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Developer: |
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| Microsoft Game Studios |
Microsoft Game Studios |
Sports |
1-4 |
Everyone |
Amped
Reviewed by: Ben
Amped is one of the most overlooked Xbox games around. In my opinion, it is another must own Xbox game. It is not like any other snowboarding game you have played before. Read on to find out why.
Gameplay: Although the core play of Amped is very similar to other games, it is completely different. In previous games, you would board down a pre determined path, and try and beat the level in a certain time, or try and rack up as many points as possible.
You play as a beginning snowboarder who hasn’t exactly made his way yet. His world ranking isn’t great, and he isn’t very well known, but all boarders have potential. In Amped, you have to complete a certain amount of points in each level to achieve a higher world ranking. The main thing that makes Amped unique is the media coverage scoring. When you perform tricks in front of photographers, you rack up more points, and your media score is raised. With enough media points, you can become famous. Weather it’s in a family newsletter, or the cover of a major magazine, you become famous.
The gameplay is simplistic and fun, and doesn’t become boring soon. You play though a number of absolutely huge mountains. There almost isn’t a place where you CAN’T go. Each mountain has a number of starting points, so you basically play a different fun each time.
Each level has a variety of different missions. You have to please the mountain’s sponsors. These can go from the chair lift guy, to DC Shoes. The other missions you have to complete are competitions against the mountain pros. You have to perform tricks where they do, and you have to beat the points they get on them. Sometimes these missions can be fun, but most of the time, they can be annoying and tedious
Each level also has eight hidden snowmen. You move up one world ranking when you find all eight. Sometimes it can be a real pain to find them all, but sometimes it’s funny to see where they are hiding.
The biggest problem with Amped, is that it is FULL of bugs. You cannot go though a level without one glitch. If you run into a rail, you will most likely fall underneath of it, and for some reason, you cannot escape from it. It takes about three tries to get out of there, with some well directed steering. The other common glitch is the point system. You can complete a huge combo, land it perfectly, and receive no points. This can be a major pain at times, especially if you are very close to your required point level to complete the level. One good glitch I found is that sometimes points add up that shouldn’t be there. You can get a few hundred thousand points for doing something you didn’t do. Although it may sound a bit cheap, it is kind of cool.
Amped is a must own for anyone that loves the genre, or likes fast paced gameplay with a great soundtrack.
Graphics: Amped is the best looking snowboarding game-up-to-date. The characters movements are very accurate to real life, and the levels are richly detailed.
Every character has clothing that looks and acts like real clothing. It moves with the boarder. The boarders look very life-like, and detailed.
The levels are so perfectly detailed; you might mistake them for real life. Paths are left in the snow where you have boarded, and snow flies up as you make tight turns. If you hit a tree, snow will fall, and the tree will shake. There is not an aspect of the mountain that has been overlooked. There is so much detail, you actually have to stop playing, and just look at the environment.
Controls: Like most extreme sports games, the controls are simplistic, but is that a bad thing? All the standards, jump, grind, switch, are all there. All the basic moves are one button press. Combos are not too difficult to pull off either. Press every button you can, and try and land it. Simple. The secondary black and white buttons are used to toggle camera, and the music play list.
Replay: Like Tony Hawk, you can play Amped for hours on end. You almost never get board. There are tons of missions to complete, and levels to explore.
The multi-player aspect is not terribly interesting, and isn’t used very much. It is based on turn play, instead of split screen. This feature could have turned out a lot better, but didn’t.
Sound: The music in Amped is one of the main reasons why people buy the game. With over 150 music tracks from a variety of indie labels, it’s very unlikely that you have ever heard the music before. Surprisingly, the choice of music suits the game well. If you don’t agree, Amped supports custom soundtracks. You can listen to anything you want in any combination. The Amped soundtrack has been divided into different genres, such as punk, rock, ska, etc. If you don’t like a song, you don’t have to play it. If you want a few songs from the game, but also want a few of your own, it can be done.
Overall Presentation:
Scores:
Gameplay:  8
Graphics:  9
Controls: 9
Replay: 8
Sound: 9
Total Score: 8.6
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