Xbox 360, PS3;

£50. Age 16+

The original Skate title ended the dominance of the Tony Hawk skateboarding series, and this sequel is even better. You play as a renegade skater, freshly released from chokey, and must make a name for yourself by taking on skateboarding challenges, photoshoots and competitions. There are also daredevil races through the steep streets of a San Francisco-like city. Whereas the Hawk games have become obsessed with gimmicks and Jackass-style tomfoolery, Skate has taken the genre back to basics with great tricks, realistic urban environments and simple controls. This sequel maintains the authentic feel, but adds thrills. Novices will find that the game amusingly makes a virtue out of their initial clumsiness by rewarding injuries with bonus cash. This title’s best feature, though, is that it lets you drag ramps or fences into positions of your choosing to set up the perfect trick, which you can then share with friends online. Whether or not you know your kickflip from your olly, this is the best skateboarding game ever made.