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11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Snow doubt this is a class game., 22 Oct 2003
I must admit when I first set eyes on Amped 2 I wasn't really expecting much, I had absolutely no interest in snowboarding and typically titles of this nature rarely keep my interest up for long, so nobody was more surprised than me when after a few plays I found myself completely and utterly hooked. I must admit I still have relatively little interest in snowboarding and this game doesn't actually make me want to strap a wooden plank to my feet and hurl myself to a certain death down a high mountain. But what it did change was my hatred of some of these high danger sport games that seem to be flooding the market. Amped 2 is actually rather entertaining, and it probably taught me a lesson or two, never judge a game by its DVD style presentation case.The reason I changed my mind was because I am a sucker for stats and high scores and this game has a plethora of options that constantly encourage the player to improve themselves. You often find yourself sneaking another quick go just to beat your current best score or your current ranking. You're never far away from an option that constantly encourages and pushes you to improve and it's done in such a stylish and sneaky way you don't mind picking up that gauntlet once again and the challenges it brings. The career mode is obviously where the brunt of the action takes place in Amped 2; you can create your snowboarder, and then build up the stats of that player. You obviously start out on the lowest rung on the ladder and must work your way up to a pro status and during that time unlock the extra features such as extra mountains and bonus videos featuring the real pro's out there. This is achieved in many different game modes such as impressing sponsors or showing your stuff on any of the believable mountain terrains on offer. Picking up the game is quite easy thanks to the excellent training mode which gently takes you through all the available manoeuvres your able to pull off, naturally at the start of the game in career mode your character will not really be up to much, its then up to you to build up your skill level and reputation by winning events. After a successful run you are awarded skill points that you delegate to your boarder to improve his abilities on the mountain. In turn this is quite a subtle way of unlocking the game in itself as with the standard setup you'll be heavily restricted in what you're able to pull off. After a few points added to certain attributes you'll slowly but surely be able to start pulling off even more dangerous (yet high scoring) stunts and as such will be able to progress further into the game. The sponsor mode is quite entertaining in itself. Each sponsor prefers certain stunts and anything else will reduce them to tears so it's quite important to keep the major sponsors happy during a run. Fortunately you are alerted as to what floats their boat and so you're quite prepared. The object is to keep the sponsors interest up during the run. This interest is represented by a bar at the top of the screen. When the sponsor is in total awe of your snowboarding abilities the bar will be "Amped" and it's your job to keep it this way to the end of the run and in doing so you'll unlock even more hidden features and your career rank will be increased even further. Graphically Amped2 is what you should expect from the Xbox nowadays everything looks as it should bar a few glitches here and there. The mountains are believable and the game shifts at a fast enough pace to make the run feel as it should. Perhaps the only downfall would be the indestructible banners that do not quite act as they should do if you crash into them but if you avoid them (which is obviously the point) it shouldn't detract from the gameplay. Clipping problems (which lets face it has always been a problem) return again on occasions but it is a rare phenomenon to give it credit. With over 300 indie tracks on offer from rock, hip hop, Hardcore, Rap, Ska, Reggae and surf rock and electrical music bands there really will be something for everyone, and from my own personal selection (rock) the actual bands were surprisingly very good and certainly some of the tracks might even inspire you to track down the artists. They all flow well when you are out on the mountains and along with the other effects mentioned do make an enjoyable experience. There are some slight graphical problems present like your snowboard (and feet) sometimes disappearing below the snow but that's a small problem in an otherwise very enjoyable and polished game. If you're looking for a decent title to play online or via split screen with many little extras to unlock to keep you busy throughout the winter nights then Amped 2 will be right up your mountain peak. As with most games of this type though, with a couple of friends around the Xbox the title really shines. As I mentioned I personally had absolutely no interest in the art of snowboarding before I played this game so if that in itself is holding you back then be assured that it shouldn't make one iota of a difference. Amped 2 is just a fun game to play and certainly with the training mode little knowledge of the sport is required while still remaining entertaining to fans of the genre. The added incentive of building your character and personally creating his or her stats really makes Amped 2 stand out from the crowd and of course showing your character off online with Xbox live is just the icing on an already well decorated cake. James Collins
www.icronticgames.com
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