Why 1080° Avalanche Is Still One of the Best Snowboard Racing Games

Dozens of snowboarding games came out in the 2000s, with some months seeing three or four new titles all launching within days of each other. Developers had to work to find their own unique angles on the sport, whether it was the gravity-defying tricks of the fantastic SSX series, the freestyle snowboarding of the Amped series, or even the Tony Hawk-adjacent Shaun Palmer's Pro Snowboarder. With so many games to choose from, a game that may have slid under some players' radars is Nintendo's own 1080° Avalanche. Gooey is back in the hosting seat for this episode, joined by McKenna and Sean, as they break down the history and development of this successor to the Nintendo 64 classic 1080° Snowboarding. A sort of cousin to Wave Race: Blue Storm (it's even called 1080° Silverstorm in Japan), Avalanche builds on its Nintendo 64 predecessor with a variety of new modes and gameplay twists. And while it may not have the more robust trick system or longer single-player campaigns of the SSX series, with immersive environmental effects and a wild sense of speed, it may be one of the best of the era when it comes to intense snowboard racing. If you enjoyed this show, please consider following us in your podcast player and leaving a positive review. For any five-star reviews left with names, we will personally thank you on the show.Our 2000s-inspired theme music is by Duncan "PixelTea" Smith (https://duncansmith.carrd.co/), and our show art is by Andrew (https://bsky.app/profile/elmore.zone).Millennium Edition is a Sound Stone Network original podcast. If you liked this show, we invite you to check out the rest of our lineup:Kirby Conversations: Air riding through over 30 years of Kirby and HAL Laboratory with Sean, Bridge, and WiKirby Editor-in-Chief GigiFlashback 64: the chronological Nintendo 64 podcast with Gooey and McKennaPixels and Polygons: a conversational video game podcast of short interviews from Darren Hupke...and a weekly livestream on video game manuals from Nic McConnell, Instruction DerbyOur YouTube channel is https://www.youtube.com/@SoundStone-Network. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.