I like genre mashups. Some really creative ideas can come about when the typical rules of genres are ignored, in favor of something new. And there just don't seem to be that many new experiences (at least ones with a decent budget) in gaming, so I get excited when I see something truly new that's also well done.
This game is a mixed bag. The premise is that a group of rebellious young snowboarders are trying to expose some kind of military conspiracy at a ski resort. The ski resort is certainly strange, with lots of pools of acid, exploding boxes, and other miscellany that should look suspicious to just about anyone who notices what's plainly in front of them. Ominous music plays as the player snowboards down the slope, avoids or crashes into the skiiers (none of whom appreciate snowboarders on their mountain), navigates obstacles, and performs mission objectives.
Mission objectives can be anything, and for a large chunk of the game, they're little more than "demonstrate your ability to ____", which will involve performing various stunts or grinding on rails or collecting whatever. It's not until much later in the game that your objectives start to feel like you're actually on an important mission.
There are a few problems though that really get in the way.
Our cool, rebellious young snowboarders don't look cool, rebellious, or all that young. Their character design is a bit awkward, making them feel more like, to paraphrase an opinion I'd read elsewhere, "a group of adults going through a midlife crisis who'd taken up snowboarding as a hobby". I do like the unique physics of Naya's really long gravity-defying ponytail, though.
There's also the fact that the gameplay basically involves snowboarding down the same part of the mountain again and again. New missions open up each time, and there are some alternate routes, but you're repeatedly snowboarding down the same mountain looking for new missions to do so you can earn more points, eventually allowing you access to other parts of the mountain (and tougher missions).
And then there's the play control. It just feels a bit stiff and slow in many ways. This is a problem, but not an insurmountable one.
It's a rather flawed game, but the idea behind it is so creative and original.
Extreme sports meets adventure
I like genre mashups. Some really creative ideas can come about when the typical rules of genres are ignored, in favor of something new. And there just don't seem to be that many new experiences (at least ones with a decent budget) in gaming, so I get excited when I see something truly new that's also well done.
This game is a mixed bag. The premise is that a group of rebellious young snowboarders are trying to expose some kind of military conspiracy at a ski resort. The ski resort is certainly strange, with lots of pools of acid, exploding boxes, and other miscellany that should look suspicious to just about anyone who notices what's plainly in front of them. Ominous music plays as the player snowboards down the slope, avoids or crashes into the skiiers (none of whom appreciate snowboarders on their mountain), navigates obstacles, and performs mission objectives.
Mission objectives can be anything, and for a large chunk of the game, they're little more than "demonstrate your ability to ____", which will involve performing various stunts or grinding on rails or collecting whatever. It's not until much later in the game that your objectives start to feel like you're actually on an important mission.
There are a few problems though that really get in the way.
Our cool, rebellious young snowboarders don't look cool, rebellious, or all that young. Their character design is a bit awkward, making them feel more like, to paraphrase an opinion I'd read elsewhere, "a group of adults going through a midlife crisis who'd taken up snowboarding as a hobby". I do like the unique physics of Naya's really long gravity-defying ponytail, though.
There's also the fact that the gameplay basically involves snowboarding down the same part of the mountain again and again. New missions open up each time, and there are some alternate routes, but you're repeatedly snowboarding down the same mountain looking for new missions to do so you can earn more points, eventually allowing you access to other parts of the mountain (and tougher missions).
And then there's the play control. It just feels a bit stiff and slow in many ways. This is a problem, but not an insurmountable one.
It's a rather flawed game, but the idea behind it is so creative and original.