WINTER X GAMES SNOWBOARDING 2 (PS2)


Taking snow sports to extreme highs

By TOM FAHEY

Finally - a non-arcade style snowboarding game! No more 3000 metre airs, no more 612 black flips, no more 28,000° spins.

And, especially, no more snowboarding on giant ice burgs! The wizards at Konami have presented us with a quality simulator - a simulator that's been long over due....

Not that I have anything against simulators, but it is nice for a change to have a realistic snowboarding experience on the PS2. Winter X Games Snowboarding 2 (WXGS2), also known as Winter X Games Snowboarding 2002 in other territories, has several different game modes, each designed to present you with varying game play.

To start with, there is the 'Extreme Games' mode. Here you can select you favourite snowboarder or, alternatively, the one with the best statistics, and enter the X Games.

There are several competitions in which you can compete that include a free run where you gain as many points as possible; the big air where you have one jump to pull off the most insane trick you can; the half-pipe and several others. All of which give you a great variation in game play, as the game style changes with the courses.

There is a multiplayer mode, which I think speaks for itself, and the main game mode where the real talent lays - called the 'Snowboarder' mode. No brownie points for originality though....

Here, you can create you own boarder, including facial details, height, weight, gender and so on. Once created, you start off in a small town consisting of three courses, a shop, a gym, and your humble abode. Even an airport becomes available as you progress further into the game.

The most important element, however, is the shop. You can buy new equipment, from clothes to snowboards; apply for film clips (for extra money and fame); and most importantly register in various events.

Such events differ from city to city, but to start with you have free ride and time attack. By competing in these events, you can earn yourself money, new equipment, and improve your skill ratings. The more you snowboard, the better you get.

At the gym, you can spend money to improve your skill in various areas, but be careful - this doesn't come cheap. You'd be better off levelling up your character in the snow - but it does come in handy from time to time.

Almost like an RPG, you can increase you characters' snowboarding skills. Such skills include: jumping, grinding, turning, speed and so forth. There are about fifteen in total.

Eventually, after about 30+ hours of game play, you character's skills can become so defined that you'll be competing in the Extreme Games along side the real champions - this being the peak of the game.

There must be at least thirty snowboarding brands in WXGS2. You've got the clothes brands, board brands, eye ware, boots... You name it - this game has it. Furthermore, the gear looks really good when speeding down a course at about 90km/h - like Amped on the Xbox, they flap about simulating the break-neck speeds that you achieve, which is immeasurably pleasing to the eye.

And the graphics don't just stop there. The courses have great detail, and most of all, very natural and smooth designs. The snow that your board kicks up looks really neat as well, not to mention the trails you leave behind. This last graphical effect looks particularly nice in the replays.

There is also a solid range of music in WXGS2. In the loading screen for each event, you are presented with the song titles, so you can take your pick, which is a really great idea.

It would be good to see more of this in other games, in fact. The commentator is a bit of an idiot, but what more can you expect from a computer game? It's just recorded sound bytes triggered by bails or good moves, really...

At the end of a cold day at the snow, Winter X Games Snowboarding 2 is one of the best extreme sports simulators around. Sure, it doesn't rival the insane trickery of SSX, nor has it the vivid colours and course designs of Sled Storm - but it has its own realistic styles and plenty of interesting game modes, which have been lost for a long time in the stark videogaming alpine regions.

This title comes highly recommended, especially to any snowboarders out there, plus any other simulation fans who crave a little more realism than most. Konami, you've done well.

ORIGINALITY 90%
SOUND/GRAPHICS 90%
PLAYABILITY 80%
ADDICTION 80%
ENJOYMENT 80%