In a normal year, Mark McMorris Infinite Air would have been an under-the-radar title that slowly gained success with snowboarding diehards. But now, it’s success is much more unpredictable. Ubisoft is readying to release the winter sports bonanza Steep in December, and the free-to-play skiing game Snow, is coming to Playstation 4. Now gamers are left with an AAA take on Arctic athletics, or a no risk guaranteed slope runner. If and how, does Mark McMorris Infinite Air fill the gap?
Gameplay:
SSX is one of the most prolific snowboarding games, and a big part of this is due to it’s personified nature. As soon as Run DMC’s “Tricky” started playing, you had the mood set for some extraordinary tricks. Infinite Air however, is much more subdued. The game has tutorials and a challenge filled campaign, so substance is key. But I found this to be murky at best.
From a studio known for rugby, golf, and cricket games +ported annual releases, Infinite Air is a valiant effort. The game even borrows ideas from sports games out of it’s league, but it’s done in a way that isn’t blatant, instead nostalgic. But the real issue is trying to get better at the game. The tutorial is very straining, and complexes when the game strives for intuitiveness. If this was being made by a studio more experienced with the genre, it’s easy to see how the reception would be less kind.
Story & Design:
Infinite Air does have a couple of features to match itself with other competitors, but these too happen to include other falters. The open world looks nice, but is barren and the campaign soon ends with plenty of grinding. Thankfully, HB is still committed to the player, so you won’t be seeing anything along the lines of micro-transactions.
Moments where you are racing others are too far and few between, and sometimes the game’s titular star even feels non-existent. (Customization is detailed, though). Community creations do spread the replayability, but this will collapse if a dedicated base isn’t found.
Presentation/ Visuals & Audio:
The game also holds some technical gripes, with one of these being sewn into the game’s own systems. This is one of those issues that brings Infinite Air to a make it or break it point, and sometimes if I just wasn’t having fun this would finalize my decision to turn the game off.
If you are curious about price, Infinite Air is only ten dollars away from the cost of the hottest military shooter or mainstream sports game. While I can’t argue with the content provided, some of it does fall flat, meaning this price point could be contested with the game’s other issues.
Conclusion:
Since Infinite Air isn’t an original concept, I would actually encourage HB and Maximum to attempt another shot with the concept, considering they have the resources. If these issues are finally ironed out, the game may just be able to hold it’s own.
Mark McMorris Infinite Air gets a 5/10 (Flawed)
We’d like to thank Maximum Games for giving us a code!
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