doing. But then again, I consider an ollie to be like “Hello world!”
