I know, I know, last year's game. But I just picked it up (again) a week ago, and this time I gave it a more open-minded try. Last year, I was too high on the opiate that you might know and love as SSX3.
Anyway, this game reaks of awesomeness. The online mode brings a lot of balance to this game, because the offline game can become extremely frustrating at times. Fortunately for Xbox Live gamers, being able to go online is a very relaxing reward. My basic formula for this game is to tackle a few offline challenges, reach my boiling point, hop online and relax, and then get back to the offline mode. But I might be getting ahead of myself a bit.
This is not a game like Rainbow Six 3 or Crimson Skies where you could totally ignore the offline campaign from the outset. If you want to be any good online, you are going to have to spend some time with your offline persona. Why? Because that is who you take online. Once you start a career, you can change your boarder's sex, clothing, hair style, you can basically customize to your heart's content. There are multiple challenges that will improve your ranking and unlock new runs and/or mountains, and passing certain thresholds will also allow you to increase various skills (spins, ollies, big air, balance, etc.). Do you want to hold your own against the best of the best online? Good luck! But spending time improving your boarder offline will go a long way towards making you somewhat respectable online.
While your boarder might not be as good as everyone around you, the good news is that all of the mountains, every last run, are available to you when you go online. You do not have to unlock them offline first. On one hand, it somewhat diminishes the feeling when you unlock them offline. On the other, it provides a nice bonus to those that are already paying $50/year for Xbox Live. Still, just because you can ride down that expert level slope, that does not mean you will be any good at it. Further, unlocking those mountains offline still provides you those opportunities to earn skill points to improve your boarder.
Beyond that, I absolutely love the seamless use of soundtracks. The music starts when the game starts, and it just keeps on playing until the game ends. Tracks do not skip or restart just because you are done with a particular run, or because you choose to restart (which you will do very often on things like photoshoots or sponsor events). The game has plenty of songs (I remember something like 300+ being advertised for it) spanning multiple genres. Personally, I have a nice selection of recent music on my Xbox, so I am an exclusive user of custom soundtracks, but you could also blend your tracks with those from the game, you do not have to exclusively use one or the other. You want a blend of Amped 2's rap and electronica offerings as well as your very own Yanni collection? Go for it!
Bottom line, I love this game. I've always enjoyed snowboarding games, from 1080 on Nintendo 64 to the SSX series this generation, and Amped 2 is a welcome and fitting addition to those great games. Amped 2 rocks!
Anyway, this game reaks of awesomeness. The online mode brings a lot of balance to this game, because the offline game can become extremely frustrating at times. Fortunately for Xbox Live gamers, being able to go online is a very relaxing reward. My basic formula for this game is to tackle a few offline challenges, reach my boiling point, hop online and relax, and then get back to the offline mode. But I might be getting ahead of myself a bit.
This is not a game like Rainbow Six 3 or Crimson Skies where you could totally ignore the offline campaign from the outset. If you want to be any good online, you are going to have to spend some time with your offline persona. Why? Because that is who you take online. Once you start a career, you can change your boarder's sex, clothing, hair style, you can basically customize to your heart's content. There are multiple challenges that will improve your ranking and unlock new runs and/or mountains, and passing certain thresholds will also allow you to increase various skills (spins, ollies, big air, balance, etc.). Do you want to hold your own against the best of the best online? Good luck! But spending time improving your boarder offline will go a long way towards making you somewhat respectable online.
While your boarder might not be as good as everyone around you, the good news is that all of the mountains, every last run, are available to you when you go online. You do not have to unlock them offline first. On one hand, it somewhat diminishes the feeling when you unlock them offline. On the other, it provides a nice bonus to those that are already paying $50/year for Xbox Live. Still, just because you can ride down that expert level slope, that does not mean you will be any good at it. Further, unlocking those mountains offline still provides you those opportunities to earn skill points to improve your boarder.
Beyond that, I absolutely love the seamless use of soundtracks. The music starts when the game starts, and it just keeps on playing until the game ends. Tracks do not skip or restart just because you are done with a particular run, or because you choose to restart (which you will do very often on things like photoshoots or sponsor events). The game has plenty of songs (I remember something like 300+ being advertised for it) spanning multiple genres. Personally, I have a nice selection of recent music on my Xbox, so I am an exclusive user of custom soundtracks, but you could also blend your tracks with those from the game, you do not have to exclusively use one or the other. You want a blend of Amped 2's rap and electronica offerings as well as your very own Yanni collection? Go for it!
Bottom line, I love this game. I've always enjoyed snowboarding games, from 1080 on Nintendo 64 to the SSX series this generation, and Amped 2 is a welcome and fitting addition to those great games. Amped 2 rocks!
