Cool Boarders 2001
- November 24, 2000 14:47 PM PST
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Winter is on its way, and soon the mountains will be covered in white gold. For anyone who lives nowhere near the mountains or just can't get enough snowboard action in real life, there is the Cool Boarders series.
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Snow Cold
Cool Boarders 2001 is very similar to earlier Cool Boarders games. You can race on tracks that have jumps, obstacles, and various things to grind. Of course, there's a half-pipe for all the freestyle fanatics, and there are even courses riddled with cop cars and giant chasms to jump over, but all these things together just don't do anything to push Cool Boarders 2001 out of its own shadow. The game really hasn't changed in the past few years and although it's still fun, it's nothin' new.
CoolBoarders 2001 has you compete against ten real life pro snowboarders in various competitions. Naturally, you also have to perform tricks to boost your score. The trick list is comprehensive and enables you to throw down just about any combo you want, including rodeo and misty flips thanks to the front and backflip options. You can do tricks into and out of grinds, and depending on how you get on the rail, you will perform a boardslide (board is perpendicular to the rail) or a 50-50 (board is parallel to the rail).
Once you've got a few tricks wired it's time to start tackling the challenges, including Downhill Gates which are races against pro snowboarders during which you can grind, jump, and punch your way to victory at the finish line. Half pipe competitions focus on freestyle tricks. The Trickmaster mode, where you have to perform listed tricks, is actually a really good challenge for learning the game's controls since the computer shows the button combo needed to perform each trick on the bottom of the screen. A Big Air jump competition, CBX (boarder cross), and Pro Challenges round out the game modes. In Pro Challenges you race against one pro snowboarder and if you win, your character's abilities increase, a new board is unlocked, and the beaten pro becomes a playable character. The Pro Challenges are where the real challenge and fun are found.
Control in CoolBoarders 2001 is a mixed bag. The most popular extreme sports game, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, raises the bar very high, and has a combination of graphics and control that make it the current be-all end-all extreme sports engine. By comparison, CoolBoarders 2001's out-of-date engine looks and feels like a giant greased bowling ball, awkward and hard to handle. Although the controls are well done and consistent, the game engine is somewhat slow and bogs down control. The graphics are fine for a PlayStation title, but coupled with a generic soundtrack, a sluggish engine, and awkward courses, the whole package is just a bit old. That said, the game is still pretty fun.
Snow Bunny
Cool Boarders 2001 is a fun although simple and somewhat dated game. If you are starving for some snow shredding action, jump on it, but if you are looking for some cutting edge carves, hold off for SSX.
