Soaring down a powder coated mountain pulling off insane aerial stunts and
death defying back flips is probably what many people wish they had the skill to
perform. Snowboarding is a fairly popular extreme sport which is exciting to do
and watch. In addition to most of the extreme sport games on the Xbox, Amped
2 is definitely up there with the best of them. The original Amped was one of the very
few games that was available shortly after the launch of the Xbox. Now, about
two years later, Microsoft has released Amped 2. Along with the new game, there
were many new features including better gameplay, graphics, and the ability to
play on the Internet via Xbox Live.
Gameplay
Once you get into the game and start your own career, the main objective of
the game is to become a professional extreme snowboarder.
The main idea and gameplay of Amped 2 is extremely similar to the original
Amped game, however there are a few improvements since the first game.
First of all, the first thing that I noticed when playing this game is that
there is a lot more freedom in moving around the mountain, and there are more
trails that you can take instead of sticking to one course down it. On
each mountain there are at least three totally different trails that allow you
to go down the same mountain, some of them being more extreme, and some being
easier with a gentler slope.
There are a total of six different challenges on each mountain that you have to complete in order to raise your rank as a pro snowboarder.
Here is the list of the challenges:
High Score: Achieve a certain a high score amount by the end of the run.
Media Score: Make the people with the cameras happy and get a set amount
of points while the media is watching.
Sponsor: This is your chance to get sponsored by some big companies and
get some free stuff. The sponsor has to see you do a run, and they prefer certain
tricks. The more of this type of trick you do, the more they will like you and
the bigger chance you have of them being your sponsor. The prizes you get from
your sponsor can range from a free slice of pizza to a new snowboard.
Photo Shoot: In a photo shoot you are given one chance to get as many
points as possible off of a small area of a mountain.
Pro: When competing in a pro challenge, you have to follow behind a pro
boarder and try to outscore his or her moves. If you miss three of the moves, then
you will fail the challenge. If you are able to score higher than the pro, then you complete the challenge.
Own The Mountain: Own the mountain consists of getting new tricks, completing special gaps, and finding the hidden snowmen.
Another challenge that is separate from the mountain challenges is the
events mode:
Events: In an event, you are given a timed run on a mountain and the goal
is to outscore the other players. Placement in the event is determined at the
end of three runs by total score.
Multiplayer
Aside from the normal multiplayer, where you can only show off your skills
to just a few people, Amped 2 is compatible with Xbox Live. Instead begging your
parents or siblings to come play with you, if you go on Xbox Live there will
always be someone willing to take you on.
Graphics
The first thing that everyone first looks at when they turn on a game
is how good the graphics are, and how realistic the environment is. Amped 2's
graphics are definitely what video gamers would expect to see when they turn on
their Xbox. The mountains are realistic, as are the snow and player models. In the last Amped game, you were able to pick which color of clothes you
wanted to wear, and this was another area that was improved with more choices to make. For example, you
can choose to get a big puffy jacket, or go shirtless down the icy
mountains.
Aside from the actual looks of models in the game, the lighting in Amped 2 is
dramatically improved from the previous game. Some mountains even are played in
the nighttime where you can really see the difference in the lighting system.
The snow reflects a lot more in the night from lights on the
mountain, which was something that really impressed me.
Controls
Overall, they are quite similar to the original Amped. They are easy to use, and you feel
comfortable using them. However, if you are unsatisfied with them you can always
change them via the options menu.
The default controls are as follows:
Left Thumbstick- Break/Stop, Turn, Spin/Flip, Butter
Right Thumbstick- Grabs
Dpad- Free Look
Select- Reset Boarder
Start- Pause
A- Ollie/Jump, Accelerate
B- Jib/Railslide
Y- Lip Tricks
X- Snowskate (flip tricks)
L & R Triggers- Switch/Tweaks
Overall
Overall, Amped 2 is one of the best extreme sports games available for the Xbox.
Whether you enjoy these kinds of sports yourself, or just like watching them, this
game is well worth a try due to its improvements upon the already great original Amped game.
| The Core Score |
Overall
9 |
| Fun |
|
9 |
| Gameplay |
|
9 |
| Graphics |
|
8.9 |
| Audio |
|
8.5 |
| Replay |
|
9 |
|
