Snowboard Kids
Reviewed by Raymond Almeda
Snowboard Kids might best be described as "Mario Kart on Snow." Or
at least that seems to have been the developers' idea. This snowboarding
title is a far cry from the intense realism of Nintendo's own 1080*
Snowboarding, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. While 1080* is
the snowboarding game of the year, Snowboard Kids provides a fun (and
yes, cute) alternative with an heavy emphasis on multiplay.
The game itself involves racing a cast of cutesy/deformed characters
down a series of colorful snowboard slopes. Unlike the sprite-based
Mario Kart, Snowboard Kids appears to use polygon-based racers. If one
didn't know better, one might call this "real-time dynamic animation"
(RDA); but of course, Rare already snagged that particular catchphrase
with its Diddy Kong Racing. Simply stated, the cartoon-inspired cutesy
graphics here are impressive.
As with a certain kart racing game we all know and love, the slopes of
Snowboard Kids are littered with assorted "power-ups." Racers can wield
objects like flying frying pans, ghosts, etc. to smack the competition. For
some reason, there are few things in life more fun than abusing one's friends
in video games. Snowboard Kids delivers a memorable split screen multiplay
experience for up to four players.
Snowboard Kids may not win any awards for originality, but there's no
denying that it is a well designed game. Despite the trendy snowboarding
theme, there is no attempt whatsoever to convey a realistic simulation of
the sport. The title is instead targeted towards younger players who seek
a fresh alternative to Mario Kart.
Overall 7.75 out of 10