1080°: Avalanche

THE BAD:
Some Bad Graphics, Short Courses, Not Enough Courses or Characters

SUMMARY:
1080 Snowboarding was a game of it's time. If I am correct, it was the first snowboarding game ever created for a console. Also, it holds a place in my heart as the best sports game ever created. And I hate sports games. So, when 1080: Avalanche was announced, alot of people got very excited. Is it better than its predicessor? Of course not. But it is a decent snowboarding game.

Let's start with the good things. The course designs in this game are very cool looking and detailed. You see deer in the background, trains chugging along the tracks, and trees swaying in the wind. Really, really nice. It really puts you in the mood to shred. Also, the overall sound is extremly well done. When you turn, you can hear the snow beneath your board. When you jump, you can hear your charcter grunt. When an avalanche happens, you hear rocks rolling, snow falling, trees and building falling, and your boarder breath heavily. The soundtrack is also awesome. With some well known bands, such as Finger 11 and Seether, lesser known bands, like Cauterize and Boy Sets Fire, along with some origional music, mostly every song fits every course. Some courses favor diffrent songs, like a heavy guitar for avalanche courses, or "Fine Again" by Seether for a quite ride through the mountains during a sunset. Awesome stuff. And for modes, there's more than just racing down the mountain. Travel through gates, perform tricks, or find coins to buy aditional boards. Very sweet.

Probably noticing me talking all about avalanches, right? Well, one of the best parts of this game are the nature effects. Cave ins, rockslides, and of course, avalanches. Each adds strategy to each course and a sudden rush of addrenaline. Imagine riding down a mountain as you can feel the cold snow brush up against the hair on your neck. Trees behind you collapse to the infinate power of the avalanche behind you. A simple sloppy landing, and your nothing but a myth. Amazing.

And, of course, there is a ying to the yang. And to say, this game has a hell of a ying. First off, even though the courses look good, the characters don't look great. Which is bad. Sure, there clothes and hair flop in the wind. But there faces look..... wrong. Also, the animations are the same for every character. Not a very big problem, but the next two are. The courses are basically very short. As in, no course is over two minutes long. As soon as you get into it, its over, just like Thanksgiving dinner. And, in the beggining of the game, there are five characters. And that's all you get. No joke. Sure, you get two diffrent costumes for every character, but it ain't the same. And in addition to the short courses, there is a very little ammount of courses. I mean, small. Like, under twenty. So, after awhile, you have no need to play the game. Not very good replayability.

All in all, this game does not even come close to what 1080 was all about. But still. For the Gamecube, this is probably the best exclusive snoboarding game out there. Problem is, it's the only one.