The third installment of the snowboarding franchise is Amped 3. The campaign includes a new scenario in which the protagonist is wrongfully accused of stealing the money his crew saved for a vacation to Chile. Now he’s off to Utah to get his money back. The bizarre cutscenes alternate between presentation forms, such as stop-motion with puppets or sketched sequences.
Based on genuine resorts, the seven levels are broad and have numerous difficulties to overcome, including acrobatics. To maintain a consistent difficulty curve, the harder ones are locked until the easier ones are finished. There are also optional challenging quests that, when completed, boost the player character’s powers. Aside from the snowboard, other forms of movement are involved, such as a snowmobile. The controls are more action-oriented than in previous versions.
The game also includes a “Park Builder” editor that allows users to design or modify existing runs; it can even be used to change the levels while playing the campaign and a customizable soundtrack with over 300 songs. Progression and achievements are immediately synced to Xbox LIVE! Leaderboards.
