My 7 year old daughter, Kaylee, hooked me up with a copy of Stoked: Big Air Edition for Christmas this year. What can I say, she knows what Dad likes.
I’ve got to say, this is the best boarding game I have ever played hands down. I used to play Amped back in the day and more recently Shawn White, and they both had way too much of an arcade feel to come across as a solid boarding game. Stoked’s collaboration with Absinthe really shows throughout the game, everything from the style of clothes & tricks, huge pow runs, and even the soundtrack are well developed.
Stoked: Big Air Edition allows you, the rider, to explore an entire mountain from several vantage points. Just drop in off your hele and cruise any line that looks good, no boundaries aside from losing your speed. Not only that, but 95% of all the runs are pure pow lines, and this is what really shines for me. This is the first boarding game where you can actually carve in powder. The controls are a bit tough to get used to at first, but you soon realize that with good speed all you need to do is just barely lean your rider to carve huge turns and bust enormous air. It wasn’t long before I was weaving trees in what almost felt like Neverland, only to float out some ‘Big Air’ from the natural terrain. Where as most boarding games tend to focus on park features and rails, Stoked is a backcountry game, with much less focus on groomers and features, although they are still there if you look.
The style you can pull in this game is also unmatched. From huge backside 180 floaters to 1080′s, all you need is an eye for a good kicker and some decent speed. Yes, speed. Stoked allows you to really get cruising down some of the toughest terrain, combined with a good physics engine its just plain fun to freeride. However, if your more competitive there are hundreds of competitions and challenges to compete in various locations.
However, no game is without a few flaws, and after much playing there are a few things I would love to see tweaked in the next edition. For one, there is no replay editor, which I feel the game could really thrive from. I would love to see a system similar to Skate’s for capturing your most epic moments. Also, the boxes and rails that they do have tend to have a “magnetic” feel to them, and when you hit them from an angle you will sometimes stick to them in a very unrealistic way. Seeing as how they are few and far between, it’s not a big deal, but it does take away from the game in some situations.
So if you like boarding games, or perhaps have been holding out for one that is actually decent, wait no more. While it may take a few runs to get into the game, once you figure out the controls and get an eye for the natural powder kickers, you will be pleasantly surprised at the games capabilities. Even with the few minor flaws, Stoked: Big Air Edition is a pretty solid boarding game in my opinion, and should not be overlooked.
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