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"Get your daily dose of snowboarding action."

Skidding down an icy, cold hill can always be a terrifying experience. Making a huge vertical leap off of a snow bank in your old plastic sleigh can also be an enjoyable experience. Whether you've actually tried snowboarding, or some activity similar to it, you'd understand that it's one of the more extreme sports out there. Cool Boarders 2 is a game based off of the winter sport of snowboarding. By taking a synthetically composed board, and sliding it along a snowy/icy surface, you gain tons of speed with plenty of potential. Cool Boarders 2 is your basic snowboarding game that enhances the experience by allowing you to perform nifty tricks, huge leaps, and compete against opponents. While it may not have a Tony Hawk patented name, it's definitely one of the more representing games of the exciting sport. The gamer can perform all types of loops, twists, and grabs while performing in different events. Ever wanted to do a fakey to nosetip-grab? Try it in the half-pipe event. Or maybe you're looking for something a little bit more intense, like a race against 8 other snowboarders. Cool Boarders 2 manages to combine several elements that make winter sport games so fun, but it also suffers from a few flaws throughout gameplay.

Graphics [6/10]
If you've ever slid head first down a snow layered hill, then you'd understand the sheer amount of trailing clutter, crystallizing surface, and shiny reflections that snow can project. As much as we'd love to see this on a system such as the Playstation, Cool Boarders 2 has some graphical glitches that alter the gameplay. First off, Cool Boarders 2 is played from two different view modes. The primary camera angle is a behind-the-racer view, showing your character on his board in entirety. Nearly every proportion and angle of the course can be estimated in clear detail. The second view is a ''first-person view'' that puts you inside the head of one of those gnarly racers. While FPS mode seems like an interesting touch, the snowboarder's head seems a bit snug to the surface. It's almost as if he's crunched like the Hunchback of Notre Dame. Once you start kicking tail on the course, you begin to understand that Cool Boarders 2 gives off the appearance of a rushed snowboarding game. The biggest flaw is that the game is too jagged for a winter sports game. Snow spurts out like icicles, almost as if it's deadlier to look at then actually touch.

Fortunately, courses are very detailed. You can see plastic-coated fences along boundaries, and buildings along the side lines. Even your starting gates and checkpoints show off vibrant colors. Still, Cool Boarders 2 suffers from a few graphical glitches that don't give it the ''perfect'' touch. There are numerous framerate drops that occur quite frequently throughout levels. I've also noticed that opposing snowboarders will warp in the distance, because of a lack of extended fog in the Playstation's hardware. Thankfully, most of the tricks and animations are very smooth. Doing a 360, or tailend grab looks exactly like the real thing. Your racers will react realistically to their stances, such as leaning forward or backward. The actual game interfaces are impressive as well. Menus are easy to get use to, and allow for easy customizations of characters and/or boards. In the end though, Cool Boarders 2 presents nothing more than slightly average graphics.

Sound/Music [8/10]
One of the more popular trends with all of these ''Xtreme'' sports is the fact that they often use hardcore/rock music. Those guitar-bashing tunes just send shrilling echoes into your spine as you listen to them in the distance. Cool Boarders 2 continues the popular activity by providing plenty of interesting tunes and background music. The second you start up the game, you're provided with a nice homestyle version of the CB2 theme song. Menus, racing events, and each snowboarding activity is provided with a nice background theme to assist the player. It's almost like you can get in a special extreme playing mode based on the various songs you'll hear during gameplay. Cool Boarders 2 also features excellent sound effects. Before you perform a qualifying trick, you'll hear a heartbeat pouncing in the distance. It's almost like you can feel the nervousness building up inside the racer's stomach. Each character in the game also has voice recorded clips, although they're not on par with top notch sounds. The commentator makes disgraceful or commending sounds based on how well you perform. Cool Boarders 2 provides very engaging sounds that relate well to the game's basis.

Gameplay [6/10]
What makes snowboarding such an exciting sport is the great amount of air, tricks, and speed that gets jumbled into one event. Racers usually compete against each other in timed events, while entertaining the spectators with gravity-defying twists and turns. Cool Boarders 2 is modeled after your basic snowboarding game. The gamer is given control of his racer by letting him shift in certain directions. You can lean forward to help curve on turns, or tilt backwards to gain some speed on the downhill rush. Your racer can also ''brake'' his/her board on turns, crouch for a daring jump, and best of all, perform tricks while in mid air. Cool Boarders 2 features several different events that players can compete in. The primary gameplay mode in the game is Tour Competition mode. The player must qualify for a position in the race by performing the most daring/dangerous trick. After you get assigned a ranking for the race, you basically duke it out against 8 other snowboarders on a tightly bordered course. CB2 manages to combine elements of the actual snowboarding sport, while providing that sensual arcade feeling.

First off, the biggest flaw in Cool Boarders 2 gameplay system is a lack of controls. While the controls are setup well for the Playstation, the actual execution of the system is very complex. Tricks require such a heightened amount of timing, speed, and button pressing, that it becomes a nagging task to complete them. While the instruction manual provides the combinations of how to perform these tricks, most of them are intricate mixes of R1, L1, and miscellaneous buttons. It takes more than a simple hour of practice to actually memorize each trick, while maintaining the in-game physics to do so. Secondly, Cool Boarders 2 is too arcadish for its own good. Slamming into a wall cuts your speed into nearly half. If you land at the wrong angle, you'll roll a few times, but immediately continue onward like nothing happened. Even jumps seem to get slowed down in mid-air so they can create the feeling of an ''ultra-high'' jump. Too many in-game elements of a real snowboarding game get left out when you pop Cool Boarders 2 into your Playstation.

Also, some of the actual racing can be tedious at times. If you can't do the button mashing tricks in time, you'll get ranked at low positions in races. Gear changing becomes a tedious track since each map tends to have a different playing style. It's nearly impossible to use the fastest board on some levels, because you'll constantly find yourself crashing into walls. It's not that CB2's controls aren't responsive, they just don't seem like they flow together well enough. Besides that, the graphical glitches do not help the overall gaming experience. Still, it's probably one of the more definitive snowboarding games available. Cool Boarders 2 defines its own gaming system which makes it a unique experience to play. The lightning speed you travel at, combined with the air you gain on jumps does a great job of entertaining the player.

Fun [8/10]
Even if you're not a huge snowboarding fan, a major portion of gamers out there will thoroughly enjoy Cool Boarders 2 for what it is. Compared to the original game, the sequel provides plenty of entertainment. Most courses are very fast paced, giving only a few seconds for the player to react. Often you'll find yourself weaving down certain tracks, and then jumping on a pipe to grind for several hundred feet. CB2 manages to combine a solid element of changes in pace that the gamer becomes accustomed to. Every so often you'll come across an elevated ramp, which let's you perform a totally rad trick. At the same time, you're given a chance to race against other opponents. The game shoots out a thrilling effect that only a few extreme sports games can capture. Even after a race ends, you can gain so much satisfaction by watching yourself in the instant replay mode.

Replayability [9/10]
For being a simple snowboarding game, you'd think Cool Boarders 2 would ''cool off'' pretty quickly. Well, you'd be totally wrong in terms of any gamer out there. Cool Boarders 2 features plenty of options that allow the player to expand in nearly any direction. First off, the game features a large amount of different gameplay modes. Besides Tour Competition, you can also play on a Big Air, Half Pipe, practice course, or freestyle arena. Different modes allow you to compete for different objectives. The half pipe is probably the most rewarding experience as it tells you what different tricks you perform after you complete a run. CB2 includes over 9 different tracks, each with different themes and overviews. One level might be littered with a few trucks and cars here and there. Another time, you'll find yourself careening down a narrow snowy stretch with no fencing to prevent you from sliding off a hill. Besides some impressive modes, you can also select different racers and boards. There are well over 18 different boards to choose from. Most of your snow-riding equipment is split into 3 different categories (alpine, all-around, freestyle). Each have their disadvantages and advantages. Also, each racer in the game has skill ratings based on which categories they excel at. This is truly the ultimate snowboarding game out there for the Playstation.

Difficulty [7/10]
As much as I'd like to say I'm some snowboarding expert, I'm not. While Cool Boarders 2 may seem a bit advanced at first, most players can ultimately learn how to play the game in a solid 2 hours. Unfortunately, the biggest downplaying factor is that the control system makes Cool Boarders 2 such a difficult game. Performing tricks seem perplexing to a certain standard, almost impossible at times. Often, you may throw the controller into the ground in frustration. Timing is an almost essential key to the puzzle. Besides that, courses progressively get harder which only hardens the burden of defeating Cool Boarders 2. The combination of different boards, racers, and controls truly challenge the player to higher standards. Not only that, but you have to meet a certain amount of clearing points on each race in order to continue. If you don't meet the deadline, you get booted off, and must start all over again. CB2 is one of the more challenging snowboarding games out there, and just doesn't let you ''fly'' through a level.

Final Factor [7/10]
Snowboarding games always seem to a lack a certain push that prevents them from being perfect. Whether it be disappointing graphics, a flawed control system, or just aggravating gameplay, Cool Boarders 2 seems like a combination of each. With a complex trick system, most players will simply give up on performing the big 1080 twist. During harsh times, even the graphics can be a bit depressing. If you're a huge snowboarding fan, and want that ''ultimate'' game for the Playstation, then this is your snowball of the week. CB2 takes every element of snowboarding into account, including different snow surfaces, board types, and ranging courses. However, if you're expecting the Tony Hawk of snowboarding games, this isn't even close. If you're just the average gamer looking for a change of pace, I really wouldn't recommend it. This is definitely one of the better snowboarding games out there, but does nothing to overly impress the casual player.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 09/14/03