'Realism' at its best!
This game is not all about flash. There is real substance here. Whether your catching a rail goofy, or going for big air, you will never feel overwhelmed or as if you're in fantasy snowboarding. The moves are realistic, the play is right on tap with what goes on at actual mountains. Here's how I rate this games characteristics:
Career mode: This mode is just enough to make you want to play more and more. It's done very well by in how there's always the ability to unlock something with just completing different tasks i.e. points for sponsors who like rail tricks etc....
Tricks & Combos: All of the tricks, even the one's that are the most difficult to pull off are in someway doable by just about everyone who plays this game for some time. This is a nice touch as it allows everyone to pull off combos that are different from other people and also allows you to generate points in a multitude of ways
Graphics: Graphics are pretty exceptional, but just slightly below outstanding. While the XBox does a great job of rendering all of the trails and environments, it seems to me the game makers here could have done slighly more with the menu system etc... as some of the style here appears to be somewhat diluted.
Secrets: The 'find all the snowmen' is a nice touch, but can be a little bit annoying when it becomes a quest in itself. Personally, I'd drop this portion of it and add secret trails hidden within a trail to make the game a little more interesting and add even more versatility. Still, this far from degrades the game overall.
Sound: The soundrtack to this game is a nice touch. It keeps with the theme I think and is long enough that you don't get overly bored listening too it.
Overall gameplay? Pretty seemless and spot on in the replay factor. You'll always want to try something new with this which keeps you coming back for more and more.
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