Snowed In

Xbox 360™ owners anxiously awaiting a next-generation snowboarding experience can breathe a little easier this winter—Amped 3 is here.

Picking up where predecessor Amped 2 left off, the franchise (now in the capable hands of 2K Sports, who inherited the series from Microsoft Game Studios) puts as much emphasis on style as simulation. Purists can still rely on the signature physics modeling, gorgeous graphics, and sick tricks this industry-leading brand is known for, while fun-loving fans will enjoy a healthy dose of extreme sports culture.

In other words, the action is all about you: Your style, your urge to tweak and customize, and your likelihood of accidentally French-kissing the odd evergreen.

Next-generation snowboarding … games
just don't get any cooler than this.

Boot up the game, and notice an immediate difference; Amped 3 features not one, but a whopping seven new resorts. These frosty outdoor environments are huge too—some as much as three times larger than anything seen from the series to date.

Looking out over such massive mountain ranges, you'll see glistening snow, gleaming stretches of metal retails, massive boulders and lush carpets of greenery lying everywhere. Dotted with literally hundreds of challenges and objects you can launch into death-defying stunts off of, each setting radiates personality and charm. One almost gets the sensation of being on an alpine vacation more than simply sitting in front of the TV.

Beware the headless sportsman …

Before hitting the slopes though, start by creating and personalizing a digital double. Pick a male or female character model, then add tattoos, change facial features, and adjust body type. All sorts of clothing options are available too, letting you deck out alter-egos from head to toe with a fashion sense that matches your personality.

As for the giant, pink bunny suit you wear during the opening cinematic which introduces friends like den mother-type Hunter and the goofy Wienerboy, who join in on your single-player adventures? The less said the better.

Starting at the trail map, which provides an overhead view of various regions of the current mountain, choose from story challenges or random events. Completing the former advances the plot and opens new areas for play, while finishing the latter lets you unlock hidden secrets and earn fresh gear, purchased with Coin, the game's chosen form of currency.

Accessible at all times, the trail map is your one-stop guide to each peak, from which you can access any drop point or section of snowbound course. Use it to skip around from the front of the mountain to the top or sides at whim—load times are negligible.

Tricks of the trade.

By exploiting this feature, the game's designers provide an unfettered sense of freedom. Let's say you need to earn some respect points before certain courses become accessible. You decide you'd like to collect them by successfully performing a series of media callouts (challenges that demand you rip off specific tricks while a photographer takes pictures). Merely have at it; you can freely skip around between different snowboarding runs and restart botched events without having to wait while the disc spins.

I know you'll be psyched over the user-friendly control scheme too. By jiggling the directional pad and tapping various button combinations while airborne, you'll quickly bust out with an amazing array of spins, flips and grabs. By jiggling the analog joysticks and entering various button combinations while airborne, you'll quickly bust out with an amazing array of spins, flips and grabs. (Picture Tony Hawk's American Wasteland on ice.)

The excellent interface in the game extends beyond standard snowboarding action as well—you have the option of hopping on a sled or snowmobile whenever you like. While vehicles handle differently than boards (sleds require careful balancing, snowmobiles a knack for working the gas and brake pedals), you get the hang of controlling them in seconds.

Just as amazing as the game's open-ended setup and general versatility is its first-rate presentation. A patchwork visual style—imagine a collage of hand-drawn sketches, photo clippings and album covers—is reflected right down to the hyper-stylized menus and eccentric video clips which play between significant story events.

In keeping with the general aesthetic, characters' features are also strangely exaggerated, although they look equally stunning as the beautiful backgrounds you'll play on. An audio library full of amazing voice-overs and more than 300 songs from indie music labels such as Drive-Thru Records and Razor & Tie proves every bit as exceptional.

Do these pants make me look fat?

Be sure to try the park builder tool, which allows you to create custom courses. Constructing new playgrounds is as easy as placing dumpsters, buses, and picnic tables. The deeper you get into the game, the more cool props you'll gain access to. With the built-in editing utility at your fingertips, replay value is at an all-time high.

Together, it all adds up to one of the most radical snowboarding games ever seen. Amped 3—they just don't come cooler than this.

Article by Steve Richter