Shaun Palmer's Pro Snowboarder 2 (PlayStation 2)

GameSpot editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 3.5 stars Very good
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 7.7 (3.5 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Ryan Davis
• Reviewed on: 11/14/2001
• Updated on: 05/17/2006
• Released on: 11/13/2001
• Originally published on GameSpot: Shaun Palmer's Pro Snowboarder 2 (PlayStation 2) Review

If you could point to a single component of the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater games that accounts for their incredible popularity, it would be the intuitive and challenging trick system. Activision and developer Dearsoft have applied the Tony Hawk blueprint to snowboarding in Shaun Palmer's Pro Snowboarder. The end result is a solid and enjoyable snowboarding game that successfully brings Tony Hawk to the mountain.

Considering the serious differences between the two sports, it's pretty surprising just how much Shaun Palmer's Pro Snowboarder plays like Tony Hawk's Pro Skater. The levels are designed after real-world slopes, like Kirkwood, Heavenly, and Squaw Valley, and just like in Tony Hawk, the levels alternate between freestyle and competition. Each freestyle level has a set of nine goals. The secret sponsor icons, a colder version of Tony Hawk's secret tapes, and the standard score challenges are found in every freestyle level, along with more level-specific goals, such as crashing through five signs or jumping over a yuppie. Completing these goals will let you move on to the next mountain and will net you stat points to improve your boarder's abilities. In the occasional competition level, you'll race down the mountain against other boarders for a bronze, silver, or gold medal. Since snowboarding is inherently a much more linear sport than skateboarding, this multiple-level goal system is not a perfect fit. However, each level has its share of ski lifts, snowmobiles, and 4x4s that will teleport you back up the mountain, making it possible to give it another shot without starting over. This little trick is kind of hackneyed, but it's an interesting solution to a problem that has beleaguered other freestyle snowboarding games, and most importantly, it works.

The trick system in Shaun Palmer is almost identical to Tony Hawk 3's trick system, down to the inclusion of the revert, a maneuver that can be used to chain multiple vert tricks into a single combo. If you've played Tony Hawk, you'll be able to pick up Shaun Palmer almost instantly, though there are a few key differences. Ollies, grab tricks, and grinds work the same; however, the boarder and skater definitions of "flip trick" aren't exactly the same. Instead of flipping the board with his or her feet, your boarder will flip his or her whole body. This difference in mechanics will force Tony Hawk vets to alter their game slightly, because you won't be able to integrate flip tricks into your grinds. It's also worth noting that grind balance is much more difficult to maintain, and you'll have to keep a watchful eye on that balance meter. Your boarder also has a special trick meter, which slowly fills up as you complete more tricks without bailing. Once it's full, you'll be able to execute a handful of special flips, grabs, and grinds that are generally worth more points than standard tricks. Straying from the Tony Hawk formula, pulling off special tricks requires more D-pad action, and instead of a simple up-down or left-right movement, you'll have to perform more-complex moves, like a Street Fighter-style half-circle motion. Some of the higher-scoring standard tricks require multiple D-pad movements as well, and these changes help bring a greater level of depth to Shaun Palmer's already outstanding trick system.

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