Yet another snow boarding video game, and certainly not the last in such a crowded field. From Sony to Nintendo everyone has taken a shot at the phenomenon known as the snow boarding game. Now Accolade has jumped into the ring with Big Air for the Sony Playstation. Not a bad try either. The graphics are sharp. The snow is on the ground is smooth as ice. The back grounds are intact with very little break up or pop-up. The characters are based on real life boarders. You can choose from different name brand boards and gear. The slopers featured in Big Air are large, and features some nice sudal detail. The music is hip and full of alternative rock tunes. Which may seem like a given, but Sony missed this obvious feature for its "Cool Boarders 3" game. There for its a good element in this game. The control is decent too. The analog controller helps out a great deal with those tight curves. The tricks are performed fairly easy. Big Air uses button combinations to perform each trick. Which means if you get catch some major air you can perform combo tricks too. Big Air knows that not all virtual boarders want to perform tricks. Some just want to slope to win. Because of this dilemma, Big Air features several modes of play including a trick mode for those who want to perform magic in the air, and a race mode for those who just want to race on the cold Alps of a mountain side. Of course Big Air is dual-shock compatible, features a two-player mode, and multiple tracks in multiple countries. You start with USA, Switzerland, and Japan. One must earn the rest. Big Air may be just another snow boarding video game at first look, but once you've experienced it you will find that this is the best snow boarding game since Cool Boarders 3. In fact Big Air is the Playstations only true competitor for the Cool Boarders series. Big Air is a pleasant surprise in a world cluttered with snow boarder games.
PUBLISHER: ACCOLADE
GRAPHICS: 8 SOUND & MUSIC: 7 CONTROL: 7.5
SECRETS: 6 ORIGINALITY: 5 FUN & REPLAY: 7
OVERALL: 7