The Double-A Team: Amped 3 couples extreme sports with an extreme story. Eurogamer.net If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy. The Double-A Team: Amped 3 couples extreme sports with an extreme story. Snow problem. Feature by Emad Ahmed Contributor Updated on 6 Dec 2019 12 comments The Double-A Team is a feature series honouring the unpretentious, mid-budget, gimmicky commercial action games that no-one seems to make any more. You can catch up with all of our Double-A Team pieces in our handy, spangly archive. When I think of the games I loved during my early teenage years, one entire genre seems to have vanished: extreme sports. Sports with the 's' at the end. I know what you're thinking: of course, this includes the Tony Hawk series. Yes, Aggressive Inline was completely innovative and awesome thanks to its huge playing areas. And yes, I agree with you that SSX3 remains king of the hill. But absolutely none of them come close to the strange vortex of enthusiasm that is Amped 3. Amped 3! Your first act here, after being introduced to the cast of the story in a faux retro game, is to control your bunny-suited character downhill and begin the first mission. That mission is to grind your snowboard on a giant hot dog. Then, the personalities of the characters are fleshed out even more through a cut scene involving toy figures and stop-motion video. And this strangeness is just the first fifteen minutes. Just to give you some background: Microsoft pumped huge amounts of money into making successful sports titles for its original Xbox console, including NBA Inside Drive, the golf sim Links 2004, RalliSport Challenge and Top Spin. The original Amped and its sequel followed the mould by being Serious Games about snowboarding. But once developer Indie Built was spun out, things went wild. You continue your journey with Wienerboy (yep, that's his name), Hunter, J Dawg (yep) and Sebastian (also yep) who are saving money for a ski trip in Chile, but then you're accused of stealing said money. And to make matters worse, while you're working for a shady marketing company in Utah, there's news of a comet racing towards the planet. I'm not even going to get into the fictitious Colonotronics Arts games company existing in this wacky world, or J Dawg's short-lived music career in a boyband whose music contains subliminal messages. Unique art styles are always a part of this genre, whether it's the hoverboard heaven of AirBlade or the lo-fi aesthetic in the first Skate game. But here, the kitchen sink is thrown against the wall with full force, repeatedly, with collage, anime and hand puppet cut scenes. And while there's almost infinite choice in gaming these days thanks to the indie scene, the anything-goes attitude that led to Amped 3 seems to have long gone. I miss it! Become a Eurogamer subscriber and get your first month for £1 Get your first month for £1 (normally £3.99) when you buy a Standard Eurogamer subscription. Enjoy ad-free browsing, merch discounts, our monthly letter from the editor, and show your support with a supporter-exclusive comment flair! Support us View supporter archive More Features Digital Foundry Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090: a new level in graphics performance The Digital Foundry video review - and how the new GPU champion delivers for 4K 120fps gaming. 14 Feature Evercore Heroes wants to wind people up the right way "There's less rage at them, because they didn't end your fun." Feature What games get wrong about horses And what they could do about it. 34 Feature Shout out to all the Overwatch supports - where would we be without you? Merci. 55 Latest Articles Digital Foundry Sennheiser's legendary HD 599 open-back headphones are just £70 at Amazon in the Prime Early Access Sale Comfortable with neutral sound and a wide sound stage. Preview Football Manager's new Console edition is the best you'll get without a PC Getting Touch-right. 1 Splatoon 3 Amiibos will be out next month Ink-coming! 3 Fans think Phil Spencer's shelf is teasing the Xbox Game Pass streaming box UPDATE: Xbox confirms old Keystone prototype. 61 Supporters Only Premium only Off Topic: Take a minute to appreciate Cookin' with Coolio's incredible scallops recipe. What a great book. Premium only Off Topic: Reading City of Glass in comic form "Where exactly am I going?" Premium only Off Topic: Il Buco is a transporting film about a really big hole Underlands. Off-Topic Netflix handled Sandman brilliantly It was Dreamy. 9 Buy things with globes on them And other lovely Eurogamer merch in our official store! Explore our store