Sony Steps Up Cool Boarders On It's Third Release
(9-9-98)
Edited by Robyn Hakes

In its third installment of the Cool Boarders snowboard video game, Sony Interactive Studios America has stepped up its graphics and level of gameplay. The new game, published by Sony's' newly created 989 Studios, offers 32 courses with increasingly difficult obstacles such as sharp turns, intimidating jumps, and slippery ice. And the addition of a 3D game engine gives Cool Boarders 3 players the feel of hitting every rock, bump, ice patch, and jump, while competing in six events on five diverse mountains.

There are 23 authentic board designs to choose from, offered by sponsors Burton, Ride, and Swatch snowboards. Other sponsors whose logos are present throughout the game are Levis, Arnette, and Butterfinger.

"Cool Boarders 3 was designed to be the most realistic and fun-to-play snowboarding video game available," says Jeffery Fox, vice president of marketing for 989 Studios. In order to achieve the utmost authenticity of movement, 989 Studios captured the motion of the actual snowboarders. They brought riders into a studio and, while simulating snowboarding, their movements were recorded with sensors.

SNOWboarding Business got a sneak preview of the game, due to hit stores in October. Ed Loonam and Marc Franklin of 989 Studios dropped by the office to give all the game heads in our office a chance to test their snowboarding skills on screen.

Players can choose from twenty snowboarders, each with specific attributes and skills. In the Downhill, Boardercross, and Slalom events the players are pitted against the clock and three other competitors. Gamers can get huge air while carving through tight courses with numerous obstacles. The Halfpipe, Big Air, and Slopestyle events are an opportunity to display stunts which include 540s, Rodeo and Misty flips, tail grabs, and more.

And to keep the challenge going, there are two hidden courses: Avalanche, where gamers must maneuver through a tight course while dodging large moving patches of snow, and the Tree Run, a long narrow run with numerous trees strategically placed. The video game, available for Sony PlayStation as well as PC, will be sold through its traditional dealers.

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