Fans of the original will no doubt feel right at home with 1080 Avalanche. Just scrolling through the main menu feels like traversing familiar territory. Apart from the Time and Trick Attack modes, you have the VS mode (now for up to four players simultaneously) and, of course, Match Race, where you go head-to-head with a computer-controlled snowboarder. Many of the characters available are also well-known, and they all have similar strengths and weaknesses in terms of technique, top speed, balance, jump, and power.

Graphically, the two games are, obviously, not so similar. While the same sense of visual style is used, the grainy look that characterised the original is nowhere to be found here. Instead the textures look sharp and defined, and the framerate remains high – at least in the one-player modes. The level of detail is also very impressive - from the way the powder puffs up when you’re landing to the way the boarders’ clothes ripple in the wind and become more and more covered in snow as the race progresses. Likewise, the animations and shadow effects look very convincing.

Furthermore, Nintendo has promised that the environments will be teeming with wildlife, other skiers, cave-ins, powder drifts, massive avalanches, collapsing bridges, and much more. In other words, the levels should turn out to be very action-packed and intense. Personally, I didn’t notice many of these elements. Maybe they are yet to be implemented fully. The most accomplished level I played starts out near an idyllic mountain village, consisting of at least a dozen small cottages. A warm orange light emanates from all the windows, providing a very cosy atmosphere. There are several different routes through the village, one of which forces you to skid over a frozen river. It’s a risky endeavor, but it will save time if you get through the area unscathed. Later you’ll enter a beautiful blue-ish cave, which almost feels like a labyrinth, with its complex structure. As you exit the cave you’ll come to the last part of the level, which is a huge open area full of small jumps and bumps that limit your steering capabilities considerably. Overall, this level shows great variety in design, and - considering how long it is and the amount of routes to the finishing line - it’s going to take quite a while to learn the level inside and out.

The spot-on controls of the N64 version have clearly been retained in the GameCube version. They are extremely responsive. Even the slightest twitch of the control stick has an effect, so your thumb movements have to be very gentle and controlled. Jumping is done by pressing A. Holding A will make a small circular meter appear. This indicates when it is time to release the button for an optimal jump. Your character’s jumping skills determine how quickly the meter fills up. B is used for crouching, which increases speed but limits your handling abilities so that sharp turns become practically impossible to carry out. Basic stunts, such as a Tail Grab, a Melancholy, or a Lien Air are done by pressing the Y or X button in combination with a direction on the control stick. If you want to rack up a lot of points, though, you need to master the spin moves which are carried out by rotating the control stick while holding down R. These are extremely difficult to pull off.

The same can be said about the act of landing. Like in the original, this is a highly challenging and important feat to master. The trick is to angle your board (using the control stick) to match the angle of the snow you’re going to touch down on. Pressing L the moment you hit the ground makes for an easier landing and prevents you from losing speed. However, if you mess up by just a few degrees, your character will either take a tumble or lose his balance. This is where the new, intuitive character balancing system comes in. The surroundings become blurry and your character will start swinging his arms wildly in an attempt to regain control. In this situation it’s more or less impossible to steer. Instead, you have to quickly rotate the control stick in the direction shown by an icon that appears on screen. If done correctly you’ll be able to carry on without stumbling. If not, you’ll fall – and likely fail.

All in all, 1080 Avalanche looks very promising. It’s unlikely that it will revolutionise the snowboard racing genre. However with its exciting level design, lush visuals, and deep control mechanics, it’s certainly shaping up to be a very solid sequel to a classic racer.