Guide part 2
Before diving into the luscious tips from the developers and other reader's like yourself, you need to get a grasp on what Amped 2 is all about. You gotta ski the Bunny Slope before you can take on the big drops, kid. If you've played the original, some of this stuff will be old news, but even old dogs can learn about some of Amped's new tricks.
Controls
Left Thumbstick | Control Boarder |
Right Thumbstick | Grab |
A | Ollie/Jump |
B | Railslide |
Y | Lip trick |
X | Kick Tricks (Snowskate only) |
White | Skip to next music track |
Black | Music favorites |
Left Trigger | Tweak/Switch |
Right Trigger | Tweak/Switch |
Back | Reset boarder |
Start | Pause to watch Gamer Nation |
Note: you can swap B and Y functionality in the Options menu so that Y performs rails a la Tony Hawk.
Trickin'
Amped 2 is not anything like SSX 3, so you can't expect to pull off a dozen tricks every time you get in the air. Amped 2 rewards you for pulling off skillful and precise tricks and for combos. Your bag of tricks include grabs, grinds, lip tricks, and butters. When you're heading down the mountain, it's a good idea to hold down A as you go. This charges up your jump so you can use it at any time. The only drawback to doing this is that there is no way to avoid jumping. Once you let go of A, you'll hop no matter what. This means that you can't instantly grind onto pipes or logs coming out of the ground. Instead, you'll need to let go of A to jump up and then grind when you land. This will take away a little length in the grind, but it's worth it to always be prepped for some air.
You want to let go of A just as you hit the lip of a ramp. Once airborne, you can pull off spins or flips with the Left Thumbstick. You can preload a spin/flip by pushing in the direction you want as you head up a ramp. This will let you turn much faster so you can pull off more rotations (or at least get off one rotation before hitting the snow). In the air, use the Right Thumbstick to pull off grabs. Push in any direction for a different grab. The longer you hold a grab, the more points you get. You can try for a couple of grabs during a trick, but it's best to only do one to three, to maximize those grabs. Combine a grab with a spin and you've got some sweet points. Be sure to let go of the grab at least a second before hitting the powder.
Style
Like we said, ohhh, about two paragraphs ago, Amped 2 is not like SSX. You get props for going slow and cool. This comes in the form of Style points. When doing spins or flips, push the Left Thumbstick slowly and a nice, slow, controlled spin. If done correctly, a Style Meter appears at the bottom of the screen. Style can turn a 5000 point trick into a 25,000 point trick. Always go for Style. You should use the in-game tutorial for help on nailing Style properly.
Grinds
Tweak it, Baby!
Butter Me, Pat
Challenges
Improve yourself