1080 Avalanche

"A nice sequel to a fun N64 game"

1080 Snowboarding was a fun game for it's time, and this sequel adds more stuff to the franchise... some good, some bad, and some that will have you think ''What was the Nintendo staff smoking?'' Here's what I think:

Story: 3/10
Snowboarding games don't need much of a story, but at least a few familiar faces pop up (Akari, Ricky, and Rob, but no Kensuke!).

Gameplay: 7/10
This is where it really falters. The combo system is hard, so it is impossible to do more than 3x a combo. Whenever you lose your balance (And that happens a lot), you must turn the control stick around and around until you regain your balance, and you don't know how many gates and coin pieces I've missed doing so. Other than those, this game is excellent. A nice variety of boards such as -SPOILER- an NES controller, a rocket ship, and a penguin. There are real boards too, and they look cool, to boot! -END OF SPOILER- There are 4 modes of play: Match race, where you face off your opponents in a tournament style mode. Time Trial, where you must collect the coin pieces and get to the bottom as fast as possible. Trick attack, where you must pull off mega points in a drop-off, half pipe, or rugged terrain. Last but not least, Gate challenge, where you must go through all of the gates and get the most points in a certain time limit. These are fun diversions that stack up to some good multiplayer moments.

Sound: 10/10
The sounds are realistic, and the sound effects made by the secret boards are interesting, such as a whoosh and the sound that Mario makes when he jumps in the NES- Oops! Said too much.

Music: 7/10
The music is nice, but have I heard of any one of these bands on the playlist? Nooooo. I these are pretty much rips and cliches of today's music.

Graphics: 10/10
The sights are to behold in this game. The tracks the snowboard leaves, the huge boulders falling everywhere, the buildings, the wildlife, the avalanche that's raging behind you as we speak... uh-oh.

Rent or Buy?: I'm making this decision up as we speak. I have no advice except to follow your instincts on this one.

Overall: 7/10
A messed-up combo system and balance regaining system hamper the fun a notch, but the unlockables are too much to miss out on. Get this game for a few non-gameplay-related laughs.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 12/07/03