Stoked on Powder

Published March 6, 2009

Destineer's celebration of snowboarding, Stoked, is available now and it's reintroducing gamers to the frost-tinged pleasures of perfect powder, stylish runs, and head-spinning combos. Featuring a series of jaw-dropping mountain peaks across the world, including Chile, Alaska, and Japan, intuitive controls, and an expansive career mode, Stoked glorifies snowboarding culture and a perfect snowboarding run.

Nice form.

Right Stick Bliss

You begin Stoked in a helicopter, dwarfed by the massive scale of the mountain as you climb upward near the summit. Upon landing you'll greet world-renowned snowboard champion Wolle Nyvelt, your guide to all things snowboarding.

Similar to Skate 2, Stoked uses the Right Thumbstick to power its ollies, butters, and grabs. This easy-to-understand approach creates a much more tactile satisfaction when pulling off tricks, as the movement you make on the stick translates perfectly to your rider's action.

There's only one question. Will you Huck or Style?

For example, if you press up-and-left on the stick after launching into an epic aerial, your rider will grab that section of the board, executing the evocatively named Chicken Salad trick. Each grab is broken down by which hand you use, so you have access to a full suite of tricks for your left hand, right hand, and both hands. Just use the appropriate trigger (Left Trigger for left hand) in conjunction with your motion on the Right Thumbstick to access a staggering variety of moves.

Style Versus Substance

Most snowboarding games err on the side of crazy combos or graceful acrobatics, but in a rare and much-appreciated move, Stoked embraces both styles. Indeed, the game urges you to choose between Styling or Hucking, with Hucking focusing on performing as many moves as possible before touching back down on the powder. Depending on which style you choose, tricks and abilities are unlocked particular to that type of riding.

It's a long way down. Just the way I like it.

Should you choose to take the more graceful approach, you'll need to master a more subtle mechanic to execute them properly. Standard grabs can be pulled off by cranking the Right Thumbstick all the way over in the desired direction, but you'll have to gently move the Thumbstick only halfway toward the edge if you want to wow the crowd with a tweaked trick.

Challenge Time

When tackling your mountain of choice, you have free reign to pick a section and shred to your heart's delight as you rack up high scores with deliciously executed runs. High scores are automatically uploaded to a global Leaderboard if you're connected to Xbox LIVE®.

The challenges you encounter in these free-roaming runs offer the promise of earning fame and making a name for yourself. Choose a Stick a Trick challenge and you must mimic a combination of tricks (say, Frontside Boardslide into Stalefish) to best the challenge and earn your props. Earn enough Fame Points and you'll unlock access to new mountains, challenges, gear, and even sponsorships.

The more challenges you dominate, the more sophisticated they become. Fear not though, for Stoked features a Grab Bible, which grants quick and easy access to the game's trick list. Tap Start at any time if you need a refresher on how to pull off a required trick.

Nice capture!

Community Snowboarding

Snowboarding is at its very heart a community-based sport. Shredding runs with a fully loaded complement of sick tricks is good times even when done solo, but when your friends ooh, ah, or explode in disbelief after you execute a nearly impossible trick, the level of satisfaction reaches new heights. And, when you face-plant into the snow after attempting an ill-conceived triple backflip, the ensuing hilarity is heightened considerably by the crowd ribbing you.

Stoked brings you instant access to the Xbox LIVE community no matter what you're doing. Tap up on the D-Pad to start an online session, and you and your friends can enjoy free-roaming runs or focused competitions. You can also set rally points wherever you want, allowing you to set up creative on-the-fly runs.

You can even take photos of your buddies in action, perhaps setting up shop at the bottom of an epic jump to capture a rider's acrobatics mid-flight. Pick the best of your photos to commemorate your favorite events in your Stoked Scrapbook.

Stoked is available now on Xbox 360®, and the virtual powder and mountaintops are beckoning. There's only one question. Will you Huck or Style? The choice is yours.

Article by Ryan Treit