Is snowmobile racing an extreme sport? Well, it is if you
perform tricks, enhance the engine, and have unique riders. EA Sports Big
also thinks that it’s the perfect extreme sport for a video game. I guess their
Big franchise is their sideline extreme sports series which also includes
SSX, SSX Tricky, NBA Street, and Freekstyle. This
isn’t the first Sled Storm game: there was also one on the Playstation, so
there’s a little experience behind those makers of this sequel.
Voice Over By Matthew Lillard and Gene Okerlund
Yes, you read that right and yes, I am talking about “Mean” Gene Okerlund of
wrestling fame. Sled Storm is presented in a TV style format. The two announcers
(Lillard and Okerlund) fly above the courses in a blimp introducing the track,
commenting on the riders, and providing a loose and weak play-by-play on the
game. This is entertaining in itself because these two act like John Madden and
Dennis Miller in their comments: One is knowledgeable and serious, while the
other is knowledgeable and a smart-aleck and they constantly trash-talk each
other. Their play-by-play is basic...mostly they let you know when you’ve hit
first place and what they think of you if you are in last place most of the
game.
Oh, Snow Me
The eight riders have unique personalities and attitudes. Also, they each have a
brand of snowmobile that is tailored for them, but don’t worry, you can earn
similar-brand snowmobiles with upgrades for that rider. There are also
“home-town” favorite riders which have their specialty track and they are more
aggressive and dominating than usual. Their characteristics will have a factor
in how you place and score in the trick system. Some riders are more passive in
their racing, but have a high trick potential. Adversely, someone with a low
trick possibility is more aggressive in their racing. So to unlock other
selectable riders or tracks you have to pick the rider that you feel you can
control to maneuver around the track for first place, or to accumulate the
necessary number of points.
Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow
This game is a looker. While it doesn’t house the most outstanding graphics in a
PS2 game, it does rise above the mediocre games currently on the system. One of
the best features that you’ll notice isn’t even on the tracks or within the
character models. There are some tracks that are surrounded by water and weirdly
enough, it’s not frozen. In spectacular Blood Wake fashion, the water has
perfect motion with crests rising and falling and waves rolling into the rocks.
Unfortunately, you’ll only notice it if you fall off the track and are tumbling
into it.
The 7 tracks in Sled Storm are some of the most detailed in an extreme racing
game and have been much improved on since the original. I did not like the fact
that they were longer, but I did enjoy the brutality and secret-finding on each
course. By brutality, I mean the designers of the tracks put every snowmobiling
obstacle they could think of: trees, ice sticks, steep ramps, bumpy hills, etc.
You will be all over the track, trust me on this, and you can thank all the
little things that will be sending you all over the track. Even though you have
the choice of staying within the red markers on the track, there are numerous
shortcuts laid on each track. Some of them are marked with barricades and others
are not. Also, some of the shortcuts will save you time and some will not but
you won’t know until you try them. A lot of the shortcuts take you to a nice
high ramp which will allow you to gain some major points, so I recommend that
you seek these shortcuts out and take them on each lap if you want to score.
I Love To Score
Basically, there are a few goals to achieve. One of them is to score a certain
number of points to unlock something. To get these points you have to perform
tricks. By using the Triangle button and a combination of the shoulder triggers,
you can shred up the air by successfully pulling off a trick. What makes a trick
unsuccessful is if you are in the middle of the trick when you land or if you
are not full set on your snowmobile when you land. The former nets you zero
points while the latter will give you only half the points. Of course, there are
simple tricks to perform and harder tricks to perform, but whichever you decide
to do, if you combo them, you get some super mad points (great, I’m starting to
talk like a ‘shredder’).
Another way to add points is if you hit items along the track. Anything that can
be uprooted or broken will get you points: from the track markers to track signs
to barricades...they will also add to your score. One of the best things you can
hit are the large overhead signs that do the advertising. Launch off a ramp at
the right angle and speed, you can get enough air to bust through the sings.
Sure, you might get burned a little bit, but hey, all’s snowy in Sled Storm and
you have to do what you can.
Want To Play Duck, Duck, Loose?
I did not like the controls on this game. They were much, much different from
the original game, which had little control issues. The PS2 version of Sled
Storm has loose controls, which makes navigating around the track more difficult
than it needs to be. They left the R1/L1 sharp turn buttons intact, but using
these often will just find you fishtailing around corners and just plain trying
to regain your own control of your snowmobile. You can either use the digital
pad/button combination or both analog sticks if you desire, but I found that
using the analog stick had me sliding all over. I used the digital pad to steer
and the buttons to accelerate and brake. Using the trick system is a bit odd.
Why they just didn’t use the shoulder buttons to perform tricks was beyond me,
but you also can use the Triangle button. I think just keeping to the should
buttons and having a combo-type trick system could have made it more
interesting. The last control feature that was annoying that I felt the response
time from hitting the trick I wanted to perform and my rider actually performing
it was too long. I sometimes missed out on longer combos or high-scoring tricks
because the trick would start a few second after I launched off the ramp. And
let me tell you, just missing a 20,000 goal by 100 points really just irritates
me.
Some Extras and Some Non-extras
You don’t just race around a track to win first to complete the game. You do
have some goals to accomplish if you want to really enjoy the game. To unlock
tracks, you must finish 3rd or better; to unlock characters, you must hit the
point goal (which gets increasingly difficult the more you play); and to unlock
more sleds, you usually have to finish 1st in the race. A positive to this is
that you can achieve each goal one at a time if you want, which was great for my
speed at finishing racing games. So is that all? Nope. After you beat
Championship Mode, Rival Challenge is unlocked. This mode has you racing in a
one-on-one atmosphere for Snowmobile “pink-slips”. The computer picks the track,
but if you lose the race, you have to re-race the championship level where you
won that sled to get it back. Your goal in Rival Challenge is to acquire each of
the 5 different snowmobiles for each of the 8 characters.
While trying to get all the secrets will take you most of the time, you do have
a few other options if that gets boring. You can just play single-player and
race just one race in time trial or practice mode..but why waste your time when
you can be unlocking things; or you can race a friend in multiplayer.
Disappointingly though, it’s only a 2-player match. The number of modes was
skimpy, but Championship and the Rival mode will keep you busy.
If you were a fan of the first Sled Storm, you should have no problem enjoying
this one. Similarly, if you played and loved SSX Tricky, then you will probably
like the extreme part of this game because they play very, very akin. Although
the control is slightly irritating and the lack of modes disappointing, this
game is just pure fun on snow.
8.8
