Ever since 1080? Snowboarding on the N64, nothing has captured my heart as much for a snow based extreme sports game until Amped Freestyle Snowboarding came out. Disappointed to hear that the next instalment was canned then delighted to hear that it will be coming out I needed something to fill the gap. I was reluctant to try yet another snowboarding game, as they have all been a bit, well, average (with the exception of the intensely sublime SSX Tricky). I had heard good things about Amped and so took the plunge into what has spiralled into something of an addiction to the game.

First off, the control system will feel a bit odd to start with. The A button ollies as with all x-sport games but then it turns into a grab when you're in the air. B will grind on rails etc. X and Y perform grabs along with the A button and double tapping them gives you even more grabs to play with. Or on the other hand you could use the second analogue stick by pressing it in one of the eight directions to pull off the grabs. This is a much easier way to play and you would be well advised to start playing like this because it will enable you to get to the huge scores you'll need on the later levels. L and R buttons perform grab tweaks to rack up the points even more and while it will take a while to get used to this new control system, it becomes very refreshing to find that it makes everything a bit easier to handle using the analogue stick and that there has been a great deal of thought concerning the control system. Stick with it and the rewards will be all yours, kids. Getting onto rails can sometimes become a chore; you have to be deadly accurate to land on one but when you are on, a tap of the L or R buttons keeps your balance. One thing that has been omitted is the visual aid for balancing whilst grinding. I have no idea why it hasn't been included but it's not too hard to get used to and you are given quite a leeway on keeping your 'boarder grinding.

Visually, Amped is wonderful. The snow looks cold and, well, like snow whilst the detail on the characters is stunning. Only the X-Box has the power to pull this off and it looks all the better for it. Your descent down the mountain is very smooth and fluid and rarely, if ever, drops framerate. The most impressive feature graphically is the draw distance; it just goes on for as far as you can see. Pretty much everything that you can see can be accessed and it is staggering to try to comprehend how this could have been done. Again, only the X-Box and the use of its hard disk could make the fullest use of this and not only looks better but allows a much more free roaming ride than any other snowboarding game ever. The sound is equally as good and contains 150! tracks to listen to with the added bonus of being able to add your own soundtracks from the hard drive. Snow effects sound wonderfully 'crunchy' and the speech from other riders and spectators adds to the general ambiance and makes it even more immersive. It's little touches like this that compliment a great game so well and make it the main reason why it is a few notches above the competition.

As I said before, the levels are huge and based around entire mountains, not just different locations. As you progress, more runs on the mountains become available and it's your choice as to how you go down the mountain. You are issued challenges such as gaining a certain score and doing tricks in front of photographers to raise your world profile and rise in the rankings in your quest to become the number one snowboarder. You'll have to follow pro's down the mountain and get better scores than them on certain obstacles and impress sponsors by doing tricks they like. All this opens up levels, clothing and gear (improves your stats and there is a ton of stuff to get). You'll also earn stat points to assign to your 'boarder at your own discretion. Real life snowboarding companies, such as Volcom, Burton and DC are included to give it a more universal feel.

Amped has fulfilled my expectations and exceeded them for a mile. It's an extremely tough challenge in the later levels but it's just so damn hard to put down. It's everything a snowboarding game should be; fun, exciting, challenging and making you come back for more and more, time and time again. If you're remotely interested in extreme sport games, you will love this. If you aren't then you'll love it anyway because it's games like this that cross over so well. Just stick with the strange control system and you'll understand why it is done that way. Soon enough it will become second nature and those high scores don't seem so high anymore. I can't recommend this game enough, I'm still enjoying it and it's great to sit down with for a few minutes or a few hours, go on and treat yourself to a truly magnificent game.