X2 Snowboarding Review

By , on February 16, 2010


X2 Snowboarding
Download on the AppStore
4 out of 5

PROS

  • Smooth customizable controls.
  • Tons of tricks and great special abilities to enjoy.
  • Licensed soundtrack.

CONS

  • Gesture control requires lightning fast hands.

VERDICT

While X2 Snowboarding isn't a stand-out in the trick-racing genre it's still a perfectly crafted example of the genre.


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Trick-based racing games have always come in and out of vogue and the popularity genre leaders like the Tony Hawk series are a great way of checking how strong the genre is doing. X2 Games has released X2 Snowboarding despite the currently luke-warm state of trick-racing, but is its gameplay good enough to go against the odds?

X2 combines several control methods, some of which can be changed to your preference, for great control over your snowboarder of choice. Accelerometer controls are used to move and spin in the air if you choose, while touches and swipes are also used to spin and initiate special moves for bonus points. There are a lot of points to touch, but all of them are responsive and it's easy to randomly tap for points while learning the finer points of control. Grinds are notoriously annoying to initiate, but aren't a deal-breaker on most levels.

Stages are available for each of the six boarders available in the game. Depending on your performance on each stage and collecting scattered gold coins you'll be able to unlock more stages and equipment to customize each boarder. Gameplay is accentuated by the ability to reverse time, slow down time or speed up and gives score-junkies the tools to maximize their runs.

With its grinding sound-track, endless logo stickers and perfectionist take on scoring X2 Snowboarding is a standard entry in the genre. Fans of trick-racing games will find a perfect game to enjoy in X2, but it's not a standout entry either.

Screenshots

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