Stoked: Big Air Edition

A good game made better. Improved graphics, the addition of racing, and some control scheme enhancements have made the game better.

Where Stoked was an impressive if flawed debut, Big Air Edition is a superior semi-sequel that should cement the series as a successful snowboarding franchise. If you missed it the first time around, be sure to grab a lift ticket for Stoked's second run.

There's only one way to truly see what the folks at Destineer have accomplished. Helicopter your way to Japan's highest peak, wait until it's dark and begin your descend. Never mind the events; just feel the mountain. That's Stoked!

Stoked is a true and pure Snowboard simulation. The ones looking for fast rides and spectacular tricks should think if they can face such a hard approach to the genre.

Our favorite addition is the inclusion of tooltips telling us how to perform the required tricks. When doing a challenge off one of the brand-new park objects, we now know exactly how to do a Crail or a Truckdriver without having to dive into the glossary of grabs!

The Big Air Edition doesn't make any aesthetic strides (same drab-looking riders and set pieces, same soundtrack), but otherwise, it's a sharp upgrade - one that improves the out-of-the-box experience for newcomers, while adding enough fresh content for veteran shredheads.

The Big Air Edition of Stoked makes for a bigger and somewhat better game that makes for a far more complete and completely gratifying snowboarding game for the Xbox 360. There are still a few issues that really haven't been improved in this version but we are still looking at one addictive snowboarding game well worth buying.

If you like snowboarding games, you'll enjoy this one too, but if you're new to this genre you might want to look somewhere else to enter this area.

It took Destineer two attempts at Stoked to get the majority of the game right, but even now the finished product, while solid, still isn't all that awe-inspiring.

Stoked: Big Air Edition is not for everybody. It doesn't fill in the void left by the fabulous, over-the-top style of the SSX series. For players looking for the realistic equivalent of Skate to the snowboarding sport, Stoked is where it at its strongest.

There's simply not too much new here.

It's a completely different experience from SSX and other arcade snowboarding game: compelling to the point of frustration, it will give some satisfaction only if you'll dedicate a lot of time and effort to the learning curve. It's a shame that the many events feel somehow disconnected, making the progression even more difficult to follow.

Two new locations and some minor tweaks doesn't add much to the core experience.

Stoked: Big Air Edition is a good game dedicated to the most hardcore snowboard fans. If you're looking for a snowboard simulation, this could be your best choice. The budget price and the good gameplay are enough to balance the lack of a proper career mode.

Stoked: Big Air Edition may have been deleloped some time ago, but it's still a good game. And even though it took closer to 18 months for it to arrive in Sweden we're still having fun with it, thanks to its size and low price.

For an updated version of a game that came out in 2009, Big Air Edition just doesn't do enough to justify a purchase for those who bought the original Stoked. However, to those who are thinking about buying this game, I would wait as even at the average price of £25 it still feels overpriced for what you get. This title to me is a rent only or a below £15 purchase at most.

Ultimately, though, there's just not enough to do. [Issue#69, p.85]

The original Stoked wasn't a bad game at all but Namco disappoints us because of the lack of improvements in Stoked: Big Air Edition.

Quotation forthcoming.