Snowboarding videogames can be heaps of fun. Maybe you’ve spent all day on the slopes trying, and failing, to perfect your best move. Maybe you’ve spent all day on the slopes trying to make it 50 meters without falling on your face. Whatever your level, coming home and doing all the things you can’t do in real life on a computer game is, oddly enough, pretty satisfying.
I like to convince myself that it actually makes me a better snowboarder. Skaters have the Tony Hawk series; we don’t have as iconic a game series, but plenty of good snowboarding games have been released over the years.
Click here for a list of snowboarding Videogame you can take with you on your phone.
Steep Snowboarding
Steep is relatively new to the snowboarding videogames repertoire, but it’s been pretty well received.
Set on the slopes of Annecy, the game lets the computer version of you strut it’s stuff on what is an accurate and detailed representation of the area.
As always, if you’ve actually spent some time in Annecy, you’ll probably get even more kicks out of this game.
The graphics are great, the challenges are good – the main problem with this one is that there is not a huge range of tricks available to be performed.
Other than that though, there’s a lot to like about this game, and plenty of time to be wasted playing it.
Shaun Palmer Pro Snowboarding
Shaun Palmer Pro Snowboarder might not necessarily fit into the list of best snowboarding videogames, but it is certainly one of the most memorable.
The name itself is enough to signal the intent of this game; it aimed to be the snowboarding version of Tony Hawk Pro Skater.
THPS, SPPS, same thing, right? Wrong.
While Tony Hawk Pro Skater was a global phenomenon and has become synonymous with skateboarding, Shaun Palmer couldn’t quite recreate the snowboarding equivalent to the same quality.
Sure, parts of the game were serviceable – there’s a pretty good range of recreated real world slopes, players can enjoy both freestyle and competition levels, and a goal-based system makes the product more entertaining.
The game lacks in some important areas though, namely that a lot of tricks are confusing to pull off, and some of the recreated courses aren’t hugely accurate.
There’s also a stinker of a soundtrack, meaning you’re better off playing with the sound off. This game is far from the best out there, but it’s worth a try even if just to compare with Tony Hawk.
Amped Snowboarding
Amped succeeded where Shaun Palmer Pro Snowboarder, for want of a softer word, failed.
Of all the snowboarding videogames on the market, Amped has probably gone closest to recreating Tony Hawk, both in gameplay and in popularity.
The availability of career mode means there are plenty of play options, and there’s always something to strive for, because who wants to be playing a video game with no end goal, right?
This mode actually mimics the real life of aspiring pro snowboarders – you start out on some real life resorts, try to impress sponsors, and gradually work your way towards better gear, new mountains etc.
The gameplay itself can be tricky though, and it can often be hard to pull off the tricks you want.
Personally, I don’t mind this – there’s nothing worse than a game which can be perfected in a couple of days.
Relish the challenge! The graphics in this game are excellent too, meaning overall this is right up there as one of the best snowboarding videogames on the market.
SSX Tricky
SSX Tricky, at first glance, seems ridiculous, but for some reason it’s extremely fun.
The graphics are weird, the characters quote Macbeth, and some of the tricks are not even close to realistic.
Once you accept that this isn’t a typical snowboarding game though, it becomes a lot more fun.
This game is a sequel to the original SSX, which came out of relative oblivion to capture the hearts and minds of snowboard gamers around the world. SSX Tricky followed, and took things to a new level.
There’s heaps of courses, heaps of tricks, and heaps of fun.
It might not be as realistic or as refined as many of the other highly rated snowboarding videogames out there, but somehow, the creators of this game have managed to find a happy medium of reality and insanity that is immensely satisfying.
Snowboarding videogames can be a lot of fun, even if none of them reach the heights of other board riding releases (ahem, Tony Hawk).
The one’s listed here are all solid choices, and are certainly worth trying out, but if you’re looking to maximise your enjoyment, it’s hard to go past SSX Tricky. Give it a try.
What Snowboarding Videogames have you played? Which ones were the best, let us know in the comments below and as always make sure to share this post on facebook and twitter.
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Feature image: Ubisoft
Snowboarding Videogames That Will Get You Pumped
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