 |
|
|
| | | | | | |
|
|
|
 intendo (not necessarily its licensees) sure knows how to crank out hit after hit. From some of the same people that brought us Wave Race 64 comes the most realistic snowboarding game ever created, and one of the most enjoyable as well.
Last month I reviewed Snowboard Kids from Atlus and, for the most part, 1080° is better in almost every facet. The most glaring improvements are the control and the variety of boards. There are five different riders available to choose from, each with his or her own characteristics. In addition you get a wide variety of boards to choose from. While Snowboard Kids initially only had three choices, 1080° features eight different boards from the get-go. Each board and rider has their own advantages, but no matter which combination I picked I never had the slow and sluggish feeling I've felt in other snowboarding games.
Control is fairly straight forward and a breeze to learn to the basic moves. The control stick is used perfectly by allowing the player to maneuver the board in a seemingly infinite amount of ways. Adding a little pressure to the analogue stick will cause the board to shred some more snow, which will result in a sharper turn. Pushing the stick hard to the lower left or right allows for sharp turning and slowing down. The "A" button jumps and the "B" button causes your rider to grab the board while in the air. By combining the "B" button and control stick movements, there are at least eleven different grabs. In addition, there are at least six entirely separate spin tricks that can be performed by using the top "R" button and various control stick rotations. Many of these moves are similar to the tricks found in Wave Race 64 and will require patience and practice to pull off successfully.
|
|
The excellent practice mode lets you take the halfpipe or tackle a multiple jump course.
|
|
|
There are several modes of play available in 1080°. The basic game is the Match Race. In this mode you will play head to head with the computer-controlled rider. There are three different difficulty levels, but you can only choose the normal setting until you've conquered all four tracks found there. Once you've successfully completed the normal level you can move on to the hard setting, which has five courses, and a more difficult computer AI. Finally there's the expert level which will allow you to board on all six courses found in the game. A unique mode to play is the Contest. Instead of racing against another player, you simply try to earn points by weaving in and out of flags scattered throughout the courses and performing tricks to gain points. The high scores are automatically saved to the cartridge. This is actually of the most fun areas of the game to play and a good practice mode. The other modes of play are fairly self-explanatory, and they are Time Attack, Trick Attack, Training, and 2 Player VS. It should be noted that the Training Mode is incredibly useful in learning the various tricks in the game. There's a half-pipe area that is not only a lot of fun to play but can also teach you how to control your board. Really the only thing missing is a 4-player mode. If you won't buy a game unless it features 4 player action then Snowboard Kids might actually be a better purchase even though its less realistic graphically and play-wise.
Speaking of graphics, this game simply rises above other snowboarding games in every way imaginable. Each course has its own look and style to it. Weather conditions play a large part in helping out the diversity of the different levels. The sun flares are simply magnificent and the lighting actually casts a realistic shadow of the two boarders on the course. Some levels are made more difficult by the addition of blizzard-like conditions, which makes it hard to see the upcoming turns and jumps on the course. The snow is done extraordinarily well. The real deep stuff will throw powder up in the air and at the screen, making it more difficult to see, but cool nonetheless. The 2-player mode doesn't suffer from any slowdown at all, and neither does the 1 player mode except in a very few areas, which is easily forgivable given the amount of detail incorporated into the cart. The characters all look great and even the Tommy Hilfiger clothing blows in the wind. All of the boards were designed by Lamar and look pretty cool.
The game does fall a bit short in the music area. I'll give it credit for being different from all the other music found on the N64, but different isn't always good. Some of the tunes are bass thumping and really do a good job of getting you in the spirit of playing the game. Most of the tracks throw in tidbits of voice, which is kind of cool but it is often difficult to understand what is being said. Even worse, when you figure out what they are saying you wonder why they're even saying it ("This is a test….This is only a test"). Granted, some of the gamers out there are sure to eat this kind of music up, but I found it more distracting than I would have liked.
|
|
The lighting and the effects of the wind on the clothing is quite impressive.
|
|
The sound effects, however, are fantastic. The sound of the board whipping through the snow sounds authentic to me (although, I'm the first to admit I've never been snowboarding before so I'm not one to judge the accuracy). When you hit the side of a mountain or cruise over ice and rocks the sounds change accordingly. Most of the courses, especially those where a raging snowstorm is taking place, the wind can clearly be heard in the background, thus adding aural realism to the game as well.
As with nearly every N64 game, 1080° is Rumble Pak compatible. The programmers did a great job in translating the on-screen action into the various vibrations you'll feel in the control pad. Every different terrain feels a bit different. You'll definitely feel each jump and tumble to the ground.
Overall, I found 1080° to be one of the most realistic and fun games ever created. What really sets this game apart from the rest of the pack are its exquisite graphics and near-perfect control. I'm impressed that Nintendo was able to crank this game out in under a year. Without all the hype that some of its games get, I hope this one won't be overlooked by gamers when it comes to buy a new game. Even if you're not a fan of snowboarding, I suggest you check this title out. It's easily one of those games that are just fun to play. Isn't that what gaming is all about?
-- Craig Majaski
|
|
|
|
|
Gaming Age Online is Copyright © 1997. All Rights Reserved.
|
|
|
|
