1080 Snowboarding

Hi all!

1080 Snowboarding is a game I rented back in the day but I don't remember much of it, other than a general thought that it was too realistic. I've not played it ever since owning it, so I was glad to give it another chance.

I started with a little of the Training mode, then I played a bit of the Contest mode and a few of the Match Races. I now remember why I didn't like it: the control doesn't seem very good. After making a jump, you have to be almost perfectly lined up with the ground in order to land without stumbling or crashing. Any of the trick modes are unnecessarily difficult because of this, not to mention how precise you have to be with directions to get the right tricks to perform. I still can't tell if you have to hold forward on the analogue stick to maintain speed or just to accelerate. You have a damage meter in the Match Race, and it's actually more difficult to simply make it to the finish than it is to beat your rival.

As far as presentation is concerned, it has a few nice touches. Snow flies up when making tight turns, and the clothes of the boarder are blown in the wind when taking a jump. The draw distance is pretty good, and the textures are mostly smooth. There is some slight clipping with the board and the ground though. The sound department is lacking however. The music is pretty awful, but I can't go into much more detail there. The sparse sound effects seem soft and muted, and the few voice samples feel forced and lack enthusiasm.

Score: 5/10

-Mop_it_up