- Insane Snowmobile Racing.
- Rated "E" for everyone..
- 1-4 players.
Product description
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Insane Snowmobile Racing. A New Racing Challenge. More than 40
Insane Tricks and Combos: 14 Tracks Through Hazardous Terrain,
Race Open ain & Snocross Circuits, Upgrade & Customize
Sleds, 2-to 4-way Multiplayer Action, Slammin' Sounds of Rob
Zombie, Econoline Crush, Uberzone, E-Z Rollers, Dom & Roland, and
more.
.com
----
Rev up your snow-hog. Electronic Arts is speeding off the
asphalt and into the tree line with its latest racing title, Sled
Storm. Snowmobile racing may seem like a last-stab attempt at
creating a new racing game for the PlayStation, but the result is
irresistible and addictive.
Sled Storm lets players control their riders' turns by leaning
them right or left to take sharp corners without flipping over
the mechanized beasts. The game does a fantastic job of depicting
the weight of these vehicles as they careen off jumps and plummet
like boulders. Stay off the brakes, seek out shortcuts, learn
trick moves to earn extra points, and plow over anything on the
course that looks suspiciously cute--such as snowmen or bunnies
(for bonus points). Point totals at the end of the race can be
converted to cash for sled upgrades. That's about all you need to
know to compete.
With songs by goth-rock god Rob Zombie, Sled Storm offers a
winter wonderland full of racing fun. A four-player split-screen
mode is the best way to play the game, but the artificial
intelligence (AI) in the one-player games is realistic enough to
give players some decent competition. Forgo your inhibitions and
ride, baby, ride! --Jeff Young
Pros:
* The first snowmobile racing experience on any video game
platform
* Deep one-player championship mode encourages many hours of
playing and replaying
Cons:* Not very original--another racing game for the PlayStation
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Review
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First skis, then boards, and now snowmobiles: There's something
about slippery surfaces - and the very real possibility of bodily
harm - that gets extreme-sports fans juiced up. Of course, few
have the machismo to risk life and limb and actually hit the
slopes, which probably explains the rising popularity of
snow-related video games: all the fun without the pain. That's an
ideal description for Sled Storm, an arcade racer that has
stellar gameplay, smart track designs and a challenge level that
will keep gamers addicted.
This snowmobile-based game features two types of tracks. Eight
are "natural" ain tracks, each filled with shortcuts and
jumps, while six are more conventional racing tracks with sharp
angles and plenty of ramps to catch air. In addition to
one-player practice and championship modes, there's multiplayer
racing for up to four and a time trial mode. The game offers six
snowmobilers with different racing profiles, plus hidden
characters to unlock.
What makes Sled Storm so fun is that it's filled with gameplay
that'll make racers say, "That's such a great idea! How come no
one's thought of that before?" To beat the game, you must finish
first. What makes this task fun is the amazing number of
shortcuts on each track. Not only do you get bonus points for
finding certain shortcuts first, but you must use them to have a
chance of placing first. Furthermore, since many shortcuts
require tough jumps, some racing skill is involved. At this
point, it's already an enjoyable challenge to find and use
shortcuts to win.
But to steal a line from an infomercial: But wait, there's more!
Not only must you finish first, you must also generate enough
money to upgrade your snowmobile - a task that deepens the
gameplay immensely. To get money, you must find shortcuts, as
well as run over objects such as tree sings, snowmen, and the
occasional forest critter (morbid, but well worth it) for a
bonus. However, to really earn money, you must perform
impressive-looking tricks off jumps. The easy-to-learn tricks can
be combined in many different ways, resulting in additional bonus
points. In total, you must perform an intriguing balancing act to
beat each track: Finish first while "wasting" enough time to try
big-point tricks.
Thanks to the many shortcuts and bonuses - and a very challenging
AI - the tracks hardly get tiresome. Furthermore, the speed,
control, and graphics seem to strike an excellent rapport with
the gameplay design. The game runs at a crisp frame rate
throughout the track, with never any slowdown (even in
split-screen mode). For the most part, pop-up is kept out of
view. The control feels very fluid, and it seems programmers made
sure to eliminate points on a track where gamers could get stuck
or glitch up - a malady of poorer games in this genre. Even more
important, improvements made to snowmobiles actually have
beneficial effects that you can feel in the control. The graphics
overall look solid, and some lighting effects are rather
impressive - notably in later stages when night racing becomes
available (another challenge gamers must adapt to).
As for its audio, Sled Storm gets good marks for getting
real-life "extreme-sports-worthy" artists - such as Rob Zombie
and Econoline Crush - to populate its soundtrack. Their musical
offerings blend in well with the game's intense racing mentality,
while the sound effects and racer t-talk seem adequate
enough.
If this review sounds more like an infomercial to you skeptical
gamers, it's because this writer tried long and hard to find
flaws - and they were few and far between. The challenge might be
a little high, since you get only three lives to complete a
championship. Fortunately, there's a nifty option to turn off
automatic catch-up by computer racers, which evens the odds a
bit. Some of the forest textures looked flat on some tracks, and
it would've been nice to have an option to play your own music CD
during a race - but frankly, these complaints hardly affect the
bottom line: For any gamer looking for a uniquely fresh
adrenaline rush, Sled Storm makes for one very worthy purchase.
--Nelson Taruc
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