After spending significant time playing this, I'm satisfied with my purchase. I came in with low exceptions, knowing this is a game made by a small studio, and I think Easy Day did a decent job. It's frustrating at times (but then again so is skateboarding in real life), the graphics are kinda PS3-ish, the soundtrack gets old fast to the point where you just mute it, the customization sucks, I can't flip the spitfire wheels graphics in, etc, but the controls are so much deeper than any skateboarding game before it. It truly is the most hardcore skateboard sim to date, so much that it's going to turn away the casual skateboard fan, but luckily they have THPS 1+2 for that. The game is hard, but rewarding. It feels like those Beagle tapes videos seeing guys like Reynolds or Bryan Herman struggling with a trick for hours until they finally get that one make.
I waited 10 years for a skateboarding game after Skate 3, and this will hold me over until Skate 4, which I'm sure is at least 3 years away.