When you think about snowboarding games, the first one that will come to your mind in some respects is SSX Tricky. While Amped is nothing like Tricky, you'll find that it isn't like other extreme sports games either, regardless of whether or not you're playing through the game to earn points or just what the title has to offer. The power of the X-Box, however, is not shown in this title enough, and unless you're a die-hard fan of games that require plenty of practice and patience, then you may find that this one will be just slightly out of your league. Much like some of the other games that the X-Box has to offer, this particular title didn't get the hype and news that other games such as Halo did, but is a solid game if you can learn to play it.

What the game does feature is some pretty realistic snowboarding that attempt to capture the feel of the game into the title and therefore, give you a real to life experience. Although the game really doesn't do much for you adrenaline junkies, you may find that the realism involved with the title can either be too much or just the right equation for your fix! However, tough to use controls and a trick system that really uses the real-life physics and gravity make this a game that is both a challenging, yet rewarding title to play, assuming that you can really get into it.

The game play starts you off on the mountain with your main goal being to unlock other venues and items through successful game play. What you'll find though is that you can do runs on the mountain that will help you to earn sponsors after you've become Amped which in turn furthers the game play into contests and the like. However, in order to get to this point, you have to work with the trick system which is nothing like Tony Hawk, SSX, or Shawn Palmer, which may leave you wondering just what in the hell you are supposed to be doing throughout the game!

The point system is what you'll be dealing with on a consistent basis, so you'll have to learn how to use the different areas and get the bonus points to achieve your point goal. For instance, in order to get camera points, you'd have to perform tricks near a cameraman in order to be rewarded with the bonus, where as knocking things down gives you other types of bonuses in the process. What this does, is open up more things for you to do, and eventually better gear to work with in your quest along the mountains. Multiplayer is fun, but it runs in the format of Tony Hawk to the respect of playing Horse in which you go first and your friend goes next.

Control is a feature that needs a little bit of work, and with the X-Box controller, it's hard to actually get the game to do what you want, when you want to do it. Because of the bulky controller layout and the spacing of the buttons, it may take you a little time to get the tricks down the way that you need them to be. What makes this twice as difficult is when you are trying to get a sponsor to pay attention with a specific trick, and you screw it up because you can't land the thing properly! This is where the precision and the timing comes in, because you literally have to angle your character along the mountain and make sure that you don't wipe out in the process.

Visually, Amped has quite a few things going for it, but in my own opinion it not only plays but looks like the ESPN Snowboarding for Play Station 2. Environments, while huge and detailed, just seem to look a little too bland for my tastes and really don't show off the true power of the Microsoft juggernaut. Although the backgrounds go on forever, and they tend to look slightly bland, the true star of all of this is the exceptional detail that you will find with your character. Clothes that actually move when your character twists, weather effects and otherwise really make the title shine, but quickly falls into the background because of the ultra short runs that you're performing in!

The music that you find here isn't too bad, and you'll live with it for the most part unless you're starting to get sick of the new age crap that seems to litter every extreme sports game out there. It was fun in Tony Hawk, but now, it's time to get serious. A feature that the X-Box has, is to allow you to play your own music to certain games, giving you a user friendly environment that allows you to listen to what you want, when you want to listen to it! This feature is a plus in my book and it doesn't override the sound effects of the game but rather blends into them to make up for a rather pleasing ride down the mountain.

Amped is a pretty decent snowboarding game that just has some problems with the control and the way that the game play is laid out. While it isn't the best that I've played, it is almost as good as Tricky on the X-Box and until something slightly better comes along, you really don't have much choice. For those snowboarding purists, you really can't go wrong with a title like Amped and it will keep you playing through the wee hours of a weekend morning. However, if you're looking for constant action, a number of tricks and exceptionally different cast of characters, then you need to look elsewhere on the mountain for your snowboarding fix!