There has been a rush of snow boarding video games lately, and it doesn't seem to be coming to an end any time soon. The latest Playstation entree is from ESPN called Xgames Pro Boarder. Based upon the professional snow boarders and the extreme sports competitions on ESPN2. Unlike the Cool Boarders series Xgames is based more upon tricks and how many points you have in the end. It doesn't matter who finishes the course first. Just who has the most points. Originally part of the new ESPN Digital Games line of sports titles, Xgames is the sole survivor, thanks to the folks at Electronic Arts. This is a decent game. The graphics are a bit pixelated. A little more so than we're used to seeing these days. Xgames is the only snow boarding game to feature real professional boarders. Including Tina Basich, Daniel Franck, Todd Richards, Morgan Lafonte, among others. The music is just as extreme as the Xgames themselves. It features great tunes from such acts as the Foo Fighters, Rancid, NOFX, and some lesser known bands as well. The control is only okay, some of the tricks seem tough to pull off. Overall, this game does provide some fun, and some nice competition in two player mode. It will keep you playing to master all the tricks. I do recommend checking it out.
PUBLISHER: EA
GRAPHICS: 5.5 MUSIC/SOUND: 8 CONTROL: 6
ORIGINALITY: 5 SECRETS: 7 FUN/REPLAY: 7
OVERALL: 7.5
(thanks to ign for the screen shots)
