BrainBoxLtd on 22 September 2008
Skate is good if you're up for a challenge. It's basically a sim skating game, as opposed to more the arcade style Tony Hawk series. Burnout is decent, but the developers didn't really tailor the game to an open environment all that well. If you've got friends who play it that's great, but single player can be a real drag. All the challenges tend to feel the same after not long.
I'd just rent Assassin's Creed. It's a polarizing game, and you can beat it over the weekend.
EDIT: You can also consider one of the Viva Pinata games if you're keen on a gardening sim. They feel like kind of a werid mix of Harvest Moon, Pokemon, and the Sims. First one is like $20 now.
