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Review:

16th December 2003:
1080 Avalanche
The snowboarding game that started the extreme sports genre is back - but has it evolved?
Posted by John Grothier - GameCube - UK and Europe

Five years ago one of my most requested games to play both pre and post pub was 1080 Snowboarding on the N64. For the first time snowboarding graced a console, and started a trend of racers that are very much in favour today. These were the days before SSX, and without 1080 Snowboarding, we may well have missed out on the genre. When I heard a couple of years ago that Nintendo were working on a sequel to 1080, and it was to be called 1080 Avalanche, I was just a little excited - but has this snowboarding game evolved?

It seems that Nintendo felt that they needed another console racer this year, and 1080 Avalanche seems to have taken that brief too much to heart. The game has an awkward trick system that seems superfluous to the gameplay, and the limited number of tracks available to race are even more limited in where you can guide your chosen snowboarder. Worse still 1080 Avalanche has introduced an 'Off-Balance' system, where after a bad landing or hitting an obstacle, you have to fight to regain your balance by turning the C-Stick in the required direction as fast as you can. While this system may well have looked like fun on paper, in practice it is infuriating and feels completely alien to the gameplay. Perhaps if you could have just moved the stick to the left or the right to shift your balance it may have worked, or by stabbing a pre-set button a few times as in SSX 3. But as it stands you have to wind the C-Stick at a frantic pace, often with no success, leaving your boarder in a heap. Worse still, sometimes the 'Off-Balance' system seems to come into effect when you are happily racing down the mountain, while other times you feel like you may well have landed awkwardly and got away with it.

1080 Avalanche has four main gameplay modes, these are 'Match race', Time Trial', 'Gate Challenge' and 'Trick Attack'. Match Race is the main part of the game, and players have to race one-on-one with other boarders to be first across the finish line. Once you win a set of races the next set opens up for other modes of play. Even this mode seems limited from the start, with just one other boarder to race with. When it comes to the last race in the series you get to actually outrun an avalanche, and arguably this is the most fun part of the entire game. Think of the avalanche parts of 1080 as bosses and you will get the right idea, although it would have been more fun if there were many more sections like this in the game. It is great fun to race down the mountain with trees crashing around you, boulders and snow breathing down you neck as the screen shakes violently. Even parts of the scenery like huts and shacks are destroyed convincingly as the snow crashes into them. After you complete one of these avalanche challenges you are given a handy 8-digit code to enter in the options menu so you can play them at will.

Time Trial is all about how quickly you can get down the mountain, but Nintendo have included five gold coins hidden in each course, and by collecting all five pieces you will be awarded with a gold coin, collect enough of these and you can unlock other boards to use in the game. Some boards will increase your speed and acceleration, while others are more suited to performing tricks. With Gate Challenge you must earn points while navigating your way down the course by going through gates - all against the clock. Each gate you pass through you will increase you score and time, in order to reach the next checkpoint. If you manage to earn a high enough score you will be awarded with a trophy, collect enough of these and further awards will become unlocked. Trick Attack will let your chosen border attempt many cunning stunts and tricks, using a combination of controls to try and build up combos. There are three specially designed stunt courses to choose from, Air-Make - a large jump, Half-Pipe - a half-pipe course that is perfect for trying for combos, and Terrain Park - which gives the player a chance to go all-out with tricks.

The graphics in 1080 Avalanche are nice and detailed, although not quite as polished as other snowboarding titles available for the console. The sense of speed, is however, well represented - with snow and ice flying at the screen to produce that 'tunnel' like effect while racing down the mountains. The courses are littered with life, swaying trees, birds flying in the sky, chipmunks scurrying around, as well as human life - skiers and snowmobiles, and on some of the later courses some interesting man-made hazards to avoid. The framerate is fairly constant, but unfortunately at times it dips, and you get the feeling that the game would have benefited much more with a stable framerate. The snowboarders themselves are well animated, and the game has some nice attention to detail like snow sticking onto the characters outfits as they race down the course. Music in the game is presented in Dolby Pro Logic II, and as well as some nice sound effects and ambient noises, players can choose which song to play through a juke-box type system as the course is loading. Bands include Cauterize, Finger Eleven, Boysetsfire and Seether - all of which I'm reliably informed have made an appearance in the 'hit parade'.

Overall 1080 Avalanche is a worthy addition to your snowboarding games library, but there are deeper, more polished titles already available for the GameCube. The awkward 'Off-Balance' system really spoiled the game for me, and sitting hunch-doubled in front of the television trying to move your right hand as rapidly as possible, may cause embarrassment if your loved ones happen to walk in the room.

John Grothier

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Review Summary:

The original snowboarding game is back. Choose from five boarders, each with their own strengths and weaknesses, and race down the mountain avoiding wild-life, other skiers and avalanches. No quite SSX, but 1080 Avalanche is a fast and furious racer, even though the 'Off-Balance' system may cause some serious frustration. 1-4 players.

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1080: Avalanche
for GameCube

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