E3 2003 – First
Look
There’s nothing
like grabbing a few friends, cruising up to a local ski resort and boarding down
the mountain exploring every nook and cranny. Unfortunately, summer puts a huge
damper on that option. This summer, thanks to Amped 2 from XSN Sports, the
heated months won’t restrain these snowbound soirees.
Amped 2 contains 7
new mountains, all bigger with longer runs. Each mountain is based on a real
resort from around the world and the entire mountain is mapped. Some runs will
concentrate on tricking, some on downhill, and others on free-riding through
powder. Two new trick families have been introduced to the repertoire. Butters
(leaning on one end of the board causing the other end to lift up) and lip
tricks like stalls and handplants on edges of objects. In addition, tricks can
be landed for style points. As developer Ben Arndt noted, “Snowboarders don’t
just try and land insane twists or flips, they want to look good doing it.”
Thus a smoothly performed 360 may score more than a rusty 720.
Last year’s Amped
included media tricks which could earn big points when performed in front of one
of several cameras on the slopes. The tricks would be photographed, and a
flipbook of photographs would save to the Xbox hard drive for viewing later.
This year, video media tricks have been added so boarders could send their
tricks in full motion to their friends. It’s a clever way of playing ‘anything
you can do I can do better’ and should be a huge hit in this year’s version.
Another aspect of
the game sure to impress gamers is the Xbox Live capability. In the Xbox Live
portion, 8 riders can simultaneously ride a mountain and play games of Tag, King
of the Mountain, or the peace-loving freeride. Flying via helicopter up to the
beginning of a course shows a full scale of the mountain, and even includes the
on-line boarders on the mountain. After dropping off of the chopper, the ride
seamlessly begins. Amped 2 will also offer XSN support for boarders who like a
little competition.
Amped 2 shreds the
shelves this holiday season.
