One of the big surprise hits for me this generation has been Skate.  Back in the day Tony Hawk games were always an instant purchase until maybe last generation, where I had finally gotten bored of the franchise.  There wasn't enough innovation, and the games in the franchise began to blur together.  The last good thing to come from the Tony Hawk franchise in my opinion was the ability to get off the skateboard.  Skate however reinvigorated skateboarding in video games for me.  For us hardcore skate fans who had left Tony Hawk, Skate was perfect.  Just the mechanics of the gameplay themselves are what is appealing.  Before I bought the game, I played the demo over and over just in the small allotted area it offered.  Every four hours the demo would shut down, but I would restart it over and over.  Anyways, I was not surprised to hear of the announcement of Skate 2, but I wasn't sure what I would want from it.  The gameplay itself is what appeals to me, and I didn't know that spending another $60 was worth the '2' on the end of the game name.  After reminicing back onto the Tony Hawk days, I've come up with three things that I'd like improved for the new Skate.

Firstly, I think that Skate 2 must have off-and-on skateboard play.  I've heard stories that Skate originally planned to have walking gameplay but had to cut it due to their release date.  Skate 2 however must have it, and it must be functional and sufficient.  Tony Hawk did it last generation, Skate 2 can easily do it this generation.

Secondly, Skate 2 must fix the problem of pedestrians in the game.  In Skate they could be come very annoying because their "AI" was to just stand there and take the hit.  However, I am against eliminating pedestrians from the game entirely.  I think they are imperative to creating a true and lively city, but their AI must be improved.  They are worse than a tourist in Roller Coaster Tycoon.  Even if they would just jump out of the way of the incoming skateboarder would be sufficient.  Any way to keep them in the city, but make them less annoying is the way to go.

Thirdly, loading times need to be reduced.  The second most annoying thing behind pedestrians in Skate was the load times.  Skating around the city there were never any load times, but teleporting even a few blocks away validated a good 15 second load time.  This could get very annoying if you were attempting a challenge that took you far from your starting location, and had a significant load in between each attempt.  I don't know if it is possible, but I hope that Skate 2 can eliminate as much loading as possible.  I can understand a load when teleporting across the city, but load times for just a few blocks away need to be eliminated. 

I think Skate 2 will be just as big a success as the original if these simple demands are met.  Otherwise, I don't see the hardcore Skate player coughing up another $60 for the solid gameplay they can already enjoy in the original Skate, or even in the Skate 2 demo if they have one.