Being a hardcore fan since it came out I must say this game really is something special and has a special place in my heart. I remember playing it in the winter with my friends over and we would have an awesome time. We would compete with eachother when the highscores were online. We were in the TOP 10 *literally*. The visuals are still great and it works fine on newer machines and OS's. Been spamming the forums for years now hoping it would get released. In 2010 I even got this game to be supported on Xfire. Bought the original disc and now I own it on steam too. When the devs reached out to me saying it got released today I was stoaked. It has its' flaws and bugs but it works really good on basically any decent machine out there. I don't want to spoil any of the game but the main goal is to complete challenges and do freerides. It's simple but very fun. Just try it out for yourself. The price is not that high. The only thing that needs fixing is the online multiplayer *It does not connect to the central server thus making it only playable thru LAN with Hamachi/ Tunngle..." and the online highscores. That was awesome and it brought so much more to the game and I really hope the great devs over in Austria can get this sorted^^ GET IT WHILE IT's HOT LADS!;)

13. January, 2016: 1 Year after the original post: I still come back to this game now and then and have an awesome time... I can never really get bored of it... It's like the girlfriend that everyone secretly wants to return to:p

FreakOut ...
... is not a perfekt Game, but its one of the few Freestyleski Games on PC. Clearly you cant compare it with the new Game called SNOW here on Steam. This one is from 2007 and the grafics always remind you on that.
BUT its a really fun Game and it has great chellanges. Its a Game you could play for 1000 of hours like I did with the non-Steam version.
I would recommend this Game to every Skier, especially to Freeskiers out there.

Keep on Ridin^^

Visually the game looks a lot like SSX 3, but you can change the screen size to match current monitors and add antialiasing. You have a selection of about six skiers, and you can customize them with different clothes and gear. I was a little disappointed in the overall lack of customization. It's enough that you can pick an outfit you like, but you probably wont be satisfied with the selection of hats, pants, and jackets. Either way I've seen more customization in other snow games (Amped comes to mind). It's not bad, but it's not great.

Gameplay is challenge based, and remember it's a freestyle game so no races. Challenges come down to gaps, rails, pickups, and score challenges. The skiing is very smooth and responsive. Big jumps feel satisfying, and nailing a huge off-axis spin feels great. Crashes are physics based, so your character rag dolls down the hill and your skis fly off in all directions. The game also has controller support for two players with customizable buttons. I personally use a wired xbox 360 controller and it works fine.

There are about 5 mountain environments to traverse, all various backcountry areas. So far each run is about 2 minutes long from top to bottom, with multiple runs per different area. It is NOT a single mountain. Instead you select a mountain on the main menu and then select which run. The challenges are interesting enough to keep you occupied, which is good because there isn't any story. Also keep in mind that this is a semi-old game, so the music is completely dated.

So why do I recommend this game even with limited customization, old music, and no races? Because the core gameplay is very solid and intuitive. The skiing is fluid and feels great for an arcade style game. I also haven't experienced any pc problems with this game, so it is very stable. For ten bucks, you could do a lot worse. Is it the best ski/board game I've ever played? No. But it's also nowhere near the worst. A very satisfying ski game for the price.

+ fun
+ nostalgic
+ arcade
+ great soundtrack
+ menus and UI still hold up well
+ 6 characters to choose from, upgradeable stats
+ unlockable cosmetics and special tricks
+ well thought out stages with multiple viable lines
+ freestyle or challenges
+ local coop
+ well optimized, quality port
+ better than SNOW or any alternatives on steam

They couldn't even be bothered to properly implement controller support with this console port, no rumble and half the buttons don't work even though all worked perfectly on console.

The partial contorller support is broken.. half the buttons wont map.

Real Playtime: 100+ Hours (CD version)

Probably should mention that I`m biased. This game helped me survive through my first and second heartbreaks.

From the technical standpoint this game is solid but not impressive. It just works and never bothers.
Visually it`s good, especially the snow and the sky. Colors are a bit drab.
No physics, but ragdoll animations can be fun sometimes. Hitting a tree while doing tricks looks amusing.
Soundtrack is amazing for the time, I have all the songs memorized just from playing the game.
Gameplay can seem boring and repetitive, but I just can `t stop. I`ve played it for many years on occasion and I still love it.

Overall it`s a great game, I wish it had a sequel.

Thank you, F: EF, for an amazing time.

good game but no controller support implemented.

thats lazy - refund.

Awesome Game. IF you played the non-Steam version for more than 100 hours you know how this feels like :D

Nostalgia hits hard sometimes.