Amped 3
Though I am known for enjoying a wide range of games, there still exists a large number of genres I haven't really explored. I rarely play sports titles, dating sims, RTS games, city simulators or skateboarding and snowboarding games. I've watched a whole bunch of other people playing Tony Hawk and I once tried the Skate demo; I've seen 1080 on the N64 and SSX, but never went out of my way to buy any of them.
However, on one of my birthdays a good friend of mine whom I snowboarded with regularly bought me Amped 3 for the Xbox 360. It really was a brilliant game I had never heard of. Amped 3 is exactly what I needed for the summer months when the snowhills aren't snowhills at all and instead covered in sad dirt and rocks.
The controls are fantastic, the physics reliable and the whole thing looks as crisp as a nice cold day at the slopes. Being on a modern console, view distance is not an issue and standing atop of a huge mountain you can see the path you want to take all the way to the bottom. A path full of mini-games, story bits and all kinds of natural and man-mad terrain.
Amped 3 isn't just about going downhill either. Though it's not necessarily the main focus of the game, there is a neat little story that you can make your way through by completing various challenges in order to earn money. It's bizarre and full of crazy cutscenes which follow all the kinds of themes you'd discover on the print-side of a snowboard. Design heavy paper-puppets, anime and life-action videos are littered throughout the story and each look like they were hilarious to produce. It's a nice touch to a game that you may otherwise get board of. (But you don't.)
Amped 3 is the kind of game you can pop in the tray anytime you feel like relaxing, having friend over, or if you want a game for the kids to play. Since you're always sliding downhill, it's fun even if you're not doing it right. And of course, it's perfect for the summertime when you just can't make it to the slopes, just as playing MotoGP during the winter cures my motorcycle blues.
However, on one of my birthdays a good friend of mine whom I snowboarded with regularly bought me Amped 3 for the Xbox 360. It really was a brilliant game I had never heard of. Amped 3 is exactly what I needed for the summer months when the snowhills aren't snowhills at all and instead covered in sad dirt and rocks.
The controls are fantastic, the physics reliable and the whole thing looks as crisp as a nice cold day at the slopes. Being on a modern console, view distance is not an issue and standing atop of a huge mountain you can see the path you want to take all the way to the bottom. A path full of mini-games, story bits and all kinds of natural and man-mad terrain.
Amped 3 isn't just about going downhill either. Though it's not necessarily the main focus of the game, there is a neat little story that you can make your way through by completing various challenges in order to earn money. It's bizarre and full of crazy cutscenes which follow all the kinds of themes you'd discover on the print-side of a snowboard. Design heavy paper-puppets, anime and life-action videos are littered throughout the story and each look like they were hilarious to produce. It's a nice touch to a game that you may otherwise get board of. (But you don't.)
Amped 3 is the kind of game you can pop in the tray anytime you feel like relaxing, having friend over, or if you want a game for the kids to play. Since you're always sliding downhill, it's fun even if you're not doing it right. And of course, it's perfect for the summertime when you just can't make it to the slopes, just as playing MotoGP during the winter cures my motorcycle blues.
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