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Steep Slope Sliders

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Steep Slope Sliders
Developer(s)Cave
Publisher(s)
Director(s)Yasuyuki Hirota
Producer(s)Yasuo Ono
Kenichi Takano
Programmer(s)Akiyoshi Hanai
Seiji Iwakura
Composer(s)Takehiro Sibasaki
Toru Wada
Platform(s)Sega Saturn, Arcade
ReleaseSega Saturn
  • JP: October 23, 1997
  • NA: December 16, 1997[1]
  • EU: January 16, 1998[2]
Arcade
Genre(s)Snowboarding
Mode(s)Single player, multiplayer
Arcade systemSega ST-V

Steep Slope Sliders (スティープ・スロープ・スライダーズ, Sutīpu Surōpu Suraidāzu) is a game that was made for the Sega Saturn and Sega Titan ST-V arcade system, published in 1997. It was developed by a collaboration of Victor Interactive Software, and the Cave Company. The game was released by Victor Interactive Software in Japan and by Sega in other territories. Capcom released the arcade version. The game was met with positive reviews, drawing favorable comparison to other snowboarding video games for its sharp graphics, innovative design, and intuitive control system.

Gameplay

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Players can either race for the best possible time or perform tricks to earn the most freestyle points, with half-pipe and snowboard park courses available for the latter choice.[3] A ghost mode is included, allowing players to compete against a saved run.[3]

While UEP Systems' Cool Boarders system of executing moves is extremely regimented by a combo interface, Steep Slope Sliders' allows the player far more autonomy. Instead of actually holding in a direction while jumping (similar to the system that the SSX snowboarding series uses), everything was based on the face buttons that were pressed, but the method of performing tricks was completely based on the Jamma configuration that was used in the arcades. Many other Sega arcade ports were like this as well, most notably Die Hard Arcade, Virtua Fighter: Remix, Virtua Fighter Kids, Radiant Silvergun and Winter Heat.

In the Saturn version, the Saturn's internal clock is utilized to change the in-game setting to reflect the time of day in the real world.[3]

Reception

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Steep Slope Sliders was met with positive reviews. The Saturn version held a 77% on the review aggregation website GameRankings based on four reviews.[4] Critics praised the game for having varied course designs which accommodate exploration and experimentation,[7][10][14][15][16] tight controls,[7][12][15][16] numerous unlockables,[7][12][14][15] and fast-moving graphics.[7][12][15][16]

Game Informer concluded that Steep Slope Sliders was a strong entry in the snowboarding genre but still fell second to its competitor, the PlayStation's Cool Boarders 2.[10] However, most critics held that Steep Slope Sliders had edged out Cool Boarders 2 as the superior snowboarding game.[7][12][14][15] In particular, a number of reviews commented that Steep Slope Sliders has relatively little pop-up and polygon breakup, which was often cited as the biggest shortcoming of the Cool Boarders series.[12][14][15] However, Joe Fielder of GameSpot argued that the biggest advantage Steep Slope Sliders holds over Cool Boarders 2 is that the controls are more accessible and easier to learn. At the same time, he concluded that the lack of a multiplayer mode or AI opponents to race against keep Steep Slope Sliders from being a truly great game instead of just a good one.[12] The lack of multiplayer was a common criticism against the game.[12][15][16]

Next Generation gave Steep Slope Sliders a strong recommendation, deeming it one of the deeper entries in the genre due to its innovative course design and tricks.[14] Electronic Gaming Monthly's four-person review team similarly deemed it the most fun and replayable snowboarding game for consoles, with Shawn Smith going so far to say it was in his personal top ten Saturn games of all time.[7] Sega Saturn Magazine called it "the most realistic and enjoyable translation of the sport to date."[15] GamePro summed up that "A healthy variety of courses, fun gameplay, fast-moving graphics, and responsive controls make this an appealing game for snowboard aces and novices alike."[16][b]

Sequel

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Cave made a follow-up game called Trick'N Snowboarder, released in 1999.

Notes

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  1. ^ Four critics of Electronic Gaming Monthly gave the Saturn version 8.5/10, 7/10, 8.5/10, and 7.5/10.
  2. ^ GamePro gave the Saturn version 3.5/5 for graphics, 3.5/5 for sound, 4.0/5 for control, and 4.0/5 for fun factor.

References

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  1. ^ Johnston, Chris (December 15, 1997). "Saturn Gets Extreme [date mislabeled as "April 26, 2000"]". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on February 3, 1999. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
  2. ^ "sega-europe.online". 1998-12-02. Archived from the original on 1998-12-02. Retrieved 2023-05-03.
  3. ^ a b c Yeo, Matt (January 1998). "Slip Slidin' Away". Sega Saturn Magazine. No. 27. Emap International Limited. pp. 46–51.
  4. ^ a b "Steep Slope Sliders for Saturn". GameRankings. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on May 18, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
  5. ^ Panda; Switch (December 1997). "Steep Slope Sliders (Japan Import)". Consoles + (in French). No. 71. pp. 120–21.
  6. ^ "Steep Slope Sliders". Edge. No. 54. Future Publishing. January 1998. p. 93. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Boyer, Crispin; Rickards, Kelly; Smith, Shawn; Sushi-X (February 1998). "Review Crew: Steep Slope Sliders". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 103. Ziff Davis. p. 110. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
  8. ^ Lucas, Victor (February 24, 1998). "Steep Slope Sliders". The Electric Playground. Greedy Productions. Archived from the original on July 15, 2003. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  9. ^ "スティープ・スロープ・スライダーズ [セガサターン]". Famitsu (in Japanese). Enterbrain. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
  10. ^ a b c "Steep Slope Sliders - Sega Saturn". Game Informer. No. 58. FuncoLand. February 1998. Archived from the original on September 15, 1999. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
  11. ^ Dr. Moo (February 1998). "Steep Slope Sliders Review". GameRevolution. CraveOnline. Archived from the original on June 13, 1998. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h Fielder, Joe (December 14, 1997). "Steep Slope Sliders Review [date mislabeled as "May 2, 2000"]". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on June 13, 2021. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
  13. ^ Fish, Eliot (March 1998). "Steep Slope Sliders". Hyper. No. 53. Next Media Pty Ltd. pp. 60–61. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  14. ^ a b c d e f "Steep Slope Sliders". Next Generation. No. 38. Imagine Media. February 1998. p. 117. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
  15. ^ a b c d e f g h i Yeo, Matt (January 1998). "Review: Steep Slope Sliders". Sega Saturn Magazine. No. 27. Emap International Limited. pp. 68–69.
  16. ^ a b c d e Dr. Zombie (February 1998). "Steep Slope Sliders". GamePro. No. 113. IDG. p. 110.
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