I don’t get it. Amped 2 has incorporated two different methods for earning points. The first seems perfectly reasonable: You do hot tricks, and you do them as neatly as you can. That much I understand. When you’re out there in the park, it’s no time to express your individuality. You’re there to show up everyone else by doing exactly what they’re doing, but with better technique. That’s what’s going to impress the judges.
Excuse me for interrupting, Violet, but I gotta speak up. Get your head out of the snow. If I were a judge, I’d be snoozing through your runs. Nothing personal, but you’ll never make your mark if you don’t add some pizzazz to your tricks.
The Philosophy of Riding Alex? Ladies and gentleman, may I present Mr. Alex McLain, another of our regular writers here at Xbox.com. Are you throwing down the gauntlet, sir? You think you’ve got what it takes to debate me? Bring it on, little man. I’m saying that technical perfection is what’s really important. All that fancy stuff you throw in on your rides, like spinning an extra 3/4 turn on your jumps, doesn’t impress anyone. How can you expect to win competitions when you’re out there flapping your wings and prancing through the pipe like a gander in heat?
It’s all about the funk, Violet. Set your spirit free and ride the rail like it’s taking you straight to heaven. Where’s your sense of joy? C’mon! It’s about innovation, about creativity and pushing the envelope. The judges remember the boarders who put that extra bit of spice into their tricks. It doesn’t have to be perfect, so long as it looks good and makes the crowd go, “Oooooh, ahhhhhhhh!” Where’s your sense of adventure?
Caught on Camera What about the cameras, Al? You know you have to play to the cameras. If you start getting too fancy, you might end up with a picture of you looking off-balance or with your arms flailing around because you were worrying about doing something showy instead of making it sharp. Who’s behind the cameras, Alex? The media, that’s who, and they’re the ones who are going to bring you sponsors. All it takes is one picture out there with your butt crack showing because you were being creative and bam! You just lost your free stuff.
Nah! Who cares what the sponsors think? They follow the fans, and the fans want flash. They want to see you tuck your head between your knees and double-roll off the edge of the bowl. They want tricks and stunts and razzamatazz! And if the fans like it, so do the sponsors. The media is just there to document it all. When I’m out on the slopes, I could be naked and it wouldn’t matter. All that matters is my relationship with the mountain. It’s all about passion.
Scoring Lean and mean, that’s how I like to ride. You should do the tricks like they were surgical steel. Slash! And you’re through the epidermis. Slash again! And you’ve cut straight to the heart. No unnecessary movement means efficiency. It’s a beautiful thing. You should try it.
You make riding sound like downhill skiing. Snowboarding is more like figure skating, but there’s no preset choreography, and there are lots more bumps and bruises. It’s about expressing who you are. Being the best you can be.
That’s what I’m talking about. Being the best you can be. Not frolicking. This is serious business.
See, what we’re having here is a right brain/left brain discussion. You need to learn to think outside the box, Violet, or outside the pipe as the case may be. Besides, if style is so unimportant, then how come Amped 2 has made it possible to score points with both technique and style? Those folks are the experts. They know what we like, and they know that no two boarders are the same. Some like that extra sugar in their coffee; others like it black. How about we just agree to disagree?
Truce Fortunately, Amped 2 does give you the ability to express yourself, no matter what silly ideas you have in your head about how to go about doing it. Whether you’re earning technical points or points for style, they all go into one pool and count toward your overall score. No one has to feel like his or her creativity (or lack thereof) is stifled in Amped 2.
That’s right. Go on and let your tricking freak ride free!
