NCS Daily Journal for March 31, 1998

Not just another cool boarding game, Air Boarder puts you in control of a floating board that surfs over concrete, parkways and living rooms. Most boarding games until now have taken place on top of snowy slopes and straightaways; Air Boarder gives you the chance to run down exotic locales in an exotic board.

	-	Five modes are available once you start the game. Lecture is a practice run where you get to experiment with different moves and acquaint yourself with the dynamics and controls. The four other modes are variants of the main game. The free run mode lets you motor around lackadaisically and enjoy the scenery while other goal based modes will constrain you with time limits and the objective of gathering coins and crescents. Maneuvering in the practice run is difficult at first but playing around with the acceleration and the braking should help a lot. A row of traffic cones in the practice level serves as a good way to practice your cornering ability.

Practicing further in the Lecture mode, you'll be able to pull off flip-jumps and mid-air spins. A portion of the Lecture mode features a half pipe where you'll be able to practice aerials and edge grabs as you rev up and mount the ledge. This part of the run gets points for realism. If you, by way of your clumsiness lose momentum and get stuck in the middle of the pipe, you'll have to tap-tap the acceleration button to gain momentum and then rise up to the side. Miss a spin in mid-air and you'll come tumbling down as your board flies off in another direction. Once you've tested your skills, the next mode is the Street Work mode. You can select from four different characters and a number of different air boards. Once done, you'll be able to choose from 5 different courses. The Giant House course is an interesting one where you board inside an over-sized house. You'll motor around living rooms, kitchens, and hallways that are filled with furniture that would be fitting for giants. The aim in Street Work is to grab a lighted crescent in each room and then head off to another room by way of a murky tunnel. Nothing is on a path or rail so your boarder has complete freedom of movement as you explore the environment. You are contrained however by a time limit that ticks down as you go through the course. Since you are on an air-board, you can climb the walls, climb the furniture and perform masterful acrobatics as you explore the level.

	-	A mode that was very enjoyable and somewhat soothing was the serene Free Run where you board around in a relaxing manner with no goals and no time contraints bearing down on you. A cool effect in the Sunset Level is the lens flare from the sun whenever you face it on your run. The sound of surf from the beach below also adds to the relaxing mood of the mode. In one of the levels, Green Park, you can climb onto a swing and then rev up the momentum until you're nearly horizontal with the ground on every upswing. At the apex of your swing, you can jump off and complete two 360s with the awesome height that you can attain. Air Boarder is an interesting game. The learning curve is not steep and most players will get the controls down pat with a couple of runs in the Lecture mode. Once you're used to the game and are comfortable with the boarder, you have the confidence to explore the interesting looking levels that are in the game. One niggle is the lack of a race mode where you can simply go downhill against time.
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Air Boarder will appeal to a niche audience. Its lack of a racing mode will lose fans of racing games although there is a versus racing mode where you face off against an opponent. The layout in many of the levels is also somewhat confusing and can make for a lot of wandering around as you try to figure out where to go next. Practicing each level will help you with the surroundings but then the replay value if you practice too much is lessened. The limited number of courses once you master each level also make this game one that can be completed fairly easily, rendering the replay value small. However, Air Boarder is done well with great control and provides the boarding fan with a new exotic perspective on a tried and true sport.

RB2: The New Comers from SNK has been announced for mid-May on the Neo-Geo cartridge system. It is now available for the MVS in Asia though we don't expect to take delivery of the MVS cartridge for another 2 weeks. Pre-orders are now open (both versions) for the latest chapter in SNK's flagship fighting title. The Bogards return with Higashi to battle many of the same characters from past Fatal Fury titles including Duck King and Kim Kaphwan. NCS expects to price the new cartridge at US$249 though we will confirm a final price within 2 weeks. Pre-orders will be open until April 18. Two screenshots from the game are posted for your reference. Note that Tung Fu Rue has a new look in his burgeoning power burst as he transforms from wizened old guy to monstrous brute with washboard abs. No date has been announced for the Neo-CD version but we will update this information as soon as we receive confirmation.

A large shipment of restock arrived this morning. Due to the number of titles and items that came in, NCS will post the entire listing in tomorrow's page. Any of the games that we listed on yesterday's journal may be ordered for shipping today. Confirmed pre-orders and reservations for any of the restock titles will be shipped out automatically. Thank you.

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