The only name that used to appear in our minds when talking about Skateboarding games was Tony Hawks. The same way, when talking about snowboarding games, it is all about Stoked: Big Air Edition. It was first released in North America during the year 2009. Even though we are in 2011 with many other great games on the rise, don’t let the release time of Stoked Big Air Edition deceive you. This amazing game still has more than enough game-play functionalities to allow it to stand against today’s big releases.
Storyline
As soon as you get on board, you will need to design your snowboarder. You will have a variety of licensed clothing to choose from. To get familiar with the terrains and mountains, there are some basic tutorials as well.
The goal of the game is to be the best snowboarder and get comprehensive command over various snowboarding skills. After each campaign completion, you’ll gain Influence Points, which helps unlock various items for your snowboarder and will be eligible to give a test through, for which you get a chance to get new sponsors.
Gameplay
You need to perform various tricks such as Frontside 360, or a Crail grab. But don’t worry as a useful part of this game is that it will also help guide you with the controls and how to perform the best tricks of snowboarding.
However, the controls might be technically and logically sound, but from a practical perspective, they may take some getting used to. But as they say, practice makes a man perfect. You will need to practice a lot to get a grasp of the controls and triggers to ensure you manage the tricks properly; otherwise it could be quite difficult. There is a scope for a ton of moves and tricks.
The game’s spawning system isn’t quite the best though. For example, you will be consistently spawned back if you hit a wall, so you keep hitting it repeatedly because you cannot reverse. It can be very annoying in events where there are a limited number of bails available to you.
Graphics
The game has decent graphics. The main landscape is the snow, which is simulated reasonably with great varieties and options. The day and night effect is implemented as well, but it can be a bit detracting as at certain times of the day it gets too black, which makes it difficult to avoid obstacles.
Conclusion
This game has a great replay value as completing the tasks on one mountain will take a considerable amount of time. You can add this with six more mountains and their tasks. Along with that, online play and leader boards are also available to share your scores with the world. The controls will take some mastering. Stoked: Big Air Edition remains a great game for all snowboarding lovers.
