Cool Boarders 2
Cool Boarders 2 (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.
| Cool Boarders 2 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | UEP Systems |
| Publisher(s) | |
| Series | Cool Boarders |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | Snowboarding |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, 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. On October 29, 2018, Sony revealed that the PAL version of the game would be one of 20 games pre-loaded on the PlayStation Classic (excluding Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong), which was released on December 3, 2018.[1][2]
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.[3]
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.
Reception
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Next Generation reviewed the PlayStation version of the game, rating it three stars out of five, and stated 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."[5]
The game received an average score of 70.42% at GameRankings, based on an aggregate of 12 reviews.[4]
References
- "Announcing PlayStation Classic's Full Lineup of 20 Games". PlayStation.Blog.
- Glagowski, Peter (November 26, 2018). "Nine games on the PlayStation Classic will be PAL versions". Destructoid. Retrieved November 26, 2018.
- "Tokyo Game Show Report from Japan". Next Generation. No. 30. Imagine Media. June 1997. p. 17.
- "Cool Boarders 2 for PlayStation". GameRankings. Retrieved September 30, 2014.
- "Finals". Next Generation. No. 37. Imagine Media. January 1998. p. 151.