Amped: Freestyle Snowboarding

"When I finally stopped trying to play this game like Tony Hawk, I realized it ruled."

I got this game the day after Thanksgiving at Circuit City, while I was trying to snag the $70 DVD players they had on sale. I took it back to my friend's place to give it a shot. I popped the game in the 'box and tried the first course.

I must've screwed up every single trick I tried to do.

No matter what I tried to do (heck, I even stopped trying to do tricks and just land!) I'd either fall on my head or right on my butt. So I figured I just didn't know how to play yet, and I gave the course another try.

Second verse, same as the first.

After about the fifth try, I whipped out the standard gaming phrase:

''This game sucks.''

Now, this common phrase is usually only said under one of two conditions:

1. The game truly, absolutely sucks in every way possible.
2. The person who said the phrase sucks at playing the game.

I was convinced I said it because it actually did suck. Then again, I said Tony Hawk's Pro Skater sucked when I first played it, so I may not be the best judge on things.

I really hated the game after I left my friend's house. I mean, I wasted $45 on this game and I couldn't really return it. The best I could do is take it back and say it was a faulty game, but then I'd just get a new copy of Amped back.

So I just didn't play it again.

A few days later, either my memory had been erased or I felt like abusing myself, but I found myself playing Amped on the Xbox again.

This time, I made almost every trick, and the ones I didn't make I felt I shouldn't have made. I ended up doing well enough on the first course to unlock more things, and thus began the 2-3 hour run I had of playing it. What was so different this time?

I realized that when I first played it, I thought it would be the same thing as Tony Hawk, so I played it like I play Tony Hawk: I jam on enough buttons in midair, and as long as I let go of them before I land, I didn't crash. Amped required me to think just a little bit harder (oh no!) and realize that when my boarder was done with a trick that, yes, sometimes he *would* be upside down or sideways and I would have to *correct* that. Once I figured this out, I had something different to say:

''This game rules!''

Now I'm going to finally get to the part you actually care about, reviewing the individual parts of the game:

Graphics: 8

I'll put it like this: it sure doesn't blow Halo or DOA3 out of the water, but it still is purty. Everything is well done, and (this is the important part because I live in Minnesota) snow actually LOOKS like snow, ice actually LOOKS like ice, and your boarder actually LOOKS like they're cold when they bail. I hate games that can't get that right. Amped pulls it off beautifully.

Sound: 9

With 150 tracks by indie artists, there's bound to be some music you like AND you've never heard before. And even if you hate it all, it's easy enough to play music you've ripped to the Xbox yourself (unlike that other reviewer said, I had no trouble doing this and can't imagine how you would). The sound effects are nice too, though I got really annoyed on my first run at the jeers I got when I crashed.

Control: 9

I have to dock 1 point for the learning curve, but once you get over that, you'll find it easy to do what you want to do, when you want to do it. And you never feel ''cheated'' by the game.

Gameplay: 9

You're some no-name snowboarder trying to make a name for yourself by getting the attention of reporters that are scattered around the numerous slopes in the game. This is where the meat of the game is: doing tricks on the slopes gets you points, but tricking in front of a cameraman gets you *more*. The most important thing to keep in mind with Amped is that it is a Freestyle Snowboarding game. You're not trying to race to the bottom, and there isn't anything exceedingly unrealistic (besides talking snowmen).

Replay Value: 10

There's a LOT of stuff to unlock here. Every mountain has several different challenges. The only thing I didn't like was finding the snowmen, but it isn't a required goal unless you're shooting for 100%. And thankfully you don't have to find all 8 in one run.

Multiplayer: 6

I've never been a big fan of turn-based gameplay on games like these, and I wish there was more modes. It's still fun to try to beat each other's score, though. And you don't need to buy extra controllers if you only have one.

Overall: 9

It isn't the ''killer app'' for the Xbox, but you shouldn't pass it up, either. Definitely get this one after you've played Halo and DOA3 out. And give it a few plays before you draw any conclusions like I did. It isn't Tony Hawk, and it sure isn't SSX. It's original, and it's great.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 11/29/01, Updated 11/29/01