Software:Amped 2

From HandWiki
Short description: 2003 video game
Amped 2
Developer(s)Salt Lake Games Studio
Publisher(s)Microsoft Game Studios
Designer(s)Carl Schnurr
Platform(s)Xbox
Release
  • NA: October 28, 2003
  • EU: November 14, 2003
Genre(s)Snowboarding
Mode(s)Single player, multiplayer

Amped 2 is a sequel to Microsoft's snowboarding game Amped, which was an Xbox launch title. The game was introduced as part of the XSN Sports lineup, which included such games as NFL Fever 2004, Links 2004, NBA Inside Drive 2004, NHL Rivals 2004, Top Spin and RalliSport Challenge 2. A sequel, Amped 3, was released in 2005.

Career Mode

The career mode in Amped 2 is much like other extreme sport games such as Tony Hawk's Pro Skater in which each level has goals for the player to complete. Each level or mountain has a high score and media score to break, which entails accumulating the most points in one run of the mountain and performing tricks for photographers or the media who are scattered throughout the mountain. The player must also find eight snowmen on each run as well as complete five tricks and gap locations that earn the player skill points. Skill points are used to upgrade stats such as "spin/flip", "big air", "ollie", "balance", and "switch".

In addition to these challenges, as the player progress through their career, they will be invited to events in which they compete for a top three finish which yields both fame and skill points. As the player's fame rises they gain different titles which are (from lowest to highest): "Local Rider", "Shop Rider", "Pro", "Superstar", and "#1". Once the player reaches number one in the world they are able to become a legend by completing each legend challenge on each mountain.

In addition to snowboarding, the player has the opportunity to snow skate. Snow skate adds different gameplay elements to the game which is more representative of skateboarding than snowboarding.

A character's physical features, such as clothing, goggles, and boots, can be edited.

Tricks and game points

Amped 2 features 14 top snowboarding pros, including Jeremy Jones, Mikey LeBlanc, Travis Parker, Torah Bright and Janna Meyen.[1]

The game provides a wide variety of performable tricks. There are also point multipliers which increase points when performing a difficult or stylish move.

General tricks include spins, flips, off-axes, butters, jibs, railslides, ollies, jumps, grabs, lip tricks, and tweaks. The player can also perform "combos". For example, a multiple flip + a 360 spin. Grabs can be achieved while airborne by moving the right thumbstick in any direction.

Additionally, the player can perform "style moves", which adds extra points and point multipliers to increase the player's score.

Multiplayer

Amped 2 supports up to eight players on System Link or Xbox Live and allows split-screen on both.

On Xbox Live there were five different game types such as, "Just Ride", "Trick Race", "High Score", "Best Trick", and "King of the Mountain".

There are seven different courses which include, Breckenridge, Bear Mountain, Mount Hood, Laax, Mount Buller, Millicent, and New Zealand, and each course has at least two different drop points.

Amped 2's multiplayer on Xbox Live brought a number of new features not seen in any other on-line game at the time. For instance, it was the first game on Xbox Live to integrate a player's career mode character to that of their Xbox Live character. During career mode, as the player completes tasks, they gain skill points which increase their character's abilities. This then translates to the player's Xbox Live character, therefore, giving individuals who have completed the career mode an advantage over those who have not.

Many Xbox Live titles had a single host who controls the game options, but if that player were to quit their session, the entire game session would expire. However, in Amped 2, the host can choose to have either the winner, loser, or a random player of a session select the options for the following game. Also, if the host quits, the player with the next best connection gains hosting abilities rather than ending the game session.

While Xbox Live for the original Xbox was shut down in 2010, Amped 2 is now playable online using replacement online servers for the Xbox called Insignia.[2][3]

Soundtrack

Amped 2 has an abundant soundtrack of over 300 songs, including various underground and indie groups such as Hudson River School, Time Spent Driving, Acumen Nation, and The Peripheral Visionaries. In addition to the in-game soundtrack, players can choose to use custom soundtracks as well.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic80/100[4]
Review scores
PublicationScore
Edge8/10[5]
EGM8.33/10[6]
Eurogamer7/10[7]
Famitsu32/40[8]
Game Informer6.75/10[9]
GameProStarStarStarStarHalf star[10]
GameSpot7/10[11]
GameSpyStarStarStar[12]
GameZone8.8/10[13]
IGN9/10[14]
OXM (US)8.7/10[15]

The game received "favorable" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[4] IGN said that "if you're a fan of the original Amped, then you should feel right at home with this game", praising the game's presentation, graphics, sound and lasting appeal, but stating that while they liked the gameplay, there was still room for improvement.[14] In Japan, where the game was ported for release as Tenku 2 (天空 2, Tenku Tsu), Famitsu gave it a score of all four eights for a total of 32 out of 40.[8]

References

  1. ↑ "Amped 2". Xbox.com. Archived from the original on August 21, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100821232753/http://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/a/amped2. Retrieved July 20, 2010. 
  2. ↑ "Insignia - Amped 2" (in en). https://insignia.live/games/4d530041. 
  3. ↑ Xbox, Pure (2022-12-21). "Xbox Live 1.0 Replacement Adds More Supported Titles, 40 Games Now Playable" (in en-GB). https://www.purexbox.com/news/2022/12/xbox-live-1-0-replacement-adds-more-supported-titles-40-games-now-playable. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Amped 2 for Xbox Reviews". https://www.metacritic.com/game/amped-2/critic-reviews/?platform=xbox. Retrieved September 4, 2017. 
  5. ↑ Edge staff (December 25, 2003). "Amped 2". Edge (131): 122. 
  6. ↑ EGM staff (December 2003). "Amped 2". Electronic Gaming Monthly (173): 222. 
  7. ↑ Bramwell, Tom (November 26, 2003). "Amped 2". http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/r_amped2_x. Retrieved September 4, 2017. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Februar (neu FAMITSU Wertungen)" (in German). Games Power World. February 18, 2004. http://www.games-power-world.de/Archiv/news/news/200402.shtml. Retrieved September 4, 2017. 
  9. ↑ Reiner, Andrew (November 2003). "Amped 2". Game Informer (127): 164. http://www.gameinformer.com/NR/exeres/C6F0EFE8-2BF0-434B-A5B0-239B72C3A4C3.htm. Retrieved September 4, 2017. 
  10. ↑ Manny LaMancha (October 29, 2003). "Amped 2 Review for Xbox on GamePro.com". GamePro. Archived from the original on February 9, 2005. https://web.archive.org/web/20050209090723/http://www.gamepro.com/microsoft/xbox/games/reviews/31525.shtml. Retrieved September 4, 2017. 
  11. ↑ Kasavin, Greg (October 31, 2003). "Amped 2 Review". https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/amped-2-review/1900-6077986/. Retrieved September 4, 2017. 
  12. ↑ Padilla, Raymond (November 8, 2003). "GameSpy: Amped 2". GameSpy. http://xbox.gamespy.com/xbox/amped-2/6341p1.html. Retrieved September 4, 2017. 
  13. ↑ Lafferty, Michael (October 20, 2003). "Amped 2 - XB - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on February 29, 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20080229193841/http://xbox.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r21724.htm. Retrieved September 4, 2017. 
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Hwang, Kaiser (October 28, 2003). "Amped 2". http://www.ign.com/articles/2003/10/29/amped-2. 
  15. ↑ "Amped 2". Official Xbox Magazine: 150. December 2003. 
  • MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This lengthy approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
  • No URL found. Please specify a URL here or add one to Wikidata.

Template:Atari





Retrieved from "https://handwiki.org/wiki/index.php?title=Software:Amped_2&oldid=3965893"