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In 1080 Snowboarding, you control one of five characters in one of six different modes. These include a training mode for practicing tricks, a trick attack and contest mode, as well as, a time attack and single and multiplayer race modes.
Characters
Kensuke Kimachi
"Well known in Japan for his snowboarding skills. Kensuke joined the team because he wanted to be the best in the world."
| Nation | Japan |
| Age | 19 |
| Gender | Male |
| Skill | Points |
|---|---|
| Technique | 8 |
| Maximum Speed | 8 |
| Balance | 6 |
| Power | 7 |
| Jump | 6 |
Rob Haywood
- Nation: USA
- Age: 20 Years Old
- Gender: Male
"Rob joined the team through Ricky's father. He's a skilled snowboarder, but still has a lot to learn."
Skills
Technique: 8
Maximum Speed: 9
Balance: 7
Power: 6
Jump: 6
Akari Hayami
- Nation: Japan
- Age: 17 Years Old
- Gender: Female
"Akari is new to the sport, but a hard worker. Her technique and jumping ability could make her a valuable asset to the team."
Skills
Technique: 8
Maximum Speed: 5
Balance: 9
Power: 3
Jump: 8
Dion Blaster
- Nation: England
- Age: 28 Years Old
- Gender: Male
"Dion is one of the best overall snowboarders on the team. However he doesn't excel when it comes to tricks. This makes him impatient and irrational at times."
Skills
Technique: 4
Maximum Speed: 10
Balance: 5
Power: 3
Jump: 4
Ricky Winterborn
- Nation: Canada
- Age: 14 Years Old
- Gender: Male
"Ricky is a cocky little kid. That's probably because his dad founded this team. Although he's not strong, he has excellent trick technique."
Skills
Technique: 10
Maximum Speed: 4
Balance: 7
Power: 4
Jump: 10
Boards
Tahoe 151
Edge Control: 9
Acceleration: 10
Response: 10
Stability: 9
Flex: 7
Merlot 147
Edge Control: 5
Acceleration: 6
Response: 6
Stability: 6
Flex: 5
B-Line 149
Edge Control: 8
Acceleration: 7
Response: 6
Stability: 6
Flex: 6
Scout 156
Edge Control: 8
Acceleration: 8
Response: 8
Stability: 7
Flex: 7
Tahoe 155
Edge Control: 9
Acceleration: 10
Response: 10
Stability: 9
Flex: 8
Scout Limited 162
Edge Control: 8
Acceleration: 8
Response: 8
Stability: 7
Flex: 9
Merlot 143
Edge Control: 5
Acceleration: 6
Response: 5
Stability: 6
Flex: 4
B-Line 154
Edge Control: 8
Acceleration: 7
Response: 6
Stability: 6
Flex: 6
Reception and Legacy
At the time of 1080's release, it out did every other snowboarding game on the market. Like Wave Race and it's praise garnered for it's water physics, 1080° was well received based on how the snow was represented. Down the slopes you would hear the "swoosh" sounds coming from the snow, and would be have appropriately as in real life. Powdered snow would send a cloud of it in the air, ice would show your reflection, and your board would leave behind tracks in the snow.
Surprisingly, unlike it's other extreme sport cousin, 1080° was noted to be a very technical and overall difficult game. The hardest aspect of the game was positioning your board properly in order to land without wiping out. Other criticisms were given towards the game's AI, which would actually rubberband and would catch up to you much faster than the player trying to catch up to the computer.
Nonetheless, the game had no rival at it's time, and it took several years until it was trumped by EA's SSX series. A sequel to 1080 Snowboarding was released on the Gamecube called 1080 Avalanche. Developed by NST, the game received harsher criticisms compared to it's predecessor, most common complaints being frame rate issues and very little gameplay.
