1. if closing Indie Built means we're going to get fewer games like Amped 3 from any publisher, it's not a good thing. that game may not have been perfect, but it was fun, deep and a hell of a lot more inspired than generic shooter/racing sequels w/ shinier graphics that comprise 80% of everything we have and have to look forward to w/ the 360. *cheesy salute*

Posted at 1:26PM on May 3rd 2006 by pixelate 0 stars

2. Take 2 and Rockstar are evil... I doubt it's the developers fault for the closing... I think poor management of take 2's part. Probably causing poor moral for the company, creating a snowball effect. That company did pretty damn good with M$oft. Take 2 buys them and they go down hill. I feel really bad for the Indie Built dev's and their family.

Posted at 1:46PM on May 3rd 2006 by someone 0 stars

3. It's true that after being aquired by Take 2, the Amped team was urged to leave the proven simulation game play of the first two iterations, and forced to create a product that was designed by marketers, not snowboarders. It's a shining example of the politics currently involved in the snowboard sub-culture, where Moutain Dew/Chevy/Paul Mitchell companies barge onto the scene, shake as much money from the sport's identity as possible, and then leave it for dead as a soulless carcass of what the sport used to be.

Amped 3 should have been so much more. I hear there's a Shaun White snowboard game in development for PS3. Better luck to it. I wish it were on the 360.

Posted at 2:22PM on May 3rd 2006 by The Wallbanger 0 stars

4. this is good news in my opinion. top spin 2 and amped 3 were both horrible games. companies producing such trash should be shut down to make room for the quality games.

Posted at 3:01PM on May 3rd 2006 by its420 0 stars

5. I don't think Amped 3 and Top Spin 2 are horrible games.

Top Spin 2's gameplay is actually very good. It's just that the developer (or publisher) skimped on features, so it's an incomplete game. What they have in the game works pretty well.

Amped 3 is a love or hate game. If you liked the weird storyline, you're probably gonna like the game a lot. If you didn't, then you're probably not gonna like the game. Gameplay was ok, IMHO. I would've preferred it to be more realistic, but the large mountain environments were very well executed.

Posted at 3:26PM on May 3rd 2006 by Pixelantes Anonymous 4 stars

6. That sucks. Amped 3 was really fun; a lot better than the "sports" games that were done by 2K Studios.

Posted at 3:43PM on May 3rd 2006 by SynoDev 0 stars

7. Awwww, this is bad news believe it or not. I love Top Spin 2, i'm playing it right now on Live, just lost because I suck but.. I love it. Does this mean no Top Spin 3 or Amped 4?

Posted at 5:07PM on May 3rd 2006 by Fear 0 stars

8. Not necessarily. TT owns those properties and, if they're deemed worthwhile to pursue, they'll have another developer work on it.

Agreed that it's a really unfortunate story, regardless of how good you thought the games were.

Posted at 6:08PM on May 3rd 2006 by C. Grant 0 stars

9. I'm pretty sad about the death of the Amped franchise. I was afraid that it would happen when TakeTwo acquired them. I was concerned that they'd mess with the franchise, which they did (although I still found Amped 3 fun, but it was nothing like the first two).

I thought the Amped series was really high quality, and refreshingly unobnoxious compared to the competition. I personally think Microsoft Game Studios has consistently gotten good results from their development partners. So even though the franchise could be revived if TakeTwo wants to go through another developer it will just be a name and have neither the producer or developer of the original series.

...and snowboarding season has just drawn to a close here in California... how sad.

Posted at 6:20PM on May 3rd 2006 by MumbleyJoe 0 stars