Cool Boarders 2
North American cover art
Developer(s)UEP Systems
Publisher(s)
SeriesCool Boarders
Platform(s)PlayStation
Release
  • JP: August 28, 1997
  • NA: November 11, 1997[1]
  • EU: February 1, 1998
Genre(s)Snowboarding
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Cool Boarders 2 (known as Cool Boarders 2: Killing Session in Japan) is a snowboarding video game developed by UEP Systems for the PlayStation. The game builds upon its predecessor's features with the addition of trick competitions, computer-controlled competitors, and support for the PlayStation Link Cable, allowing two-player, non-split screen multiplayer.

The main aim remains to complete courses in the shortest time (aided this time around by shortcuts), to perform the best-scoring tricks and to rack up huge total scores. There are more unlockables and also the option to customize the snowboard's graphics. The game offers 7 snowboarders, 18 snowboards and 10 courses to compete on. An original advertisement for the game features Seth Romatelli of the comedy podcast Uhh Yeah Dude. The PAL version of the game was one of the 20 games pre-loaded on the PlayStation Classic (excluding Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong), which was released on December 3, 2018.[2][3]

Background

The game's predecessor, Cool Boarders, was released for the PlayStation the year prior, in 1996. Despite mixed reviews, Cool Boarders was a sleeper success, and eventually attained a Greatest Hits edition. As snowboarding began to gain in popularity in the West during the late 1990s, so did snowboarding video games. Developer/publisher UEP Systems began work on a sequel to take advantage.

Cool Boarders 2 was unveiled at the April 1997 Tokyo Game Show, where it drew large crowds despite UEP having only a small booth.[4]

Other entries in the genre began trickling in, most notably 1080° Snowboarding. The original developer, UEP Systems, sold the rights to the name of the series in the US. This resulted in three US-based sequels, while in Japan, the series continued with Cool Boarders Burrrn for the Sega Dreamcast under UEP's guiding force, before "ending" with the PlayStation 2's Cool Boarders: Code Alien.

An emulated release for the PlayStation Network as a PS one Classic was released in Europe on October 30, 2008, in North America on August 27, 2009, and in Japan on November 23, 2011.

Reception

Cool Boarders 2 received mixed reviews. While most critics found the game's physics model greatly improved from the original Cool Boarders,[13][14][17] and the new half-pipe mode was received with great enthusiasm,[12][13][14] some felt the overall improvement was not enough to make it the game that Cool Boarders should have been. Next Generation elaborated that "The graphics are still choppy, with glaring black seams interrupting the white tracks, and the track design is less than inspiring. However, the half-pipe mode is so much fun that it makes you almost overlook the game's problems. A definite mixed bag."[14] IGN similarly reported, "Most of the drawbacks of the first have been addressed in the second game, and a few new things, like the half-pipe, have been added to great effect. However, it is still plagued with problems that afflicted the first, and in some cases are even worse."[13] Conversely, GamePro called it "a startling, top-to-bottom improvement upon its predecessor",[lower-alpha 2][17] and Crispin Boyer remarked in Electronic Gaming Monthly that "I wasn't a big fan of the original, but Cool Boarders 2 surprised me with its depth of gameplay."[7]

Critics generally praised the game's vast number of tricks and the complicated button combinations and timings required to pull them off, finding them an engaging challenge.[7][12][13] The graphics were less well-received, with many noting a good deal of polygon breakup.[12][14][17] Josh Smith of GameSpot, while noting the breakup, felt the smooth animations for the various tricks provide ample visual payoff for the player's efforts. He also praised the freedom the gameplay provides once the player has gotten a basic handle of pulling off tricks.[12] The game held a 70% on GameRankings, based on an aggregate of 12 reviews, at the time of the site's 2019 closure.[5]

Game Informer placed the game 92nd on their top 100 video games of all time, praising the game as the high point of the series.[18]

Notes

  1. ↑ Three critics of GameFan gave the game each a score of 90, 83, and 75.
  2. ↑ GamePro gave the game 4.5/5 for graphics, 4.5/5 for fun factor, 2.5/5 for sound, and 4.0/5 for control.

References

  1. ↑ Johnston, Chris (November 11, 1997). "Sony Releases Sequels [date mislabeled as "April 26, 2000"]". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on January 28, 1999. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  2. ↑ Yee, Mary (October 29, 2018). "Announcing PlayStation Classic's Full Lineup of 20 Games". PlayStation.Blog. Sony Interactive Entertainment. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  3. ↑ Glagowski, Peter (November 26, 2018). "Nine games on the PlayStation Classic will be PAL versions". Destructoid. Enthusiast Gaming. Retrieved November 26, 2018.
  4. ↑ "Tokyo Game Show Report from Japan". Next Generation. No. 30. Imagine Media. June 1997. p. 17.
  5. 1 2 "Cool Boarders 2 for PlayStation". GameRankings. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on December 9, 2019. Retrieved September 30, 2014.
  6. ↑ Ziegler, Adam. "Cool Boarders 2 - Review". AllGame. All Media Network. Archived from the original on November 14, 2014. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  7. 1 2 3 "Review Crew: Cool Boarders 2". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 102. Ziff Davis. January 1998. p. 158.
  8. ↑ "クールボーダーズ2 キリングセッション [PS]". Famitsu (in Japanese). Enterbrain. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  9. ↑ McNamara, Andy; Anderson, Paul; Storm, Jon (November 1997). "Cool Boarders 2". Game Informer. No. 55. FuncoLand. p. 57. Archived from the original on January 21, 1998. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  10. ↑ Stockert, Bruce "Reubus"; Griffin, Mike "Glitch"; Mylonas, Eric "ECM" (November 1997). "CoolBoarders 2 [sic]". GameFan. Vol. 5, no. 11. Metropolis Media. p. 18. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  11. ↑ Mike D. (November 1997). "Cool Boarders 2 Review". GameRevolution. CraveOnline. Archived from the original on June 13, 1998. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 Smith, Josh (December 19, 1997). "Cool Boarders 2 Review". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 Douglas, Adam (November 11, 1997). "Cool Boarders 2". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 "Cool Boarders 2". Next Generation. No. 37. Imagine Media. January 1998. p. 151. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  15. ↑ "Cool Boarders 2". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine. Vol. 1, no. 3. Ziff Davis. December 1997.
  16. ↑ Saul (February 1998). "Coolboarders 2". Extreme Playstation. No. 2. pp. 52–59. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
  17. 1 2 3 Boba Fatt (December 1997). "Cool Boarders 2". GamePro. No. 111. IDG. p. 194.
  18. ↑ Cork, Jeff (November 16, 2009). "Game Informer's Top 100 Games Of All Time (Circa Issue 100)". Game Informer. GameStop. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
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