Move over, Mario! There's a new competitor in town, and this time, he’s trading in his overalls for a snowboard. Cool Boarders 2001 skids onto the PlayStation with more gnarly tricks than you can shake a fist at, aiming to snowball its way to glory amidst a flurry of competition. But does it shred or does it fall flat on its face?
Grab your gear and get ready to ride the slopes! Cool Boarders 2001 offers a mix of single-player and multiplayer modes for those who like their snowboarding to be both solitary and a chaotic friends’ showdown. Players can choose from a roster of bone-skimming, snow-shredding characters, each with unique styles and tricks that will impress or terrify your friends as you tune your skills. Right from the get-go, players are thrown into various courses, ranging from peaceful forest trails to the more extreme snowboarding parks. You’ll perform flips, twists, and spins that will leave you questioning your own sanity, with tricks that are as wild as your imagination—and possibly just as risky. Just watch out for those pesky trees; they have a knack for ruining your perfectly executed backflip!
In a world where graphics are constantly pushing the envelope, Cool Boarders 2001 brings some cartoonish charm to the snowy slopes. With bright colors, smooth animations, and stylized characters, your gaming experience is certainly not a dull grey winter day. However, compared to its predecessor and contemporaries like SSX, it feels a tad dated like finding a flip phone at a tech convention. Sure, it has nice snow effects, but sometimes the graphics seem to be taken straight out of the late 90s. The environments are well-done, but don’t expect to be blown away into powdery oblivion—consider it more of a gentle shove down a snowy hill.
Cool Boarders 2001 stands as a testament to the fact that while not every snowboarding game can dominate the hills, there’s still a place for some fun, frosty competition. If you’re missing those chilly slopes and need a distraction between sessions of bigger and better titles, this game can be a guilty pleasure. With its unique sense of humor, a decent roster of tricks, and the intoxicating allure of snowy freedom, it’s perfect for both newcomers and die-hard fans of the franchise. While it may not topple the likes of SSX, for those who still want to experience the thrill of shredding on a board—without immediately breaking a leg—Cool Boarders 2001 is certainly an enjoyable ride.