Snow Rider

2006 was an era of stunning new games, exciting sequels, and some unfortunate budget games as well. One look at Snow Rider’s cheesy graphics, snowboard glitching in and out as you ride, and it’s evident this falls into the category of a budget game.

This game, which looks suspiciously identical to Downhill Slalom by Phoenix games, but with a snowboard instead of skiis, and offers nothing in the way of good gaming. The storyline is minimal at best, simply offering up the cliché tale that you are competing against the other characters for title of Champion. As for the rest of the game, there are a few good points, but overall it is a very low budget game.

3 modes, including a pointless one

The game offers three different modes for you to play. This includes a slalom mode where you need to weave around a series of gates without touching them, a coin dash where the goal is to collect as many gold coins as you can, and a sprint. The sprint itself is entirely pointless. There are no obstacles to avoid, no coins to grab, and nothing but a straight dash to the bottom. With little to do to participate in the race, this mode is boring and slow for even the most dedicated player.

Unlockable content

The game lets you unlock new content by winning medals in previous games. Unfortunately, it’s not terribly worthwhile to do so. The characters don’t look very different from each other, and neither do the new courses.

Poor Graphics

Among the worst faults of this game are the lackluster graphics that truly make it feel like a bargain bin offering. The backdrops are extremely minimal, with nothing but plain rockfaces and no detail to pass the time as you are going down the linear path provided.

Characters are more detailed than the backdrops, but not by much. Animation that shows the snow being kicked up or the snowboard moving are also pour, and also often glitch out entirely making your character stand on nothing but air.

Simple controls

One minor good point to this game is that the controls are simple enough that even if you have never played a snowboarding game before, you will be able to play the game. There’s no learning curve to menuivering around the gates or making a jump, and the controls feel intuitive.

This is great for beginner players with low expectations, but for those used to more realistic snowboarding simulators such as Shredders, this game will not come close to meeting your expectations.

Pros:

• Nostalgia factor

Cons:

• Poor graphics
• Useless modes
• Very little to do