Reviewed: December 29, 2001
Reviewed by: Mark Smith
Publisher
THQ
Developer
Radical Entertainment
Released: November 15, 2001
Genre: Sports
Players: 2
ESRB: Teen
8
8
7
7
8.4
Supported Features
Ever since the early days of Cool Boarders and 1080 Snowboarding there has always been an abundance of snowboarding games to choose from on all platforms. It should come as no surprise that the Xbox launched with no less than three titles that fit into this genre. What is surprising is that each of these titles had very little overlap in style and gameplay.
Amped is a serious snowboarding simulation along the lines of Tony Hawk that requires lots of practice to pull off even some of the more basic tricks, while SSX Tricky is more of an arcade racing game with lots of “over-the-top” stunts and forgiving gameplay. Dark Summit slips in between these two games with some surprisingly original concepts and enjoyable gameplay.
Dark Summit has tricks, but it’s not a “trick game”. You race other snowboarders and try to outrun the rangers, but it’s not a “racing game”. This is the first and (so far) only “snowboard adventure” game that tosses in a story; actually a mystery. It seems the military has mysteriously closed the summit of Mount Garrick, and the evil Chief O'Leary is trying desperately to drive boarders off the mountain. And don’t even try to go near the backside of the mountain.
Sounds like a job for Scooby Doo, but since he’s not around you will have to use Naya, the hot redheaded snow surfer who is probably just a bit too curious for her own good. The suspense and intrigue unfold over the course of 45 mountain based challenges and missions.
Gameplay is built on progression. You start on the lower part of the mountain and by completing various challenges you can earn “lift points” that you can use to get to higher parts of the mountain. This concept alone is pretty darn cool and seems a bit more realistic than simply “unlocking” new courses.
You will also want to perform as many stunts and tricks as you can on the way down the mountain. There are plenty of jumps to get crazy air and even more rails, bars, beams, and other suitable ledges for jibs and grinds. Tricks earn you “equipment points” that you can then spend in the Equipment Hut to buy new boards and all sorts of cool new fashion accessories. If you are going to solve government conspiracies you need to look good while doing it.
The courses are huge. After coming off a three week session of playing Amped and SSX Tricky where the courses averaged around 2-5 minutes each, I was pleasantly surprised to find that even the starting runs on Dark Summit where huge. And they only get longer the further up the mountain you start.
There are plenty of secrets and hidden shortcuts to learn. Time is seldom an issue in Dark Summit. You aren’t really racing, so finding these hidden paths generally leads to some hidden challenge, bonus trick, or a mission booth where you can get an assignment to earn those valuable lift points.
Missions and challenges are really creative and make good use of the environment and characters you would typically find on a mountain. Sometime you might be challenged to pull off seven 580’s on your way down the mountain. Other times you might have to find and defuse a series of bombs that have been planted around the mountain.
While you have your typical bag of tricks, Dark Summit adds some creativity by making you “find” the more advanced tricks. These appear as icons on the mountain and you cannot do these tricks until you have found and collected that icon. Only then is that trick added to your library.
Control is flawless and considerably simpler than what you may be used to if you have played any other snowboarding games. Actually I found the trick system quite confusing after having recently mastered SSX Tricky. But after about 3-5 hours I got the hang of it and was landing some serious tricks and grinding rails like a pro.
The trick system is almost too easy utilizing single button presses for grinds, grabs, and half pipe handplants. You can tweak the grabs with the triggers and adjust your spin and balance with the directional stick. Naya can land just about any trick as long as her board is below her. Again, it’s almost too easy, and you can quickly get sloppy in your control, and it could come back to bite you when you play unforgiving games like Amped.
Everything in Dark Summit looks fabulous. Unlike most snowboarding games where you fly down mountains of virginal white powder, Mount Garrick has a very sinister quality to it. It is very dark and the trees are all gnarled and almost evil looking. The sky is always overcast and the snow is often brown and dirty. There are some industrial areas with pools of toxic waste, electric fences, power lines, and other obstacles you simple don’t expect in a snowboarding game.
The characters look great with awesome textures and high quality animations. The tricks are totally exaggerated and lots of fun. Everything in the game is highly detailed and programmed with real life physics. I was stunned the first time I bumped into a snowman and it broke apart and started rolling down the mountain with its own agenda. You can smash through fences, grind on picnic tables, fallen girders or interact with just about any object on the mountain.
All of this detail has its price. There are some noticeable periods when the game will drop below the standard 30fps. You will also see the occasional pop-up of larger objects on the horizon. This becomes more apparent later in the game when you have new boards and are going down the mountain at faster speeds than when you first started. While it’s never enough to ruin the experience it is noticeable and often annoying, as it seems to happen during critical parts of the game.
There isn’t a lot of dialog in Dark Summit, but many of the characters do have a few lines that are often quite humorous. The voices all fit the characters and the radical punk-style of the genre. Even the authoritative voice of the ranger fits the game and will have you laughing.
The music slips comfortably into the background where it serves its purpose very well. There isn’t a huge variety in tunes, yet it never seems to get repetitive and it tends to blend with the action currently taking place on the screen. If things are getting tense for your rider then the music slips into something suitable.
The sound effects are as accurate as they are plentiful. From the hum of the electric fences to the gurgling of the green pools of toxic waste to the crunching of your board on freshly packed snow, the sounds totally add to the immersion of this snowboarding experience.
While the entire game takes place on only one mountain, the length, variety, and sheer number of tracks are tremendous. Each track has all sorts of hidden paths, alternate routes, and exploration secrets just waiting to be found.
During the course of the adventure you will have the opportunity to unlock five additional riders. These covert operatives each have their own unique personalities and characteristics, and they can then be used when you replay the game later. There are also plenty of tricks to find on the mountain as well as a huge wardrobe of snowboarding apparel and tons of high tech equipment upgrades including boards, bindings and gear you can buy in the Equipment Hut.
You will probably finish the main adventure in 10-12 hours. Things don’t really change when you replay using a new character, but even so, you will probably find yourself irresistibly compelled to return to Mount Garrick from time to time.
There is a split screen two-player mode that totally rocks. You can race on any tracks that you have previously unlocked in the adventure mode. Knowing the mountain and the locations of those secret shortcuts are crucial in winning these races.
In addition to the standard racing mode there is also a Wrecking Ball mode where both players try to smash as many objects as they can on their way down the mountain. The person with the most wreckage at the bottom wins.
There is also a Half Pipe Battle mode where two players can compete in the half pipe by performing all sorts of radical stunts. The person with the most “trick points” at the end wins.
Radical has delivered a great snowboarding game with a unique twist that is more than enough to set this game apart from all the other snowboarding games currently available. The minimal learning curve and easiness of the controls and trick system make this a perfect game for the younger kids and those who don’t have the time or patience to learn all the intricate moves of the more advanced simulations.