1080º Avalanche Review

1080 Snowboarding on the Nintendo 64 was the quintessential snowboarding game. It seems only fair that Nintendo would want to recapture the throne, considering games like SSX 3 are now vying for best snowboarder. Avalanche was received with a lot of disappointment, however. While the game does fall a bit short of expectations, it shouldn’t be dismissed. It’s kind of like getting a piece of cake and saying, “Oh, I was hoping it would come with a scoop of ice cream, also.”

I went back and played the original 1080 to get a feel for what, if anything, had improved with Avalanche. This time around, the graphics are much crisper, cleaner, and more detailed. The courses are bigger and more believable and feel much more realistic as you race down them. Characters become covered in snow the more they crash and roll. Most importantly, the framerate is about three times better. Many reviewers complained that the framerate in Avalanche was a bit inconsistent, but I soon realized what looked like slow-down was actually wind effect. Framerates only take a marginal hit in four-player split-screen. What is a problem, however, is the camera. Sometimes it zooms way in on your character and won’t back off until you’ve passed a certain area of the course.

While the original 1080’s soundtrack was entirely new, the developers of Avalanche have opted for existing artists. It’s a bold move by Nintendo, but it fits the mood of the game well. The featured bands, however, are somewhat obscure, but I feel this makes the soundtrack even better. Nothing’s more annoying than hearing an overly used song appear yet again in a video game (think the Ramones). Some of the music must have been made by Nintendo insiders, too, since no information on the bands is available on the Internet. Most of the music is actually good if you like mellow punk rock, but there are ugly, loathsome songs, as well.

Snowboarding games encompass two things: tricks and racing. 1080 Avalanche isn’t so much about tricks as it is speed, and the game boasts some insane racing. Courses are well-designed and a lot of fun, albeit on the short side. Some tracks are only a minute long– but during that minute, there is plenty to do. Later courses involve so many different pathways, playing these on repeat is actually practical. In honor of the name, there are some avalanche courses that have you trying to outrun an avalanche. These are very intense and surprisingly cool but can only be played solo and require putting in a password. They are soon forgotten. The game is compromised of match races, gate challenges, time trials, and a mode where you collect pieces of a coin. All these must be played extensively to open up a barrage of goodies (new boards, costumes, and characters).

The characters play noticeably different from each other, with some being silky smooth and others being stiff and rigid. Another major complaint against 1080 is its less-than-perfect trick system. Yet it’s not so much “not perfect” as it is “not good enough.” It feels natural and is a much better attempt than the original’s, but there isn’t much to it. You can spin, flip, grind, and do a handful of grabs. That sounds reasonable, but combos are hard to pull off, because you don’t get much air time. Tricks, then, become more of a commodity than a necessity.

So far, everything has sounded generally positive, but lasting appeal is where Avalanche really misses the target. While there are more things to unlock and more courses to race on than the original, the one-player mode can be breezed through in a few days, and the multiplayer mode is very limited. The game has about 15 courses total. Only six of these are featured in four-player, and they aren’t even the best six. There’s no multiplayer trick attack or gate challenge, either. The game is fun, no doubt about that, especially with other players, but it makes me mad that there’s not much to do in the long run.

Final Comments

1080 Avalanche is a much better game than its predecessor. It’s prettier, faster, and simply feels like an improvement. Avalanche isn’t a perfect snowboarding game, though. The trick system is somewhat downplayed, and the potentially gripping multiplayer mode is hacked up by a small variety of courses to choose from. The overall experience is a little short-lived, but the slick control and fun course design make this one of my favorite snowboarding games to pick up and play on occasion. Nintendo’s next snowboarder will probably be a ridiculous spin-off called Mario Snowboarding, so grab 1080 while you still can.