Mike V s Epic Episode Becoming a Hardcore skater is about enjoying the old school way of things; about shunning the glitz and glamour of the pro circuit; and about never backing down. Never. One doesn t become a Hardcore skater overnight, and certainly not by nailing one or two tough tricks in front of a camera. Growing into a Hardcore skater is about earning the respect of those around you. Not just for your abilities, but for your toughness and dedication to the sport. You skate for yourself wherever and whenever you want and don t let anybody get in your way. Mike V. s Epic Episode SCENE LIST Learning the Aggro Kick! Go Big With Spines! Epic Gaps Aggro Pushing Aggro Skitch Boosting Final Epicness! GO BIG WITH SPINES! Philadelphia, Downtown Learning the Aggro Kick! Players complete the first scene in this episode during the introductory section of the game, in the Philly Slums area. This chapter picks up from there. Meet up with Mike V. in Dilworth Plaza to learn about hitting Spine Transfers. Wherever there are two vert ramps back-to-back you can air off one and hit the Spine Transfer Button to tilt forward in the air and descend the second vert ramp. This can be done here to gap up and over the planters in the center of the plaza. Spine Transfers extend the amount of time you are in the air and make it possible to mix in plenty of big tricks. Practice landing six Spine Transfers via the concrete and wooden quarter pipes in the center of the plaza. Hardcore Episode Completion Rewards RANK CASH SKILL POINTS Amateur $100 5 Pro $200 5 Sick $300 5 22
Spine Transfer Scoring Challenge Use Spine Transfers to land huge scoring tricks off verts. each successive Spine Transfer so as to gain the maximum value for your tricks and concentrate on landing cleanly for a point bonus. Roll out the landing to bank the score and air off the ramp opposite the spine to increase your speed for the next Spine Transfer. Try mixing in the occasional Flip as well as a Special Trick for extra points! Amateur: Score 5,000 points hitting the Spine Transfer gaps. Pro: Score 15,000 points hitting the Spine Transfer gaps. Sick: Score 150,000 points hitting the Spine Transfer gaps. Now it s time to hit those same Spine Transfers while tricking in the air to score as many points as possible. The key to doing this is not necessarily to keep a lengthy combo going as only the tricks performed during the Spine Transfer count. Instead, use the quarter pipes against the large block walls to gain extra speed so when you hit the Spine Transfer in the center you will have more than enough time to perform several intricate tricks. Mix up the tricks you perform on Focus! Double-click the Left Stick on the controller to enter Focus mode. This slows down your skater s motion and allows you to more easily perform complex maneuvers and rotations while ensuring a clean landing. It s best to enter Focus mode while airing off the vert ramps on the side. This way you can focus on performing as many tricks and rotations as possible the second you begin the Spine Transfer. EPIC GAPS Philadelphia, Downtown Multiple Objective Scene In order to earn a Pro or Sick ranking for the Epic Gaps scene you must earn Pro or Sick in each of the two challenges within this scene. You are awarded the rank for the lowest of the ranks you earn. So, for example, if you earn a Sick ranking for the first challenge but only a Pro ranking for the second, then you will be awarded a Pro ranking for the scene. The Pro and Sick ramps require a few quick swerves to hit them straight. Aggro Kick down the street with perfect timing to get up to speed while holding the Ollie Button, then air off the ramp and immediately tap the two Control Sticks to enter Nail the Trick mode. Don t perform any tricks while in Nail the Trick though, just let the skater fly as far as possible. With some practice, you ll soar high above the plaza and land near the Finish line painted on the far side of the gap. Gapping Dilworth Plaza Getting top speed is crucial to clearing this gap. Make the most of your opportunity by Aggro Kicking as hard as possible! Amateur: Clear the gap using the leftmost kicker. Pro: Clear the gap using the center kicker. Sick: Clear the gap using the rightmost kicker. There are two gaps that you must hit. The first is to use the three kicker ramps to air up and over Dilworth Plaza to the far side of the walkway. The only way to do this is to use Aggro Kick to get up to speed then quickly enter Nail the Trick mode to slow things and get more air. It is extremely difficult to get the Sick ranking in this gap with an Air Stat of less than six, so choose which ramp you hit wisely. 23
Mike V s Epic Episode Subway Entrance Gap Hitting all of the tricks prior to trying the subway entrance gap isn t required, but it will definitely help. Speed is key! Amateur: Clear the gap to the Am Marker. Pro: Clear the gap to the Pro Marker. Sick: Clear the gap to the Sick Marker. The second gap is a bit more complex. Here you must Aggro Kick and use two Spine Transfers over a pair of planters to get enough air to clear the subway station, carry across the street and down into the plaza. Aggro Kick once before the first planter, Spine Transfer over it, and get a good hard Aggro Kick halfway between the first and second planters. Now for the hard part: Spine Transfer over the second planter and immediately Aggro Kick while ascending the ramp-like subway station. Tap into Nail the Trick mode as soon as you air off the ramp atop the structure to air over the street towards the distance marks on the other side. The only way you re going to reach the Sick marker is to angle slightly to the left so as to continue traveling lengthwise while airing down the walkway leading into the plaza. AGGRO PUSHING Philadelphia, Inner-City Mike V. wants to teach you how to get speed while manualing. It s called Aggro Pushing, but it requires being near a tall enough wall to push off while performing the Manual. Start by learning how to Aggro Push in the Metro tunnel underground. Tap into a Manual or Nose Manual and get near the wall. Press the Aggro Push Button to gain extra speed to keep the Manual going. Do this six times to show Mike V. you know how to do it. Manual the Subway Line You gradually lose speed while in a Manual, but you can maintain and even regain speed by Aggro Pushing. Use Aggro Pushing to make it from one side of the subway to the other. Amateur: Make it to the Am Marker. Pro: Make it to the Pro Marker. Sick: Make it to the Sick Marker. 24 Skate Lounge The Skate Lounge is your personal space, available for you to customize with dozens of terrain pieces to your liking. The Skate Lounge not only gives you a chance to build your own massive skate park to share with friends, but you can even watch skate videos, complete Skill Challenges, and work on increasing your stats. Be sure to check the Skate School chapter for more information on the Skate Lounge. New Gear: 7-Ply Cutt-Off New Skate Lounge Item: Philly Plaza Objects Now it s time to use Aggro Pushing to manual the entire length of the subway tracks. Roll towards the Manual marker on the ground for the Skill Challenge and tap into a manual. Tap the Aggro Push Button to push off the tunnel wall to gain speed and keep the manual going while balancing back and forth on the rear wheels. Try to keep the skater balanced and continue to use the Aggro Push technique to travel as far as you can without tapping or falling out of the manual. Those with a high Manual stat level should have little trouble reaching the Sick marker at the far end of the tunnel. New Skill: Aggro Push
AGGRO SKITCH BOOSTING Washington D.C., Freedom Plaza Head through the Metro tunnel to Freedom Plaza in Washington D.C. and reunite with Mike V. near the exit. His next lesson is about Aggro Skitch Boosting while in a Manual. This works just like the Aggro Push tap into a Manual and roll alongside a moving car and press the Aggro Push Button to gain a boost. Do this six times to show you have it down. City Street Manual Boosting A city street may not have many walls, but that doesn t mean you can t go faster. When in a Manual, you can perform an Aggro Skitch Boost for extra speed. Amateur: Aggro Skitch Boost twice in a combo. Pro: Aggro Skitch Boost three times in one combo. Sick: Aggro Skitch Boost five times in one combo. Now it s time to take what you just learned and try to string multiple Aggro Skitch Boosts together in a single manual combo. This can be hard as you must move back and forth across the yellow centerline in the road to Aggro Skitch Boost from cars on either side of the road. One way to make this a bit easier is to use Focus. Double-tap the Left Stick to enter Focus mode and slow things down this makes it much easier to maintain balance. Just try not to end the Manual until you have as many Aggro Skitch Boosts as you think you can get. Naturally, this will get easier with practice and by increasing your Manual stats. Once you reach the Amateur rank, you ll be given the opportunity to end there or continue on for the remainder of the time to try and get even more. New Skill: Aggro Skitch Boost 25
Mike V s Epic Episode FINAL EPICNESS! Washington D.C., Freedom Plaza Killing the Pool Gap! Hit the Pool Gap as many times as you can, earning the highest possible score. Cooper will record your successful runs. Amateur: Score at least 5,000 Points total across all runs. Pro: Score at least 30,000 Points total across all runs. Sick: Score at least 50,000 Points total across all runs. Use the Aggro Kick to get up to speed while holding the Jump Button then pop off the edge of the pool to soar over it. The goal with this challenge is to score as many points as possible while soaring over the pool. If you ve been working on increasing your Air and Spin stats, then you should be able to pull off a nice combination of tricks and clear the Pool Gap without extra help. However, if you re having trouble getting enough pop to clear the Pool Gap, tap into Nail the Trick mode and perform a combination of branching flip tricks with plenty of rotation to boost your score. Tricking Over the Mega Stair Gap Hit this stair gap as many times as you can, performing the most possible listed tricks. Cooper will record your successful runs. Amateur: Land 4 tricks. Pro: Land 8 tricks. Sick: Land 10 tricks. Limited Tricks Apply Cooper wants to see you perform tricks from a specific list while hitting this gap. Access the Pause Menu to see the list of 10 tricks that are acceptable for this challenge and only perform tricks from that list. The list includes the following: Nosegrab, Melon, Indy, Tailgrab, 360 Hardflip, 360 Inward Heelflip, 360 Heelflip, 360 Flip, The 900, and Metal Horns. If you work fast, you can get two or three of the grabs in during one jump, but it will be difficult to get more than one of the flip tricks or Special Tricks done per jump. Focus should help! Aggro Kick in perfect rythym around the corner towards the kicker ramp at the top of the stairs and Boneless or No Comply off the ramp to get some extra air. Quickly tap into the tricks that you haven t yet performed from the list. You should glance at the list before each run and decide ahead of time which tricks to perform next so that there is no hesitation once you re in the air. After all, the only way to get a Pro or Sick ranking on this challenge is to perform combinations of tricks while in the air and not miss a single beat. New Gear: Cast New Skate Lounge Item: Jeep New Special Trick: No Comply Manual 26