Sled Storm
Score: 85% ESRB: Everyone Publisher: EA Games Developer: EA Canada Media: CD/1 Players: 1 - 2 (1 - 4 Multitap) Genre: Racing/ Sports (Extreme)
Graphics & Sound: Sled Storm looks good. Real good. The graphics remind me of a cross between Jet Moto and Big Air, as did the gameplay. There's not much pop-in in Sled Storm, which is amazing at some of the speeds you can get up to. The snow is realistic looking, and there are several variants of the cold stuff. You will encounter ice, snow, cold water, floating broken ice fields, and deep powder. Each type of terrain can be easily discerned on sight. The ‘sleds’ themselves look pretty good too - including the drivers. There are not a whole lot of special effects in Sled Storm, but that might account for the furious pace with little or no pop-in. The soundtrack consists of some blood pumpin', adrenaline rushin' tunes from Rob Zombie, Econoline Crush, Uberzone, E-Z Rollers, Dom & Roland... did I mention Rob Zombie?! Rob Zombie's 'Dragula'... the 'Hot Rod Herman Remix.' This is a really good remix. If you like 'Dragula,' you might end up just listening to this song in your CD player over and over when you're not playing the game (check it out... Track#2).
Gameplay: Take as many hidden shortcuts as Need For Speed, the feel of Jet Moto, and the attitude of Big Air, mix them together and chill for hours of wintery fun. Sled Storm is a snowmobile racing game, complete with motocross style stunts. At first, I was afraid it might be lame. I had never heard of racing snowmobiles and certainly not performing stunts on them. Well, if you check out the intro and watch for the actual footage of people attempting this, you may notice that most of the real footage seems to be that of accidents and mishaps. So, DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME, but feel free to try it in the magical world of PlayStation, where you can actually hold onto a snowmobile after that ridiculously high jump. The game itself is a blast. You get to customize your Sled with upgrades to help you stay competitive. You earn money by winning (you have to come in first to continue anyways), and by collecting points during races. You can gain points by performing tricks (successfully) and by destroying things such as signs, small trees, etc. Essentially, anything that you can hit that doesn't hurt you more that you hurt it. This includes a rabbit which occasionally gets in the way. This is the first game I have encountered that allows you to actually hit a small woodland creature (on the PlayStation, anyway), but the 75OO point reward may be a bit excessive (unless it is some sort of fugitive serial killer rabbit? Nah -didn't think so). All of these factors come together to make a very playable, fast-paced romp in the snow.
Difficulty: The game takes a little getting used to, but is great fun once you get into it. If you are a fan of the Jet Moto series, or if you like snowboarding and motocross games, you'll probably like this game. There are no difficulty settings to adjust, but carefully selecting your rider and upgrades can greatly reduce the difficulty. And once you start winning, you can use the prize money to upgrade your Sled. The better you do, the better your Sled gets.
Game Mechanics: One thing that was definitely done right was the upgrade system. I like the fact that you get more money by winning the race AND by showing off your skills during the races. But the best part of it is that you upgrade your Sled BEFORE you start your first race. This allows you to customize your Sled a little more to your playing style, giving you a little bit of an edge. Or, if you prefer, you can save your startup money and choose more costly upgrades later on. This adds a bit of a strategy to the mix, adding up to a game that takes however much thinking you wish to use, while maintaining a nice, blinding pace.
-Geck0, GameVortex Communications AKA Robert Perkins
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