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Microsoft
- Price: £44.99
- Players: 1-4
Ampedis a snowboarding simulator which loses one vital aspect that I enjoyed inits closest rival,SSX Tricky, namelythe competitive race mode. This is akin to Quake 3 being equally irritatingbecause there’s no single-player mode to work my way through. That’s what wasbest about those games and since Quake 2 had online gaming options onthe PC, it seemed like sheer laziness not to include it in the sequel.
Hence, since it’s possible to practice away to your heart’s content in theSSX series, when it comes to Amped that’s all there is to do as youmeander down one course after another, testing out as many tricks as you canfrom the 1000 available along over 1500 jumps and rails. The better you do,the more you can progress.
Music-wise, the game contains 150 indie music tracks, but of course, if youwish to add your own it’s easy to do so given the Xbox’s ability to let yourip CD tracks to the console’s hard drive for the purpose of using themwithin the game itself.
It’s a realistic and life-like saunter down the piste, but the only bad sideto it is that one piece of the hill looks a lot like another, save for differenthumps and bumps, so a bit of variety wouldn’t go amiss. I never got bored withthe tracks in SSX Tricky, for example.
You’ll also be glad of the chance to put your own music into the game sincethe tracks supplied sound a bit on the flat side by comparison and the SFXaren’t much to get excited about. Again, I know I’m comparing, but in anSSX Tricky race withthe music, the booming voice and fireworks, it actually managed to create somekind of atmosphere – something severely lacking here.
The gameplay is much the same, with the addition that you have to hold downthe “B” button to guide yourself along a rail or the edge of something, ratherthan just landing on it. On the downside, when you inevitably do crash ittakes a while to get going again.
For those who must play Amped, I’d recommend you try before you buy.
SOUND EFFECTS AND MUSIC
PLAYABILITY
ENJOYMENT
OVERALL
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.