paying Amped 2 is like eating a yellow snowball. Microsoft has gone out of its way to add more than enough new content to the mix, but has done little to alleviate the bad taste that the gameplay leaves in your mouth.

Once again, Amped’s biggest strength is the variety that is packed into the challenges. Not only will you be asked to trick out to achieve massive scores; you’ll have to pull off flashy moves at specific photographer locations, win competitions, and destroy scattered objects. If you get flustered by one event, you can always move on to something else and come back later.

I also got a chuckle or two out of the presents that sponsors hand out. Early on, I won a slice of pizza (just one), tickets to a punk rock show, and free tacos for a week. The bizarre nature of these rewards certainly kept me playing and wondering what could possibly come next.

The remainder of the game did little to hold my interest, though. Snowskating allows players to do flip tricks and one-footed grinds (just like you would on a skateboard), but there is really nothing to it. The game also boasts manual-like maneuvers, but they’re terribly inconsistent in linking together combo moves. You’re rewarded with scoring bonuses (called Steez) for slow spins, perfect rail balancing, and flawless tweak timing. For the second edition running, realism in physics and the sensation of speed elude this title. Your boarder floats through the air and you never really get a sense of gravity upon landing. Many of the stages are quite flat and don’t do a good job of conveying movement downhill.

Grinding rails is a terribly sloppy affair. The transition animations from shredding to landing on a rail are often choppy, and it’s difficult to perform vert tricks upon dismounting.

Seeing the game in 720p is a real treat; however, the boost in resolution does little to hide the fact that SSX’s graphics simply smoke this title’s. Being able to listen to your own tunes is fantastic as always, yet it’s not necessary with this title. The game features a monster of a soundtrack with over 300 different tracks from mostly unknown indie artists. True enough, there’s good reason why some of these bands aren’t signed yet. Regardless of the quality of some of the songs, it’s easily the most ambitious and diverse video game score yet.

The only strength that Amped has over the Xbox version of SSX 3 is the fact that it can be played online. Tearing it up with friends is fun, I’ll give it that, but you’re still doing it with disappointing controls.

It’s definitely a bigger game, but it’s in no shape or form better. Due to its inconsistencies and problematic gameplay, frustration abounds in Amped 2. Do me a favor, avoid the frostbite and stick with SSX.