Review
It’s the third time round for Radical and its MTV sequence of PlayStation snowboarding video games. While final yr’s effort, MTV: Snowboarding, is gratifying for its depth of play, the sport’s graphics go away visible purists with a way of craving. This yr, Radical has spruced up a couple of issues, however principally, it has rolled out the identical recreation. MTV: Pure Ride is a superb snowboarding recreation, nevertheless it’s yet one more instance of a improvement home shifting nearly all of its assets to the following era of {hardware}. Like final yr’s recreation, Pure Ride is solely loaded with choices. The core of the gameplay takes place within the tour problem mode. Here you start by choosing one in all 5 selectable characters and one in all six boards to tear with. As you start every occasion, you might be confronted with the problem of putting first total by means of three occasions: half-pipe, massive air, and slopestyle. As you defeat every circuit, a brand new circuit opens. There are 9 riders (together with 4 real-world execs), 14 boards, and further programs to unlock if you make it to the highest of the chief board.
Pure Ride offers you ample likelihood to learn to play. Before you hit the tour, you may polish your abilities within the specialist or stunt modes. In the specialist mode chances are you’ll apply the separate occasions which are commonplace on the tour. In every self-discipline you start with a goal rating to achieve. If you make the goal, the following monitor turns into out there. In the stunt mode you might be confronted with eventualities that step by step construct in issue. It begins simply sufficient with a easy hole bounce. But the testing rapidly graduates to a sequence of rail methods that should be carried out error-free so that you can advance. As if all these modes weren’t sufficient, you may additionally cruise down any of the open programs at your leisure within the free-ride mode. Or if you happen to’ve turn into uninterested in the programs that Radical offers, chances are you’ll bounce over to the build-a-mountain mode and arrange your personal personalised stunt course. Two gamers can also face off head-to-head in races down the open programs. While only a few amendments have been added to the unique components of final yr’s recreation, Pure Ride’s choices undoubtedly preserve it actual.
If you are on the lookout for a reasonably snowboarding recreation to impress your pals with, MTV Sports: Pure Ride should not be on the highest of your checklist. If you handle to remain on target and preserve a superb velocity, nothing appears overly offensive. The impressively lengthy visual field allows you to put together for the terrain forward because the draw-in is never noticeable. The animation of every trick is clean, however the digital camera is thus far panned out that it is typically tough to inform an indy seize from a mute or a stalefish from a bottom.
It’s when issues decelerate after a crash that Pure Ride’s graphical imperfections turn into obvious. The scaling of a number of the objects is surreal. The picnic tables appear like they’re meant for giants, and the buses positioned for obstacles are bigger than they need to be. The tree sprites are a pixelated mess, and total the feel high quality is only a contact blurry. Normally the sport hums alongside at a gradual body price, however if you happen to catch main air, which requires the sport engine to attract a protracted distance, it is slideshow metropolis. Your rider additionally tends to “teleport” onto rails though he could also be a number of ft away, which might make for some awkward moments. The out there methods are additionally a bit puzzling. You might ollie as much as rails and grind them, however performing board slides is not doable. Even when it says you are performing a nostril grind, it is unimaginable to differentiate it from another type of grind. There are particular methods distinctive to every rider that require insane quantities of hold time to tug off however are satisfying when you nail them down.
Pure Ride isn’t any snowboarding simulation. Oftentimes if you’re coming off a rail the pc will mechanically eject you straight towards the following one. You get transferring so quick down the mountain that you simply typically catch a whole bunch of ft of air off the smallest of hits. But if it is pleasure you are on the lookout for, Pure Ride has a lot to spare. Radical has arrange the sport in order that if it is performed accurately, it is a blast. Once you uncover the timing wanted to land every mixture of methods, the expansive programs open themselves as much as getting burly. The programs are greater than branching as they’re full of recent areas to find. It’s simple to discover a new line every time down the hill whereas trying to one-up your earlier rating. Considering Pure Ride carries the MTV license, it is shocking that the sport’s soundtrack would not carry a bunch of A-list recording artists. Instead you get what’s described as a compilation of a number of the world’s hottest up-and-coming bands. What you actually get is a bunch of songs from teams which are nonetheless unearthing the mysteries of the bar chord. As you would possibly anticipate, nearly all of the music is grunge/rap rock, however there’s one good dub-influenced tune thrown in that really displays the snowboarding vibe. The sound results get the job performed: Digging your edges into the snow emits a raspy scrape whereas gently carving offers that fantastic whooshing sound that sings hard-core snowboarders to sleep at night time.
While not essentially a leap forward of final yr’s launch, MTV Sports: Pure Ride is a strong snowboarding recreation with sufficient choices and methods to maintain you busy for weeks. The gameplay is quick and intuitive, and whereas the graphics aren’t eye-popping, Radical has managed to seize what’s most essential in snowboarding video games: the spirit of freedom.–Shane Satterfield—Copyright © 2000 GameSpot Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in entire or partially in any kind or medium with out specific written permission of GameSpot is prohibited. — GameSpot Review
