Shaun Palmer’s Pro Snowboarder has everything you’d expect from the “Pro” series – playability, tricks, trick-able courses, and versus modes. But since it’s the first in the series don’t expect more than the basics.
The Career Mode is the meat of Pro Snowboarder. As with all the Activision “Pro” titles, the objective of is to perform certain tasks to unlock levels. Tasks include getting a certain score, collecting icons, smashing signs. Each time you complete an objective you gain a sponsor to help unlock the next course.
Pro Snowboarder doesn’t make it too hard to get used to the controls. Fans of Tony Hawk will get used to controls very quickly, with button tap grinds and one button flips, the tricks aren’t too hard to pull off. Control is tight and is adapted to a slower feel to deal with snow. The physics between the boarder and the snow is also good. But if you miss an objective going down a mountain don’t think about sliding back up it – ‘cause you can’t.
It’s pretty fun to slide down the mountains in Pro Snowboarder. There are 8 tracks in all and include hot spots in Norden, CA, Aspen, CO, Kirkwood, CA, and South Lake Tahoe, CA. There are plenty of things to grind on like ski lifts, roof tops, fences – pretty much anything you see.
If you’re getting lonely on the mountain there are several versus modes for 2 players – Freestyle, Palmer X, Push, and Horse. Palmer X is a several lap race down the mountain, and Push is mode where tricks will push more of the split screen over to the person pulling off better tricks. The latter mode is a lot of fun, especially when your opponent has an inch-wide screen. If you don’t like the boarders in the game, you can create your own player in the Create Boarder mode with 4 styles of hair, faces, builds, jackets, and more.
The visuals are decent in Pro Snowboarder. The title runs at a solid 60 fps albeit in some low-res textures. The snow looks powdery and all the polygon models are solid. The rock music gets you pumped in the game, but if you’re not a rock fan, you’re not going to like it.
Shaun Palmer’s Pro Snowboarder is a decent start for the franchise. Everything standard that players expect from a “Pro” game is in there. But fans will have to wait for a sequel to see more freedom and variety in gameplay.
