Remember that game? It was super fun, but hardly as intense as the title suggested. The title screen had and actual voice sample that went “Skate or Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die!”, as if it’s some mad-thrashing death defying hardcore skateboard action going on. Then you start the game and find the biggest stunt is “jump”. One of the levels is a mall where you deliver stuff.
It didn’t have a regular joystick that went up, down, left, and right instead it made circular motions. If you didn’t do whatever it was the game wanted you to do a big swarm of bees would come after you. Is this the game?
Marc
No, you’re thinking of Atari Games’ arcade title, 720. Shares the same skateboarding concept, and the phrase “skate or die!” pops up if you take too long to move to a stage, but is otherwise unrelated.
I believe you are thinking of 720 Degrees (don’t know how to code the little circle thing).
If this is the one I think it is, I owned it. Was this the one with the lameass pool level? And the high jump that was like impossible to figure out?
That’s the one.
I loved Skate or Die. The high jump was impossible, but the full pipe competition where you knock each other off was fun.
So were the races down the streets. Great game.
A note that if you do want to play 720 degrees, a port was released to the NES that might be easier to find than the Atari version.
Doesn’t make it GOOD though.
I remember playing the pool level. You fought in an empty pool with what looked like oars.
The high jump’s not impossible. You just need a good turbo controller.
Wasn’t there a street level where you got points for running over pop cans or something? I should probably dig that game out again.
How about “T&C Surf” on NES? That was such crap.
hijack:
Okay, I don’t remember the game, but I do remember the phrase (usually written as “SK8 'R DIE”) was quite popular with my circle of friends in jr. high school.
I feel old.
penny d. <-- who had a thing for skater boys when Avril Lavigne was probably still in diapers.
CRAP.
I had succesfully blocked that shitstorm from my head, Crim.
Thanks for putting it back in there. What an awful game.
I remember Skate or Die! quite fondly. I remembered you can go in the skate shop and move the cursor over different parts of the shopkeeper’s face/body and he’d say stuff.
There were two downhill courses- Park and Skate Thrash (I think thats what it was called. Park was a solo run in which you racked up points doing stunts/jumping over stuff. Skate Thrash pit you and another skater down an alley smashing stuff (and each other) earning points along the way. I liked jumping on the hood of the cop car at the end of that 
Then there was the Pool Joust, which was amazyingly easy- just hit the attack button when you got close to the opponent and they’d take a dive. Used to frustrate the hell out of people by beating them endlessly because they never found out how it worked. There was no ‘weapon swinging’ animation; your guy just flashed when he was attacking so it was hard to tell what was going on. Usually two guys just going back and forth past each other until one guy tumbled.
Finally, there was the half pipe. Freestyle was loads of fun. High Jump pretty much required a controller with turbo.
Looking back, it was a fairly decent game for its time, but I got bored of it quick when I was young because I was obsessed with games that had plots and good endings.