Amped: Freestyle Snowboarding

"Worth More Than 50$"

Before I get into details, I should warn you if you want a fantasy boarding game where you can get millions of points doing entirely impossible feats an acrobat couldn't pull off with or without a snowboard or skateboard like in THPS, don't even bother.
That said, I'll go on with my review, starting off with graphics. All in all, a 7.8. There are very few graphic-related problems with this game. At first I didn't like the graphics for the boarders, when I realized that the only problem was the coat my boarder was wearing. When I changed that, it was uphill from there. The snow looks entirely realistic if you ever bother and look, with the little glints of sunlight and everything. The rails look good, the bumps look good, and I love the way snow flies when you go downhill. All that saves the graphics from a 10 is the trees. You can't see any branches or anything, just green folded pieces of paper. Beyond that, it's all good.
The SFX is good, the music is bad, and therefore the sound averages to a 6. One of the things about this game I was looking forward to was the 150 songs. I hadn't known they would all suck, and be by bands I had never heard of. Worse, I couldn't figure out how to turn them off. I tried five times, and it kept on getting turned back on. The music gets a 2. The SFX, however, gets an 8.5. The sound of your snowboard sliding through the snow is realistic enough to add to the overall effect of the game, while not so loud you want to shut it up. Sliding across rails is also pretty good, and the media people shouting at you all the time is funny, plus if it bugs you then you can just turn it off.
Of course, the most important thing of all is the gameplay. A defenite 8.5. This is a more real snowboard game, not a boarder's fantasy, so some people might get annoyed at that. Unlike in THPS, you need to wait until you're in the air to start tricks, and they go a little bit slower. I don't mind that, although there are some weird button combinations that get on my nerves. One of the best things of all is how wide the levels are. I played SSX Tricky, Amped's main competitor, for about two minutes, so I'm no expert, but I didn't even have room to breathe, let alone move. In Amped, the levels are wide as well as long, with all kinds of different things to do tricks on. If you have trouble with one ramp, just take a different route down the mountain and you'll find something else that's better. I also like the combination of Goal, Media, and Pro matches. If one is bugging you, switch. It's perfect. While the multi-player is lacking somewhat, The gameplay in this has earned its 8.5, and I'm rounding down.
The tricks go slower in this game than in some games, but if you don't mind that, buy this game, and you won't be disappointed.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 01/07/02, Updated 01/07/02