I just know that Cole would be freaking on this game due to its cultural pandering to the young 'dudes' that rule these resort roosts. If Cole were a character in this game he would be the guy hiding in the bush with a submachine gun attempting to erase every attitude-infested adolescent off the face of the Earth. To tell you the truth, I can't blame him this time around. The characters in Amped 3 are among the most annoying I've ever encountered in any game. These "dudes" are full of "tude" and if I was a teenager I would certainly be insulted at the way my generation is portrayed. Then again, I have overheard some snowboarders' conversations and it makes me wonder if they're even smart enough to tear open the plastic wrapping off this game. Relax, I'm almost joking.

Stats are recorded and can be posted online. All of your scores, tricks, hang times and falls can be displayed for the world to see. If you're good enough you might even be able to compete for a gold medal. As accessible as the controls are, there are challenges that will require a good deal of practice even if you have all of the real-world items at your disposal.

I expected to see much better graphics on the 360 or at least been given opportunities to see the hardware really kick some visual ass. Unfortunately the visuals aren't anything that couldn't have been done on the Xbox as far as I'm concerned. The polygon count of the characters is higher and it's great playing in high res, but there really isn't anything so impressive that it will make your lowly Xbox-owing friends glow green with envy. If anything they'll just say "I'm playing Amped 2 on XBL...what are you doing 360-boy?" The off-kilter presentation complete with surreal sketches, stop-motion animation, Oriental themes and sock puppets is funky, but it feels like it's just trying to hard to be different. Some of it was entertaining, amusing and even laugh out loud funny, but it didn't enhance the snowboarding experience; but it sure was different - I'll definitely give it thumbs up for that. You're either going to love it or not at all.

There are literally hundreds of tunes, but most of them are from indie bands that were probably licensed for free - even that's too expensive for some of these headache instigators. Hey, I'm staring to sound a bit like Cole on this review.

Amped 3 is good but it's not great and that's really too bad. I always thought of the Amped series as almost a badge of honor because when you went online and played with others, you knew they went through the same intense training as you did to get there. There was an unspoken connection. With more accessible controls the spirit of the game is missing in my opinion and even though I got used to the changes quickly it just feels like a different game with some of the same objectives. The Amped 1 & 2 lover in me wants to score this a 2.0, but the game reviewer in me that recognizes that the game must be reviewed with "new eyes" gives it a 3.5.

By StewXX
CCC Staff Writer

Amped 1 & 2 managed to set itself apart from the other snowboarding games available at the time. EA's over the top arcade style shreddin' series, SSX, appealed to the Tony Hawk crowd, who seemed more interested in speed and trick combos moreso than a realistic boarding experience. Then there was the cartoony Snowboard Kids and the more serious 1080 series on the N64 and Cube.

Amped delved more into the culture of boarding and while still allowing for cool tricks and inde soundtrack to keep the game entertaining, it's focus was on building up the necessary skills to impress magazines and sponsors to sign you.

Take 2 is currently in development on the third installment of the Amped franchise and perhaps due to the numbers generated by more "extreme" sports games such as SSX and Tony Hawk's Underground, they are gambling with the direction of the series and taking it into all new "extreme" territory.

Expect to see "trails" coming out from behind your character as he or she tackles the enormous mountain before them. I'm not sure why that's necessary. I've yet to see that at the Winter Olympics, but to be edgy, 2K Games is including it as a feature. Perhaps there will be blue moons, red stars,green clovers....

We were impressed with the previous offerings in the series and we hope that 2K isn't changing Amped's winning formula just so it can "fit in". Stay tuned.