No finger-flipping goodness here. Instead, players skate to the top through a series of quick time events.
About a decade ago, skateboarding games were all the rage. Some people probably even attempted to take up skateboarding as a result. While we may still see someone skateboarding down the street, the popularity of skateboarding and other “Extreme†sports has waned in recent years.
Despite that, Tech Deck [1] still enjoys a level of popularity as a kids toy which allows people to simulate doing tricks on a skateboard using their fingers and hands. The brand has now moved into the mobile world, recently releasing a Tech Deck game on iOS.
Tech Deck on iPad and iPhone is not a game in which players get to do really cool tricks with their fingers, however. After all, the flip boards would be really difficult to emulate on a touch screen. In fact, all of the game controls and mechanics are done through a series of simplistic quick time events that rely on a player’s precise timing rather than any skill set. Players have to perform the requested action at the right moment, as doing it too early or too late will cause the skater to biff it, thus ending the round. While these quick time events may be a disappointment to some, they actually present a fun little game despite it not feeling very unique.
With Tech Deck being a free-to-play game, it comes with a list of IAPs. These all have to do with new skateboards or stickers to decorate the player’s deck. However, these “decorations†do have a purpose; in boosting the points, stats, and the amount of in-game currency one can receive from doing a round of skating. The same currency can be earned through regular play but like most games of this ilk, it requires a lot of grinding and patience.
The graphics in Tech Deck aren’t all that great and anyone with the iOS Retina display may find them downright unpleasant. A not so close examination will reveal rough edges around the sprites of skaters, though when actually playing the game these lines are a lot smoother and the graphics actually improve slightly.
Tech Deck isn’t going to be up for any awards anytime soon and it certainly doesn’t hold a flame to the Tony Hawk Pro Skater series, but it does come with an arsenal of licensed skateboards and it’s really not a terrible game. The quick time events are kind of fun, but the graphics are so-so. Players probably won’t spend an awful amount of time on this but the skating enthusiast will probably still get a kick of out Tech Deck.
Posted in: Games , iPad Apps and Games , iPad Games , iPhone Apps and Games , Reviews
Tagged with: free , free to play , Freemium , Quick Time Events , skateboarding , Spin Master Ltd , tech deck
Review disclosure: note that the product reviewed on this page may have been provided to us by the developer for the purposes of this review. Note that if the developer provides the product or not, this does not impact the review or score.
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