Bust a gnarly front flip, brah. Sweet

Above you are the spinning helicopter rotors and the blue sky. Below you, the pure white snow and your trusty snowboard. You drop out of the helicopter door, hit the slope, and pop off a trick. This is the starting point for MacSoft’s Drop Point: Alaska.

DPA is a sandbox game, so you can ride any part of the mountain for any length of time. Tricks include rail slides, airborne spins, flips, board grabs, and more. The physics can be inconsistent, however—the game might label a good landing as bad, or your rider might get stuck during a rail grind for no apparent reason.

To unlock goodies, such as summer gear, new boards, and control of the helicopter, you need to complete challenges, which you encounter as you zoom around the mountain. The four challenge types are High Score, Stick a Trick (in which you see video of a trick and must perform the same one, only bigger), Trick or Die (beat the trick in the time specified), and Pro Challenge (a series of mini-challenges developed by seasoned veterans). An online leaderboard tracks rider performance.

DPA lacks a formal tutorial—you learn by practicing freestyle down the mountain and pressing keys to produce the correct grabs. There’s also no gamepad support, a disappointment because the keyboard becomes old quickly. But the graphics are gorgeous, with beautiful renditions of the Alaskan backcountry. Sadly, if you have an Intel Mac with the GMA chipset, the required low screen resolution diminishes the eye candy. Custom-composed music from indie musicians such as Red Lights Flash, You Are Safe Now, and Alex Aguilar complete the game.

The bottom line. The keyboard-only interface is a sad way to trick the day, but the freedom of play and beautiful graphics will help you land right.

COMPANY: MacSoft

CONTACT: www.macsoftgames.com

PRICE: $22.99

REQUIREMENTS: Intel processor, Mac OS 10.4.10 or later, 512MB RAM, 64MB VRAM or Intel integrated graphics

Gorgeous graphics. Free-range play lets you ride to your heart’s content. Online leaderboard competition. 

Keyboard controls become old quick with no gamepad equivalent. Some inconsistency in the physics. GMA chipset support is low.