Cool Boarders 2001 Preview

989 Sports is churning out another installment of Cool Boarders, its quintessential snowboarding series. It's called Cool Boarders 2001, and it's jam-packed with features, a convention not uncommon in extreme-sports titles these days.

Ten real-life boarders will make up the cast of Cool Boarders 2001, including Michele Taggart, Travis Parker, Jussi Oksanen, and Tara Dakides, among others. Aside from these notables, you can craft your own boarder, who can be subsequently decked out - to further the cause of realism (and marketing) - in all manner of legit trappings, from Dragon Optical specs and Vans gear, to MLY, Morrow, and Sims decks.

Speaking of which, 989 seems to be going out of its way to make sure that Cool Boarders 2001 is the most realistic-looking board sim on the market. Much lauded are the atmospheric effects the game is said to boast - things like snow fall, powder, and debris are all promised to be rendered in a most realistic, breathtaking manner. When combined with the reported 300 character animations (included with the aid of reputable pros, such as Todd Richards), one is led to believe that there is some substance behind 989's lofty claims.

Aesthetics aside, CB 2001 promises to feature a generous amount of gameplay: six events composed of 20 varied courses will make up the game, the events being: half-pipe, board park, big air, CBX, downhill points run, and downhill gates race. On top of these, players will be able to go head-to-head with the pros themselves in the pro challenge mode - each pro will host his or her own particular challenge, the winning of which will unlock many of the game's secrets.

As far as gameplay goes, 989 promises that CB 2001 will incorporate the much-liked control scheme present in the second Cool Boarders game. Says John Koller, the game's producer, "Cool Boarders 2001 will utilize a very similar control scheme [to CB2], and even at this early stage in development, the turns are very crisp and the tricks are extremely impressive." Fans and critics were very happy with the sequel's control scheme, so anything resembling its inclusion will likely be construed as a good thing.

CB 2001 will feature multiplayer support, in the form of trick competitions and head-to-head modes. To aid this, an "enhanced fighting feature, created through motion capture" has been implemented, though to what end still remains a mystery.

Watch out for Cool Boarders 2001 this November, and keep your eyes on this space for continuing coverage. Until then, check out our exclusive Q&A with Cool Boarders 2001 producer John Koller.