| Developer: | Nintendo Software Technology |
| Publisher: | Nintendo |
| Director: | Vivek Melwani |
| Artist: | Michael Harrington |
| Genre: | Snowboarding |
| Modes: | Single-player, multiplayer |
| Platforms: | GameCube |
| Series: | 1080° Snowboarding |
1080° Avalanche is a snowboarding video game for the GameCube, developed by Nintendo's in-house development studio, Nintendo Software Technology, and published by Nintendo. It was released on November 28, 2003, in Europe, on December 1, 2003, in North America, and on January 22, 2004, in Japan. Avalanche is a sequel to the 1998 video game 1080° Snowboarding for the Nintendo 64.
In contrast to similar snowboarding games such as the SSX series, the game emphasizes more on downhill racing than stunts and tricks. Gameplay can output in 480p and Dolby Pro Logic II and supports four players on one GameCube as well as LAN play with up to four GameCubes.
Similar to 1080° Snowboarding, gameplay focuses on racing more than performing stunts.[1] There are differences between this game and Snowboarding, with one being the Avalanche - the final event of every Match Race challenge is a daredevil run through an avalanche-prone trail where the player has to outrun an avalanche that starts in the middle of the run or even at the very start.[2] In over 20 courses, the players can compete in the main Match mode, along with Trick Attack, Time Trial and Gate modes.[3]
Unlike the first game, each rider has unique boards, and up to three new boards for each character can be unlocked along with bonus boards, which are surreal objects replacing the snowboard, such as a penguin or a NES controller.[4]
Shortly after the release of 1080° Snowboarding (1998), Nintendo announced that Left Field Productions was taking over development for a sequel title on the Nintendo 64. Pre-production planning was done on the game, but it was cancelled early on in favor of moving development to the then-upcoming GameCube platform. When Left Field later ended their exclusivity contract with Nintendo, their work was returned to Nintendo, and the game was reworked internally by Nintendo to release as 1080° Avalanche (2003) for the GameCube.[5] [6] Development of the game was handed to Nintendo's American development studio, Nintendo Software Technology Corporation (NST).[7]
1080°: Avalanche was released in both single-disc and double-disc versions. The second disc is a standard miniDVD featuring a half-hour of snowboarding footage alongside gameplay footage set to soundtracks from the game. This version was exclusively available at Walmart and can be differentiated by the presence of a red sash on the front cover.[8]
It received a score of 7.5/7/5.5 from Electronic Gaming Monthly. Dan Hsu, the first reviewer, found fault with the game's trick system, while the third reviewer Shawn Elliott severely criticised it, who believed that Avalanche can't compete with SSX 3.[9]