by:	October 24, 2004

If you’re like me, your fingers are hurting from the countless hours of Amped. Well, you’re not going to get a break from that action because another snowboarding game is on the shelves and is ready for us to play. Let’s welcome everyone to a fairly average title. Though I’d have to say that I would take an overall average game any day compared to some of the fodder we are force fed these days. If you’re looking for a game that will keep you busy in your time of need between mega-hit releases, than Dark Summit is the quick fix you’ve been looking for.

The story goes as so: Chief O’Leary has banned snowboarders from Mt. Garrick and you have taken it upon yourself to uncover his evil plot. You have an arsenal of tricks at your disposal; just keep your eye peeled for the pesky ski patrol. It’s your duty to complete the tasks set before you and take down Chief O’Leary. Good Luck.

Graphics
You are going to be neither floored nor ecstatic with the graphics, but they are a far cry from disgusting. With pretty particle effects, character models, and most importantly, animations, you’ll be interested with the eye candy momentarily, but at a blurring pace you’ll hardly have time to soak it all in. You’ll also encounter pre-loaded missions for your viewing pleasure. No horrible pop-ups and no slowdown due to level loading. It’s just all-fast fun, all the time. From snowmen to logs to toxic waste pools, a gamut of objects will also be in your path as you careen down the slopes of Mt. Garrick. Wait! Toxic Waste pools? You heard right. As unreal as it seems, Chief O’Leary somehow has stored giant pools of toxic waste atop his mountain. A far stretch from reality, but then again it is a video game. Graphics are average, plain and simple. But that’s just my opinion, and I’m sticking to it.

Sound
The strong suit of Dark Summit is its musical track selection, and for the most part, the sound department as a whole. You’ll find the right beats at the right time and you’ll be groovin’ in no time. Repetition in dialogue can be slightly annoying, but for the most part the voices are done nicely with a few chuckles along the way. Environment sounds are done well but nothing over-the-top astounding. You won’t be bored with anything in the sound department, which is more than you can say for a lot of games.

Gameplay
This is a pretty straightforward segment. You’ll complete various missions to unlock other parts of the mountain and more parts of the story. Along the way you’ll want to do as many tricks as possible to gain experience to unlock new gear. One nice thing about Dark Summit is that if you completely blow a task, you can start over just from the start of that task and not from the beginning of the mission itself. This feature comes in quite handy especially if you aren’t a polished Dark Summit player. If you’ve played Amped and have mastered the art that is Amped you’ll fall right into this game. Dark Summit tends to be a little more non-linear than Amped. If you loved Amped, you’ll get a kick out of Dark Summit, but the two really can’t be compared. Amped outdoes Dark Summit in every way, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t fun. Trust me, it’s fun.

Controls
Simplistic is the word I was looking for here. Scaled down from the magnitude of Amped’s control system, Dark Summit is geared towards button combinations that lead to an array of tricks you can perform (they’re just not as complex). Finding the special trick keys is what you’ll spend a good amount of time doing. Soon enough you’ll be pulling of mad crazy tricks and grinding your way to an enjoyable video game experience.

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If you’re looking for something Amped-like you’ll find that the two are quite different. Like I mentioned before, this is a good game to try if you have exhausted some other games. It’s a must-rent and worth the money you’ll hand out. Give it a whirl and get ready for Amped Online.

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