Five reasons to be Stoked
What separates this snowboarding title from the pack?
Words: Henry Gilbert, GamesRadar US
Great sports stories start with the little guy, the underdog. Wouldn’t you rather root for the ragtag bunch of misfits than the rich kids at the camp across the lake? Well, it’s the same with competing sports games. Sure, huge companies can pay big bucks to get some red-headed guy to talk about hitting powder, but we have a soft spot for the recently announced Stoked, the other brand-new snowboarding game coming out this year. Here are five exciting reasons why you should care more about it than Shaun White’s title.
1. Changing, predictable weather
When you choose what snow-covered rocks you’re going to jump onto, you need to take the weather into account. In other games, it can just be fairly random, or else always the same on each slope. But in Stoked, each day has different weather at different times during a day-and-night cycle attached to a real world clock set to GMT. Before choosing a slope, you can see the weather planned out for the whole day. On top of that, if it's snowing, the flakes build up over time and can dynamically change the course
2. Real mountains all around
We aren’t too sure how close SW will stick to reality, but in Stoked your playgrounds are what we’re told are very authentic terrain of actual mountains. You start with five to descend, including the peaks of Mt. Fuji and some unnamed crag in Gov. Palin’s backyard. Plus, you don’t just go at them from one angle - you get the whole rock, on all sides, to traverse.
3. Get to the chopper!
You begin each run by jumping out of a helicopter, landing at one of eight drop points placed strategically across the mountain’s slopes. After you've pulled off enough tricks, though, you can get complete control of the helicopter, enabling you to leap onto the powder wherever you want, literally anywhere on the entire mountain. You’ll have full, 360-degree control over the chopper, too, flying it manually to any point in the terrain that looks interesting.
4. 360 Exclusive
Speaking of 360, Stoked is a 360 exclusive. While you may see Shaun White around town with all the other consoles, Stoked still knows how important console monogamy is to consumers. Such a rarity needs to be applauded in this day and age. It won't bring its Skate-style trick system anywhere else this year.
5. Be Ansel Adams, except with a snowboard
When not doing tricks, players can stop at any time and take photos of their picturesque surroundings, and of other snowboarders pulling off tricks. And it works with multiplayer as well, enabling you to take pictures of your friends doing tricks as they drop in on your mountain via Xbox Live. If the art of it isn’t enough for you, the photos are also attached to sweet, sweet Achievements.
Oct 15, 2008
Infos von IGN:
- im Spiel gibt's dynamische Wetter- sowie Tag- und Nachtwechsel (ein Bereich, der am morgen noch felsig ist kann also am Nachmittag schon voller Schnee sein)
- von der Steuerung orientieren sich die Entwickler an skate.. Mit dem linken Stick wird der Körper bewegt und mit dem rechten das Board (um zu springen drückt man den Stick nach unten um in die Hocke zu gehen und dann wieder nach oben um zu springen)
- insgesamt gibt's 5 Berge in Alaska, Chile, Japan, Schweiz und Washington. Jeder dieser Berge hat um die 45 Quadratkilometer an denen man sich mit dem Helikopter überall hinfliegen lassen kann (man steuert den Heli dabei übrigens selbst)
- der Online-MP soll ähnlich wie bei GTA über ein Handy angewählt werden
- insgesamt gibt's 8 lizensierte Rider und einen komplett lizensierten Soundtrack
- grafisch solls zwar nicht so schön sein wie Shaun White's, aber dennoch einige nette Features bieten
