"Somewhat of a letdown"

1080: Avalanche Review

Way back in the N64 days, Nintendo released an Extreme sports game. The name, 1080 snowboarding. It was a huge hit. It had built a huge fan base. I was one of them. The old 1080 focused on racing at breakneck speeds and pulling tricks. It also had the best graphics in an extreme sports game. The controls were smooth and so were the level designs. So, you can guess why fans were going crazy when they had heard that the sequel, 1080: Avalanche was being released. But when it hit, we all found out that this game, was not as great as its predecessor.

Lets talk about the graphics, 1080s strong point. Like its Prequel, 1080: Avalanche has amazing graphics, but not the best out of all extreme sports games. The riders themselves look very nicely rendered. I though that one had a little resemblance to an actor that was in a movie that also contained snowboarding... It had 3 X's in the title. The environments look great too, sometimes you even stop right in the middle of a level to look around at the trees, wildlife and fellow skiers. But don't look to close, or else you may see some jaggies. All in all, the graphics are great, but like I said, not the best I've ever seen. But there passable as is.

In the gameplay department, 1080 comes short. It says that it has ground breaking avalanches and wildlife surprises, but seeing as they're all pre-determined, nothing really exciting. The only thing that got me pumped up about it all was the last level of story mode, which is a real rush. One thing that 1080 does deliver is breakneck speeds. As you speed down the mountain, you see the nature just blurring past you as you reach speeds of up to 200 km/h. But along with this, comes another problem. That problem being, that the game is based all on racing, hence the high speeds. So, a half-assed trick system feels like it was thrown in as an after thought. And that's what bugs me, unlike the original game, this racing gameplay, doesn't really give you the Extreme sports feeling. It is almost a chore to string together combos for a high score. And some scores are beyond imagination. This is what ruins the game for older fans, the focus on racing.

But what 1080 lacks in the gameplay, well, I can't say it totally makes up for it in the sound, but the sound is rather good no less. The sound effects are great, the falling, and grinding sound great. I love the sound of the snow bunching up under your board, the ''Crunch'' Sound of it. It blends right in to the gameplay, it comes out natural, so that you notice it, but Not above all of the other things. The music in this game is very well done. It features music from Finger Eleven and other bands(Who aren't that well known). It has over 20 songs to listen to, and you can choose your own from the loading screen before the race, which gives you something to do. Not to say the loading times are bad, they are very good. So, the music is very nice and feels like Nintendo put some work into making it sound its best.

The multiplayer in this game lacks any variety whatsoever. There is only one thing you can do: Race. Sounds pretty crappy, huh? Well, yeah it it is. Its only fun for 1 or 4 matches, then its lost all its fun. This is a not a fun multiplayer game. Mostly for 1 player. But if you feel the need to play multiplayer, play Mario Kart: Double Dash!! It's much more fun and there's more then one mode. You can hook up Gamecubes and play with more friends, but I haven't tried to. My guess: Its not fun either.

This game does have some extras and unlockables, but nothing that amazing. The best thing is an NES controller to snowboard on. Not much more to say other then once you beat single player, its lost all its spice. To be honest with you, I sold my copy of 1080: Avalanche shortly after I got it, 2 weeks to be exact. I felt that Nintendo had ruined a classic. I bet you will too. Bottom line, This is a rental ONLY. You may have fun with it for awhile, but then it will collect dust. Its not worth the 60$, but if you find it for 30 bucks, go for it.

Final Score: 6.3/10

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 01/25/04