1080 Snowoarding (N64)

1080 snowboarding, without doubt, is the greatest snowboarding game ever. It quite simply blows the others away. The graphics used for lens flares are amazing and you don't even notice the tiny amounts of pop-up because you are so taken by the other aspects of the game.

The innovative control system is very simple yet gives you varied and accurate control over your chosen character. You have a choice of four normal characters and three secret ones, and selection takes place in a wooden mountain shack. Look towards them and they stand up and say something.

The selection of real boards made by various companies can be dipped into for each type of event. Some are quicker and better for the race events while others are all-rounders and are good for the contest mode. Some aren't all that quick but are very good for tricks.

You can race different opponents each time, or take on someone in the superb (but sometimes lonely) two-player mode. Alternatively, play any course and either go for the quickest times or go for the highest trick score in the Trick mode which is highly addictive.

Perhaps the most enjoyable and innovative section is the Contest section. The rules are similar to a Arcade game because you have to go in and out of gates to get extra time while collecting points for doing stunts. Each gate you go through in succession wins you an extra 100 points.

1080 is definitely worth a look, not just for its fancy graphics but for its amazingly innovative control system and the varying styles of play on offer.

This game is quite hard and definitely one that provides a lasting challenge. It's perhaps more suited to older people as the stunts and control system are quite hard to master - some of the later races take a lot of practice to finish because they are deadly, especially the aptly named deadly fall.

97%

Jonathan Hume