This relatively low-key snowboarding game was riddled with flaws, and was quickly buried under a storm of flashy SSX releases over the years, but its place in boardriding game lore should not be forgotten. Where SSX relied on flamboyance, Supreme Snowboarding was a simple affair. Presentation was subdued in comparison, and so was the gameplay, taking a more realistic approach. Light on tricks and extravagance, this one made strides to distil the snowboarding experience back to its roots: a brave boarder and a mountain. SSX has had the market pretty much all to itself since the franchise was born, and rightly so - it's an incredible joyride - but it has always felt restrictive compared to the relative freedom of Supreme Snowboarding. The competitive race modes felt flat and uninspired compared to the pounding excitement of SSX, so we'll forget about those, but there was something hypnotic about taking on the slopes alone in free ride mode. Slicing through deep powder as the late afternoon sun casts a warm pink glow across the slopes, or carving a wide groove across the face of the mountain, slapping a rocky peak and pulling off an unpretentious rail grab trick before touching down on the snow at the perfect angle... this was cathartic gaming; it was soulful and calming, and it took us away from the excess and extreme-sport dazzle that we now associate with snowboarding. Forget the substandard race elements - that's been done far better elsewhere - but the free ride sections delivered a sense of freedom which hasn't been touched in the genre since.
Game-obsessed since the moment I could twiddle both thumbs independently. Equally enthralled by all the genres of music that your parents warned you about.
