Anyways, check it out:
Debut Trailer w/ Atmosphere:
http://www.gametrailers.com/player/39527.html
Dynamic Weather Tech Trailer:
http://www.gametrailers.com/player/42305.html
One of the artists featured in Stoked:
http://gettingstoked.com/blog/2008/07/16/the-small-hours/
Latest preview from Game Informer:
Here in Minnesota, the temperature is slowly falling below that infamous 32-degree mark, and that means snow. Tis the season for hucking huge spins off cliffs or dropping out of helicopters for runs in the fresh powder. If you haven't guessed, it's December and snowboard season is upon us, and the now biggest snow sport in the world will once again dominate our mountains and slopes. Not too long ago, we gave you a peek at Ubisoft's Shaun White Snowboarding, but now we get to look at the other big shredder on the block, Destineer's Stoked.
Stoked can best be described as a mixture of Microsoft's Amped and EA's Skate. There's a focus on realism, but not too much to take the fun away (big mountain snowboarding is not exactly easy). The game features five full real-world mountains to ride (three of which are unlocked, and two more are left to earn). When we say full mountains, we mean full mountains. Each massive level isn't just a map of a ski resort, but a fully rideable 360 degree mass of land. In other words, they're pretty damn big. Each of these mountains will have a ton of different challenges, jibs, jumps, cliffs and just about anything else you'd want to do while strapped into a snowboard. One of the cool features on each mountain is the helicopter that takes you from point to point. Eventually, the player will get to fly to any point on the mountain to drop out and ride. It will be a great way to get to you favorite spots in a jiffy.
Stoked features snow. Crazy, we know. Not just a white surface with some whooshing sounds, but actual snow. There are different types of snow, too, like powder or packed, and when it snows, it actually collects both on the ground and on objects like jibs, trees and houses. Riding in fresh powder will play a bit different than snow that's melting in the sun. And it will come into play with the challenges too; some may not be accessible unless it has just snowed. To keep this from getting frustrating, there's actually a real-time weather report and forecast for each mountain. There will also be a day and night cycle that comes out to be one real-world hour equals one day in the game.
The challenges in Stoked feature a pretty good variety. There's your average "high trick score" or "do the called-out trick," but then there cool spins on them where, for example, you have to do player-choice trick from a certain category like grabs or flips or just mix the two to be more efficient. Along with the regular career challenges, there are media challenges, which involve doing certain things for the cameras. After you get the shot, you will get to save it to a scrapbook that you can view later. There are also over 130 different tricks in the game; pretty much anything you can imagine to do on a snowboard is here.
While the game's focus is more on big mountain riding rather than park riding, the snowboard culture is in full effect with Stoked. The game will feature 27 core industry sponsors for everything from boards and bindings to magazines and films. Companies like Burton, TechNine, Anon, Ride, Dragon, Nikita, Absinthe Films and Onboard Magazine will have some kind of presence, whether it's to deck out your rider or feature them on a cover. When the player starts off, there will only be generic stuff to choose from, but over time, the sponsors will become available and the goods will start flowing in. There are also a handful of real-world pros, from Travis Rice to Minnesota's own Bjorn Lines in the game, who will feature their own challenge checklist to complete. And to keep you ears happy while riding, Stoked also comes with a huge soundtrack featuring a ton of variety (rock, hip-hop, electronic, etc) and selectable genres.
Controlling Stoked is pretty similar to playing Skate. The right stick handles ollies in the same way, a system we personally love. Also along the Skate path, the triggers mixed with the right stick handle grabs. While it's a good system for that in skateboarding, snowboarding grabs are much more important and we'd like to see it more like Amped, where the right stick alone does the default grabs simplifying it a bit. For jibbing (grinding) the player lines of the boarder and just hops on, no jibbing button required. One of the concerns we have for Stoked is the riding flow. The game is really close to having a deep riding experience, but we'd really like to see a bit of polish there. While getting the rider down the hill is no problem, lining them up for that perfect jib can be frustrating.
While it may have taken a while, there is once again a push for snowboarding in video games. Stoked is full of solid ideas, core riders and industry defining sponsors. If you're looking to do some indoor shredding, spare your couch and take off the snowboard and look for Stoked this December on Xbox 360 instead.
It will arrive on store shelves Jan. 30th. And it'll only be $39.99! :o Who else can't wait for this game? Am I the only one? :(
Log in to comment