It used to be if
you wanted to experience the high-speed, adrenaline-laced sport of snowboarding
without actually getting off your butt, Nintendo’s 1080 franchise and Sony’s
Cool Boarders series were your only choices. But times, they are a’changin’,
and EA Sports BIG has left the lucrative field of making games that are strictly
simulation and expanded into the more stylized, and accessible make-believe
sports market where they are free to defy physics, gravity, and, well, anything
else they want to throw out the window in the name of unfettered entertainment.
It started with SSX back in 2000 on the PS2, from there the skies were the
limits. On second thought, maybe the limits of BIG games extend even further as
the sky is certainly not an uncharted area in any of their games. Then came SSX
Tricky, which bolstered the excitement level of snowboarding even more with
greater trick variety, off-the-hook tracks, and a new sense of overall style.
Both those games hit big, leaving indelible impressions with fans and playing up
expectations for the inevitable sequel into stratospheric regions.
Enter SSX 3: a
bigger, faster, more hellacious trip down snowbowl alley than has ever been
witnessed before. While not fundamentally changing the original foundation of
the first two games, SSX 3 brings more realistically rendered environments that
are every bit as outrageous as those found in Tricky yet without the aid of
artificially made obstacles and over-the-top pyrotechnics. Featuring three
fully realized mountain peaks all residing on the same mountain and dozens of
different courses, part three busts out with some mad silly environments that
seem ripped right out of the minds of the most creative snowboarding enthusiasts
around.
You’ll start the
game not unlike the way you began in the previous titles: choosing your rider
from an eclectic cast of personalities that are mutually exclusively passionate
about snowboarding and, for lack of a better word, insane. Though it doesn’t
really matter which character you choose as each begins with only the lowest of
stats possible, it is a treat for fans to see that plenty of past personalities
make a comeback here, as well as a few fresh faces. Right from the first time
you lay fiberglass to snow, each character will be capable of impressive tricks
and outlandish combos, but you’ll eventually play the game enough to purchase
stats and increase your player’s abilities even more.
The main mode in
SSX 3 is its long and satisfying “conquer the mountain” mode, which is
structured a bit like GTA3 in the sense that you choose what to do, when to do
it, and how. Three styles of play are available in this mode and conquering any
of them all the way through will unlock the next mountain peaks. But before we
get to what those three styles of play are, let’s touch a bit on the open-ended
method of progression in the game.
As you ride down
the peak after taking a gondola ride to the top, you’ll notice informative signs
displaying the direction you need to go to get to different types of
competitions. You can also use your handy instant messenger device to hitch a
ride directly to the desired competition, but the fact that you can board around
on your own and show up at different competitions gives the game a real sense of
immersion that has, until now, not been realized in a snowboarding game. And
since every square foot of real-estate in the game is completely unique and
impressively detailed (and lacks even a second of loading thanks to a new
fangled dynamic loading technology implemented here), you’ll savor every minute.
But I digress.
Once you’ve acclimated yourself with the controls (which are perfect, by the
way), you’ll want to get down with some downhill racing, trick competitions, and
free ride action. These competitions can be played in any order you choose and
each peak offers an assortment in each category. The racing contests are pretty
much of the same ilk as the previous games where crossing the finish line first
will put you in the top spot. You’ll have to place at least third through the
multiple racing heats in order to medal and successfully complete the course.
The trick competitions challenge you to score the highest in a set amount of
time. Racking up huge combos is necessary to coming out on top.
The third style of
play is free ride, which allows you to cut ice around the expansive environments
with no time or objective constraints. As you make your way around any area of
the peak you’re at, you’ll notice that scads of money flakes can be found that
add to your total monetary sum ranging from 500 to 2000 bucks a pop. As if that
wasn’t enough to keep you free riding all the way to the bank, there are also
stark spotlights scattered around the area that allow you to compete in “BIG”
challenges such as jumping through all the hoops, sliding through all the
markers, etc, in a set amount of time. While these objectives add quite a bit
of variety to the expected monotony of the oft-used “free ride” mode, they
aren’t as diversified or indeed fun as they could have been had a little more
creativity went into their creation. But the fact that the developers even went
to the trouble of including such incentives is admirable.
While the new
characters, enhanced navigation system, quick warp feature, and multiple play
styles are great additions and exponentially enhance the SSX experience, it’s
the insanely huge three-peaked mountain in SSX 3 that takes the starring role.
Every course that takes place on this mountain is meticulously designed with
straight edges to grind on, ramps to fly off of, and twisted trails to blaze.
You’ll start out with only the first peak unlocked, but as you complete
competitions the other peaks will open up. Each peak is progressively steeper
and more chock full of crazy obstacles and ingenious hazards such as falling
boulders, avalanches and other such natural disasters than the previous peak.
There is also more focus on taking the path less traveled, as the areas you’ll
board on are not strictly limited to a single or even multiple paths. Lots of
shortcuts, optional areas, and dangerous out of bounds areas can be navigated
and learned, though if you wander too far off the course you’ll automatically be
warped back to an established trail. Hitting the Y button on the GameCube
controller also restarts your racer, and this is a problem as accidentally
hitting Y happens all the time.
Lodges are
carefully peppered throughout the mountain and this is where you’ll want to go
to spend all that hard-earned cash you’ve acquired in the game’s various
competitions. Here you can buy exclusive clothing items for your boarder, buy
stats to improve their skills, customize the music playlist, purchase new songs,
and some other stuff that I can’t recall right now. Basically, the lodge
largely represents the “more” I spoke of earlier.
Tricks in SSX 3
are another aspect that has received a substantial improvement. Like Tricky,
where pulling tricks would slowly replenish your uber meter and, once full,
allowed you to perform some pretty incredible, high-flying feats – SSX 3 goes a
few steps further. Here you’ll not only have an uber meter but a super uber
meter as well. Executing uber tricks will light up the letters in “Super Uber”,
starting with “Uber”. As fans of the previous games know, filling your uber
meters opens up a new trick set. Here, though, you are able to open up multiple
trick sets, each progressively more deft-defying and potentially high scoring.
Another new feature in SSX 3 is the ability to quickly recover from bails. When
your racer crashes, a recovery meter at the bottom of the screen will be
displayed. Quickly punching the B button will replenish this meter and if you
fill the meter before the computer automatically respawns you, you’ll be back on
your feet and flying in no time.
From a visual
standpoint, SSX 3 looks better than Tricky but not in an in-your-face,
smack-you-up-and-don’t-call-the-next-morning kind of way. The environments are
markedly more detailed and diverse, trick animations are smoother and more
realistic in terms of movement (don’t worry they are every bit as improbable as
Tricky), and the snow effects in the game are second to none. You’ll notice
that each of the three peaks in the game are drastically different, not only in
terms of course design but also in terms of the environments and general
ambiance of your surroundings. Slowdown is, for all intents and purposes, a
non-issue, though you may notice some minor stuttering in particularly hectic
areas.
As much as the
graphics in SSX 3 are improved, it’s the audio that has really received the
lion’s share of development. Gone are the celebrity voiceovers from SSX Tricky
but introduced are a wide assortment of spot-on voice talent representing the
extremely stylized characters in the game. The ambient sounds that can barely
be heard when music is enabled is perfectly implemented, providing a genuinely
convincing aural arrangement for everything from the crunching of snow beneath
your board to the piercing wind slicing through natural high elevation mountain
symmetry. But the music is why I’m so adamant about praising this game’s
sound. Every track rocks hard and loud. Aside from the recently released Tony
Hawk’s Underground, SSX 3 features the most diverse and entertaining song
roster. I’m tempted to list all the songs in the game right here and now, but I
don’t want to deviate from traditional review writing etiquette, plus, I’m too
lazy. Suffice to say that any videogame soundtrack that features Fischerspooner
is OK by me.
Overall, SSX 3 is
a lovingly crafted work of art that perfectly captures the exhilaration of
make-believe snowboarding while making good on every other element of videogame
goodness. The lack of fantastical obstacles and other Tricky-exclusive elements
is admittedly missed, but the inclusion of so many other excellent improvements
makes you quickly forget that this ain’t Tricky. One of the best games of the
holiday season.
Gameplay: 9.3
If you’ve played either of the previous SSX games you’ll know what to expect
here, though the additional gameplay elements are vast.
Graphics: 9.1
Dynamic loading prevents unsightly loading screens and the attention to detail
in terms of this game’s environments is truly impressive.
Sound: 10
Possibly the best sound presentation in any game this year, everything is just
.. perfect.
Difficulty: Medium
You’ll start out with easy to beat challenges and quickly graduate to more
difficult objectives, the pace at which this happens may intimidate some but
rest assured that any challenge the game throws your way can be overcome, even
by newcomers, eventually.
Concept: 8.7
The meeting for the planning stages of development of this game must have went
something like this: “Let’s make the best snowboarding game ever” … “OK.”
Multiplayer: 8.1
The split screen
multiplayer action is just as fast and frenetic as the single player experience,
though the lack of screen real-estate does tend to get in the way.
Overall: 9.0
SSX 3 nails
everything it sets out to accomplish, though the lack of Tricky-esque bells and
whistles is initially disappointing.
