VOLCOM SKATE DAY! CAPE TOWN SOUTH AFRICA

The Volcom Team headed down Cape Town this weekend to show our support and stoke out the locals in the Durbanville area, with a fun day of skating at the local Sports Unlimited Store. A bunch of giveaways were handed out, thrown out and scrambled for by stoked groms over the shops classic mini ramp in the back of the store. Volcom team riders Alan Marola and Lloyd Hodoul were on hand to bust out a demo and amp the locals up, before all headed outside and were treated to free boerie rolls and cooldrinks on Volcom.



After a couple more giveaways and stenciling everyone's boards, an impromptu exit, with all groms in tow, was made over to a local "best trick" comp at a nearby skate park, Where we set up camp for the rest of the afternoon. Some great skating was had by all with Volcom showing more support by sponsoring some best trick prizes of our own including best 360 flip over a sand gap, won by Jean-marc Johannes. Volcom would like to thank Sports Unlimited for the use of their store and all the staff that helped out...

For almost two decades, the good folks at the Skatepark of Tampa host the world-famous Tampa Am Contest in their private park, and the best up-and-coming skaters from all over the globe show up for a weekend packed with skating. Hundreds of ams enter and battle it out to see which one will walk away a winner. Tomorrow’s professionals are bred here.

Here were the results.

1st

Luan Oliveira

Sponsors: Flip, Globe, Volcom, Flip Wheels, Matriz Skate Shop
Hometown: Porto Alegre Brazil

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2nd

Ben Hatchell

Sponsors: Zero, C1RCA, Bones
Hometown: Houston TX

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3rd

Nick Tucker

Sponsors: SK8Mafia, JSLV, Bones, FKD, Silver, DVS
Hometown: San Diego CA

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4th

Jack Olson

Sponsors: 3rd Lair, Volume Skateboards, Osiris (flow), Bones, Neff
Hometown: St. Louis Park MN

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  5th

Chris Mendes

Sponsors: Emerica (flow), LRG, Banned Board Shop, Mountain Dew, Silver, FKD
Hometown: Moreno Valley CA

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  6th

Felipe Gustavo

Sponsors: Plan B, Silver, FKD, Bones wheels, es Footwear, Nine Star Skate Shop, LRG (flow)
Hometown: Brasilia Brazil

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7th

Ron Deily

Sponsors: Zoo York, Vans (flow), Red Bull, NJ Skateshop, Matix (flow)
Hometown: Union Beach NJ

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8th

Shawn Hale

Sponsors: Ergo, 5Boro (flow), Vox (flow), Indy (flow), VU Skate Shop
Hometown: Joplin Missouri

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9th

Mark Suciu

Sponsors: Etnies (flow), Habitat (flow), Bones Wheels, Force, Elm Hats, Atlas Skate Shop
Hometown: Saratoga CA

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10th

Clint Walker

Sponsors: Birdhouse, Dekline, Ambiguous
Hometown: Altus OK

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

11th

Adrien Bulard

Sponsors: Autobahn Wheels, Nike SB, Quiksilver, Hawaii Surf Shop, enjoi
Hometown: Rouen France

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

12th

Kevin Romar

Sponsors: Kr3w (flow), Blind, eS (flow), Furnace, Venture, Bones
Hometown: Cypress CA
Notes:

 

 

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FUEL TV did a live webcast on the whole event!

Put down that handheld controller and get off the couch! You've talked the talk, but can you skate the walk?

For the past decade, the Tony Hawk franchise has innovated and often defined the ‘board’ genre of video-games. Tony Hawk RIDE is no exception, but – in many ways – it takes the genre in a completely new direction and opens up the opportunity to expand the concept of board-controlled gaming to other genres.

In the past, the Tony Hawk games put controllers in the hands of gamers that tied in to the tricks. Players were tasked to string together combos through multiple button presses. Well, that is truly a thing of the past. The key to RIDE is the new controller, which is a wireless board that sits on the ground.

You begin the experience by defining your stance on the board. This enables the board to accurately translate your movements to the game. The board is shaped like a real skateboard (well, a little thicker) with key inputs along one side and motion sensors at four locations on the edges of the board. There is a flat surface on the bottom and then a beveled edge that allows the board to tilt. Balance on the board is obviously a key ingredient.

The board is the same for all three platforms

The ends of the board are curved slightly upward, like a real skateboard, and this allows for the basic beginning movements. Want to perform an ollie?  Use your back foot to push down and pop the nose of the board up in the air. A slow elevation of the nose of the board will perform a manual. Popping an ollie and then using your front foot to push the nose of the board in one direction or the other will perform a flip. While it may sound a bit strange, it is actually very easy to get the hang of and to perform tricks. The board is pointed toward the console for street trick rides or speed skate competitions, but when it comes to the vert or half-pipe, the board runs horizontal to the console/monitor.

You push off in the regular or goofy stance by running your foot past one of the side motion sensors. For the vert, you ‘ollie’ off the ramp and onto the course. The motion sensors also come into play for grabs. Run a hand through the field of view of the sensors and your on-screen skater will perform a grab. Timing is important, of course, but the casual mode (the easiest of the three modes, which runs to hardcore) eases players into the game but determining the line through the game for players so they can concentrate on the tricks.

The game is identical for the 360 and PS3 consoles. The Wii uses the same level design and essentially the same looks but there are some differences. Miis are the characters (in the 360 and PS3 you can use a pre-built more-realistic skater or create your own), and there are no special characters (like a teen-aged Tony Hawk). While some of the elements of its bigger brethren are not the same, the Wii does offer an extra level in Spain.

The story mode essentially has players journeying around the world to see what Tony has been up to. Maybe that does not sound like the strongest story line, but there are challenges along the way. The biggest aspect, in terms of game modes, though will come in the form of the challenges. More so than any other Tony Hawk title, this is a game with broad family appeal. You can take turns in the challenges for a one-versus-one high score contest, or enter in a round-robin scoring match with numerous players in the party mode.

The PS3 and 360 character models are more realistic than those on the Wii (below),
but the action and environments are both excellent

Taking a page from the Guitar Hero book, developer Robomodo incorporated a Style meter that when filled up allows for multipliers for the tricks, takes the game into a slow-motion look and adds some nice colored trailers to the skater to pump up the optical effects.

When it comes to multiplayer, players can obviously play on the same machine (no side-by-side skating with multiple boards; this is turn-based gaming simply because it can be a very physical exercise and you will want room to fall should you lose your balance while playing), but the game will have a robust online presence with every game type, except challenge (the four game types are speed, trick, challenge and free skate – the latter is pulling off as many tricks as you can in the area within a time limit).

Graphically the game looks solid. During the event, there were some minor clipping problems and a bug that had one skater going in circles in a timed event (contrary to the casual directed path) until an ollie broke the cycle. But the game does a very good job with the environments and the skating animations. The Wii version was a bit more awkward with the Miis, but the environments and animations were still solid.

The musical score dabbles in a variety of styles with more than 50 artists contributing to the soundtrack. There are also video segments that transition from one event to the other (masking some of the load times, and there are some load times), and some of these have a splash of humor in them and are worth watching.

What makes this game so dynamic is obviously the controller. It gives the game a brand new vibe and feel and elevates the enter genre. In 2009, Activision introduced a couple of new controllers – one for DJ Hero and the board for RIDE. Of the two, the board will have the biggest impact and may well become a staple for other games to build off. But more importantly, the board takes the Tony Hawk franchise to a new audience – the entire family. This is no longer about fast fingers on a controller, but it is a decent workout (you may break a sweat playing the game and you will feel it in your legs) but this is a game that will appeal to the younger members of the family as well as the older ones.

Tony Hawk RIDE is a winner. This is a game that runs a bit more than typical titles ($120 at retail) but the cost is for the controller, which will undoubtedly have other applications down the road. The game, though, is very entertaining, a joy to watch and even more fun to play.

Review Scoring Details for Tony Hawk RIDE

Gameplay: 9.2
The board brings the franchise to life in remarkable ways. There is a decent variety of game modes and the ‘80s look is a nice touch.

Graphics: 9.0
A few minor glitches, but the game is very easy on the eyes and there are some fun effects players can trigger in various locations. The Miis used in the Wii version are not a great fit, but this is a game that is about the action animation, and that translates to all platforms.

Sound: 8.5
Wide range of musical tracks gives the game a good audio backdrop.

Difficulty: Medium
The casual mode is very forgiving but there is a small learning curve when it comes to finding your balance and working the board for the big tricks. Landing is very important.

Concept: 10
The board is what defines this game, makes it stand out from other titles and is a tremendous leap forward for the genre.

Multiplayer: 9.3
The online elements were not available for play, but the party mode and scoring competitions provided a lot of fun.

Overall: 9.2
A few small glitches, but Tony Hawk RIDE is innovative and great fun. This is a title the whole family can get behind and it should provide hours of entertainment, laughter and a nice little leg workout. If not for the board, this title would be an average Tony Hawk game, but the board makes it a benchmark title. Yes, it is spendy, but this is more than a disk in plastic wrap, this is a next-gen controller that takes the franchise down roads it has never travelled before.

Article written by: GameZone

Now that it's all been said and all been done, we can take a look back at the 5th Downtown Showdown and organize our thoughts. Most of you won't have to write them down, and you should feel fortunate, if only because to catalog all of those thoughts might span as many as 20,000 words. You might start paring it down to just the most important things to you personally. Hell, we all do that. I'll tell you what some of my favorite things were, and maybe you can tell me yours.

Seeing the Zoo York crew out here this year was a fine and wonderful thing. The boys from back east and all points are as potent as they come. Look no further than Zered Bassett and Ron Deily doling out the 1-3 punch on the Little China Girl Banks. On Friday, Zered also straight nollie'd the FLiP pyramid cleanly as well. These guys are so good and on the rare occasions that they surface in this sort of environment, the results are spectacular. We've all seen Chaz do his thing on TV, so seeing the rest of the squad competing here only proved the depth and talent of the Zoo squad.

I'm thinking, maybe we need an "iron man" award out here next time. Especially in light of watching Angel Ramirez throw down. Angel was the single pro rider representing the Foundation crew, and he was forced to skate every obstacle. It didn't look forced in any way though. He looked perfectly eager to skate with the gas pedal slammed to the floor all day long. I can't remember the last time I saw someone go that hard for that long. Between Angel and Nick Merlino and a small supporting cast, the F-crew took home the $30,000 overall team winner's title. Not bad, not bad at all.

The Black Label team made one of those showings that prompted $100 dollar wagers on them winning the whole thing. I overheard several people talking brashly about their performance, and there was a very good reason for this. Tyler Mumma, Chris Troy, Peter Watkins, and Shuriken Shannon put in powerful performances all around the joint. And to top it off, one of my favorite dudes out there in the last couple of years, Vince Del Valle simply annihilated the Creature Hesh Cross to take top honors. Vince comes from that world where specialists fade and true all-terrain rippers dominate, and his future is brighter than a 20,000 candle power flood light.

Hearty congratulations are due here to the iPod-powered Jani Laitiala who came out here and repeated as the top pro performer. Jani isn't exactly a rookie, he's been in this game for quite some time now. I'm not sure what the exchange rate is on U.S. currency in Finland, but hopefully he will be able to parlay that check into a worthwhile wallet lump.

Each and every one of the skaters out here brought something amazing to the table. Guys like Truman Hooker coming out of the woodwork and killing it. Sean Malto defining smoothness. Louie Lopez and Curren Caples firing heavy warning shots at the older guys. Kevin Romar making it all look easy. And the beauty of it is, we most likely will be treated to another serving of that next year. This thing shows no signs of fading and we're already 5 years in. A once in a lifetime event, once a year. There is certainly nothing to complain about there. Epic skateboarding in a surreal environment, with something for just about everyone, even this jaded and bitter personality.

I'd like to send out a huge thank you to all involved, the Van Doren family and the entire Vans crew, and all of the sponsors who help put this together and fatten up the prize purse. Rockstar Energy Drink, FUEL TV, Mitsubishi Motors, Epiphone and SPoTlight Productions ( Ryan and Brian, you guys are killing it! ) Also thank you to all of the participating companies, Girl, Blind, Foundation, Skate Mafia, Black Label, Toy Machine, Zoo York, Creature, and FLiP. But the biggest thanks, of course go out to each and every skater out here this year. You all are what make this thing so great. See you next year.

-BLKPRJKT

 

Girl's Little China Girl
1.Zered Bassett (Zoo York) - $2,500
2.Angel Ramirez (Foundation) - $1,500
3.Ron Deily (Zoo York) - $1,000

Flip's Extremely Sorry
1.Jani Laitiala (Blind) - $2,500
2.Nick Trapasso (Toy Machine) - $1,500
3.Louie Lopez (Flip) - $1,000

Creature's Hesh Cross
1.Vince Del Valle (Black Label) - $2,500
2.Angel Ramirez (Foundation) - $1,500
3.Jani Laitiala (Blind) - $1,000

Black Label's Drunk Tank
1.Nick Merlino (Foundation) - $2,500
2.Billy Marks (Toy Machine) - $1,500
3.Felipe Ortiz (Blind) - $1,000

Top Am Performance
Nick Merlino (Foundation) - $5,000

Top Pro Performance
Jani Laitiala (Blind) - $10,000

Overall Team Winner
Foundation ($30,000)
Blind 2nd ($15,000)
Toy Machine 3rd ($5,000)

Denver, CO (PRWEB) July 7, 2009 -- BoardPusher Custom Skateboards launches the Artist Series Program, giving artists a chance to earn some cash and industry exposure. The Artist Series is a collection of limited edition graphics created by selected artists and only available at exclusive skateshops.

 

We're always trying to promote the best organic and underground talent. The Artist Series is an exciting way for us to expose some of these great artists who have become part of the BoardPusher community and at the same time offer participating skateshops a product that looks just as good as it skates