1080 Snowboarding is one of those games whose modern appeal can be difficult to contextualize; at the time a game-changer and universally praised, now outdated and lacking in character. While largely influential at its time, this game doesn't have anything significant to offer to new players in the current day apart from its enjoyable soundtrack and unique environmental aspects.
Released in 1998, the snowboarding game genre was just beginning to pick up steam, but the sport still lacked the popularity it does today, especially in the west. One of the most appreciable things about 1080 is that it ditched the "arcade racer" vibe that a lot of early snowboarding-and, indeed, most extreme sports games in general-were going for, and focused more on attempting to make a more "realistic" snowboarding game. Now, being 1998, the results were bound to age poorly, however, it's those realistic aspects that are the most interesting aspects of the game to this day. The various levels of snow and ice affect the way you ride down the track, and courses end up feeling more dynamic as a result.
Sadly, the rest of the game doesn't hold up as well. It's an incredibly brief game, and even with multiplayer content, there isn't much room for replayability in this game if you have something else to play. This would not be an issue, except that (with exception to what was mentioned above), 1080 doesn't have any distinguishing factor that would make it replayable, so it's short both in length and in ideas. The game is also relatively unforgiving, and you might find yourself crashing while turning or performing tricks, when it doesn't feel like you should have; the physics engine in general is quite wonky. The controls have aged poorly as well, and aren't intuitive, so there's a lot of trial and error that can go into playing this game before you figure out what the game wants you to do. Graphically, while the pinnacle of realism at the time, the game has also aged poorly, and has fallen behind other N64 games as time has gone on.
1080 Snowboarding was an important game to the snowboarding genre, and its influence upon later releases is noticeable, but it's a game that feels like all it has to offer is that it used to be important. For the snowboarding super fan, this game is interesting enough to be worth checking out, but for everyone else, there are far more rewarding games to play.
Released in 1998, the snowboarding game genre was just beginning to pick up steam, but the sport still lacked the popularity it does today, especially in the west. One of the most appreciable things about 1080 is that it ditched the "arcade racer" vibe that a lot of early snowboarding-and, indeed, most extreme sports games in general-were going for, and focused more on attempting to make a more "realistic" snowboarding game. Now, being 1998, the results were bound to age poorly, however, it's those realistic aspects that are the most interesting aspects of the game to this day. The various levels of snow and ice affect the way you ride down the track, and courses end up feeling more dynamic as a result.
Sadly, the rest of the game doesn't hold up as well. It's an incredibly brief game, and even with multiplayer content, there isn't much room for replayability in this game if you have something else to play. This would not be an issue, except that (with exception to what was mentioned above), 1080 doesn't have any distinguishing factor that would make it replayable, so it's short both in length and in ideas. The game is also relatively unforgiving, and you might find yourself crashing while turning or performing tricks, when it doesn't feel like you should have; the physics engine in general is quite wonky. The controls have aged poorly as well, and aren't intuitive, so there's a lot of trial and error that can go into playing this game before you figure out what the game wants you to do. Graphically, while the pinnacle of realism at the time, the game has also aged poorly, and has fallen behind other N64 games as time has gone on.
1080 Snowboarding was an important game to the snowboarding genre, and its influence upon later releases is noticeable, but it's a game that feels like all it has to offer is that it used to be important. For the snowboarding super fan, this game is interesting enough to be worth checking out, but for everyone else, there are far more rewarding games to play.