1080 Avalanche is my favorite snowboard game.
The problem with this game is the main mode, Match Race, wish allows you to finish it without having learned how to play correctly and so without being able to appreciate its qualities (the three first series of races can be completed in one hour by somebody discovering the game, the fourth series of races is more difficult but is just a shameful mirror mode).
There’s a slalom mode to begin with, it’s fun and learns you one of the many roads of each course.
Then by collecting the five medals on each track in Time Trial, we continue to explore the tracks.
Then the TT mode itself is the heart of the game, cause there is the big quality of Avalanche : it’s a good racing game, wich means great mecanics and good feeling and progress when understood.
The big idea here is that the snowboarder run faster in the air. Combined with the great level design of the twelve tracks, it opens many strategies and chalenges to link the good jumps (and good landing), fasting the pace of the run.
The original 1080 is more focus on the handling (famous for that), good style but limited in all of the other departments. Avalanche is a more complete game, greatly well done, except the main mode… They should have set a difficulty selection like in Mario Kart or F-Zero.
By the way my top 3D racing Nintendo games:
1 - F-Zero X
2 - Wave Race 64 and Mariokart 64
3 - 1080 Avalanche
4 - 1080, F-Zero GX and Mario Kart Double Dash
5 - Wave Race Blue Storm (good concept but it lacks polish).
The nice japanes box:
