Game Reviews

Crazy Snowboard

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Crazy Snowboard

It may sound strange, but one of the most important features of any snowboarding game is how well connected you are to the ground.

Gravity-defying leaps are great fun, but if you feel like you're hovering above the snow no number of backflips or bizarrely named grabs is going to compensate for your feeling of disconnectedness from the gameworld.

That's always been the problem with Crazy Snowboard, and the new Xperia Play-optimised version does little to fix it.

Out in the cold

The game is a simple 3D snowboarding sim, that sees you sliding down a mountain with an expensive plank of wood strapped to your feet, performing a variety of different tasks.

In some levels you have to collect letters that are scattered around the piste. In others you have to knock down snow men, or try to score a set number of points by pulling off tricks.

You perform these tricks by throwing yourself off ramps, using the X button to get some ridiculous height. Once there, pushing any of the Xperia Play's face buttons will perform a grab, while pushing a direction will set you spinning or flipping.

Not so tricky

It's far too simple a system. As long as you make sure you're pointing in the right direction when you land you can easily pull off massive trick chains.

Throw in a grind mechanic that lets you slide across tree trunks simply by riding into them, and steering that's so sensitive you'll often pull off a full 360 instead of a graceful carve, and you're left with a game that's far from satisfactory.

Crazy Snowboard is fun at times, and there's a simple joy to be found in hurling yourself off giant snow ramps. But it's too restrictive, too tightly focused on a few goals, and too poorly built to let you enjoy just carving through the powder.

Crazy Snowboard

While it has its moments, there are just too many flaws in Crazy Snowboarding, most of which are exacerbated by the Xperia Play
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Harry Slater
Harry Slater
Harry used to be really good at Snake on the Nokia 5110. Apparently though, digital snake wrangling isn't a proper job, so now he writes words about games instead.