Overall Rating

Amped (Xbox) - story1There may be a shortage of snow this winter, but there's plenty of virtual snow on the Xbox. "SSX Tricky" and "Dark Summit" are already on store shelves, and now we have "Amped," which takes the sport a bit more seriously. That's not to say "Amped" has no tricks. Tricks play an even greater role here than in most snowboarding games, but these tricks are more realistic. Less crazy. Or, to compare it to another game, less tricky.

Winning races isn't the goal of "Amped." You beat your opponents by performing tricks with panache, athleticism, boldness, and skill, and most importantly by doing tricks in front of the media, just like real-life snowboarders. Strategically located throughout "Amped's" wide-open and gorgeously rendered runs you'll find sports paparazzi ready to snap a few rolls of your wicked tricks, or to scold you should you fall. Will you make the covers of all the extreme magazines and get sponsored by some ultracool equipment manufacturer, or will you fall face first in the powder and cry like a baby? Play it long enough and "Amped" will let you do both, starting with the latter.

Controlled descent

"Amped" isn't so much difficult as demanding. It's a little counterintuitive for gamers used to the likes of "SSX Tricky" or even "Tony Hawk." For one thing, the controls are sensitive. Also, real-world physics apply to this game. Land with your board facing other than forward and you will go down, and go down hard. The result is a greater number of falls and, at first, a sluggish ride. "Amped" also uses its own control scheme rather than faithfully copying a more familiar system. For example, keeping balance during your grind involves the left and right triggers, rather than the much more intuitive control stick. The triggers are also used for leaning, and the airtime is a lot shorter than in "SSX," so chaining tricks becomes much more dangerous. But there's something more satisfying about accomplishing these more realistic tricks, especially in front of a cameraman. And the control scheme and style of the game become second nature soon enough.

Amped (Xbox) - story2Deep, freshly fallen gameplay

"Amped" offers several mountains, each with demarked runs. You'll be frustrated by the lack of a tutorial mode or "bunny hill," until you realize that the first two runs are practice runs. There's no race to win -- it's just you vs. a pro. The pro has 50,000 points and you've got to beat that score to advance. Four runs of varying difficulty are unlocked from the start, so there's plenty of time to learn and plenty of space to experiment on. Still, a tutorial level would've helped gamers who are averse to reading the manual.

Instead of a race mode, "Amped" offers four types of runs. There's the Score run, which challenges you to shoot for the highest score possible on your way down the hill. You win no points unless you land perfectly, and repeating tricks results in a lower score each time.

The Media run is the same as the Score run, except that there are greater points offered for tricks performed near photographers. A red camera icon appears whenever you're near a camera, so you'll know when to bust your best moves. This mode also yields viewable clips in your scrapbook and can lead to company sponsorship.

The last two modes open once you've scored enough points. First you can challenge one of the champions to a race. The game puts you right behind him, and you've got to outperform him trick for trick. Do well in this extremely challenging mode and you'll be rewarded with new moves you can use in future runs. And finally there's the odd Explorer Challenge mode, which is a hunt for eight snowmen. Find them and smash them back to powder.

There is no split-screen multiplayer mode, which is disappointing, but a split-screen mode would take up too much space when you're performing challenging tricks. As consolation, "Amped" lets you and a friend play alternate runs for points.

Amped (Xbox) - story3Clean and sparkling snow

"Amped" isn't the best-looking Xbox game. The character models are blocky and lack flash. Nonetheless, the game is realistic and broad. Everything in "Amped" looks real, from the object scale and fountains of powder to the awesome weather effects (including a snowstorm) and the sunlight sparkling off the newly fallen snow. There is no slowdown or noticeable decrease in frame rate at any time, despite the sheer number of objects -- including rails, chalets, and park benches -- all on the screen at once and never once "popping up." This is even more impressive when you consider how huge these maps are. There's almost no limit to the level design. The freedom of movement is exhilarating.

The audio is clean and often hilarious, particularly the taunts and compliments from rival boarders and the cameramen. They let you know, frequently, how well you're doing (or how much you suck). The game also ships with several tunes from various bands. Most are innocuous, and some are inappropriate and annoying, but if you want better tunes, you can rip your own MP3s from your CDs onto the Xbox hard drive. Microsoft deserves credit for putting a "skip track" button on the controller.

"Amped" isn't the most fun-filled snowboarding game you can buy, but it's easily the deepest and most satisfying. When playing "Amped" you aren't racing, you're fighting for points and sponsorship. You can use experience points to customize your character, unlock new runs, and store cool saved videos you can show your friends. That's what gaming and simulations are made from, and that's what makes "Amped" the first real snowboarding sim to hit the slopes.