One step ahead of the game...
Written: Dec 26 '00 (Updated Jan 18 '01)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Challenging, fun tracks. Excellent music and sound. Breathtaking graphics.
Cons: Somewhat steep learning curve, frame rate not consistent, slightly annoying load times.
The Bottom Line: SSX combines speed, tricks and visuals into one very enjoyable title. The best PS2 game out there currently.
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| JamesWong's Full Review: SSX for PlayStation 2 |
LAUNCH HAZE
With fellow ePinionator Alkaiser I was able to sample import PS2 titles, most of which didn't really impress me. When I got my Playstation 2, the first game I played on it wasn't a PS2 title at all: it was Final Fantasy IX. I wasn't really sure if there were any good launch titles out there. I'd played Ridge Racer V import to death and I didn't take the plunge with any of the other games.
I never sat down with a snowboarding game before, and when even when the PSX "JamPack" demo discs featured playable demos of Cool Boarders and such, I never found them to be very appealing.
About a week ago I decided to rent SSX. I got so hooked I had to buy it when the rental period was up.
MODES and GAMEPLAY
SSX is all about extreme snowboarding. I'm talking about extreme, off the wall snowboarding.
There are two modes to SSX: Single Event and World Circuit. While both modes include racing (get 1st place) and showoff (score the most tricks) venues, Single Event mode also includes a "Freeride" mode with two additional tracks. To play just one venue (say, just "Race" instead of also trying "Showoff" mode) is to deny the whole experience of SSX. One teaches you how to jam through a course as fast as possible, while the other asks you to get better at pulling off tricks. To play through both modes is the way to get the most out of mastering both speed and tricks. By getting gold medals, you can gain experience points, unlock new characters, boards and, provided you master new tricks, acquire new outfits for your character as well.
Tricks are the core of SSX. Board grabs occur while holding down various combinations of the controller's shoulder buttons (L1, R1, etc.) while flips and switches are executed by tapping / holding one of the eight directions on the d-pad (up, down, left, right and the diagonals). Combos can be formed by doing different board grabs and lead to a larger point total when you successfully land.
SSX's strength lies in the fact that it demands that you go crazy on the track... as the announcer says.. "Tricks equals boost.... boost equals speed!". Pull off good tricks and you get boost to speed up and make it to the finish line in first place.
Initially, tricks are hard to execute because your character hasn't earned any experience points, which can be allocated to your board's attributes: speed, edging, stability and tricks. Once you win medals in the courses, you can allocate the points to whichever attributes you want to maximize. You'll notice the difference after revisiting a track. Tricks are faster and your board is smoother in handling turns.
THE CHARACTERS
SSX gives you the choice of 8 characters from various countries. These characters include Mac (USA, why does he remind me of Eminem?), Kaori from Japan (ultra cuteness and fellow ePinionator Alkaiser's favorite) and Moby (from Britain with interesting an hairstyle and an ego to fit). Since each character ranges in body size, each one is going to have their advantages. For instance, Kaori will do fine on sharp turns because she's rather skinny, whereas another character like Jurgen (Germany) will acquire the most speed downhill because of his large build.
THE COURSES
The game has 6 courses in the World Circuit mode while the Single Event has 6 plus two additional tracks ("pipe dream" and "untracked") to snowboard through. 6 tracks does not look like a lot, but these tracks are quite long and have several 'alternate/secret' paths that you can take aside from the standard path that you may run through your first time on a course. Even after mastering the tracks, I find myself going back just to see what other routes I haven't taken.
The track designers for SSX are crazy. While each course can look extremely intimidating it can also be amazingly fun once you've learned the course's routes and secrets. With each new course I unlocked, I started to really look forward to the challenges each course would provide. Snowdream, the first course, calls for different tactics than Merqury City, for example, which asks the player to adapt to tighter turning. Tokyo Megaplex (one of the more loony tracks) feels more like a welcome break in some ways than the other courses because it's so strange, with pinball flippers and a high-powered fan that launches the snowboarders up. Additionally, little extras make each course stand out: Mesablanca features a wood-plank bridge that swerves left and right, making it a challenge to cross. If you get enough air in Merqury City, you'll land onto a highway and the vehicles on it will stop abruptly in shock of your sudden appearance.
TWO-PLAYER MODE
The two-player feature in the Single Event mode splits the screen to left and right sections (as opposed to top and bottom). Here you can play with someone else in the Race, Showoff or Freeride modes. While the viewing distance is still good and the frame rate is over 30fps, the view is crunched for both players, so it is a hard to anticipate oncoming obstacles. As far as I can tell, this title doesn't offer any iLink multiplayer (two Playstations 2's, two TV's), so the only way you're going to challenge your friend is in this claustrophobic, split screen mode.
GRAPHICS
The graphics are superb: hills are smooth with various types of snow (or hard ice); tracks are littered with trees and other natural terrain. Trails left by passing racers look very good. Before you start racing, you get to see your racer prep at the starting line, which shows off their personality. For instance, Mac might raise his arms ups in the air and say, "Give it up... Who da man!" and then proceed to move his arms like he's trash talking the person next to him at the starting line.
The sheer distance you can see as you race down tracks is breathtaking. The default camera mode (not too far behind from the player) can be changed to two distances further behind him or her, meaning you get to see more of the course if you opt for a farther chase camera distance. Of course, the farther camera selections will help you in anticipating the next jump or path as you play.
SOUND
Brief commentary accompanies any tricks you execute and there are also remarks about any tricks you fail to pull off if you drop and eat snow. It's common to hear the man say "backside 180 with an indy" after such a combo is made. Foul up enough (run into trees, fail at doing a full backflip) and he'll say things like "Tasty snow!" or "Houston, we have a problem". The voiceover for the commentary is well done, while characters also speak. Characters scream with excitement as they pull off tricks and make negative remarks if moves don't pull them off correctly ("I gotta stop doing that trick!").
EA has always had excellent music production in their games, be it with original music (i.e., the Need for Speed series) or licensed music in their sports games (FIFA). For SSX, the same holds true. A good amount of the playing experience comes from mixes of techno and hip-hop. Moreover, they complement your game play - when you catch air from a jump, the volume of the soundtrack fades while you pull your tricks. When you land, the music comes back into the foreground of audio... succeed, and the music gets better... fail, and some of the percussion drops out.
Those of you who may get annoyed by commentary and sound effects (there are a bunch of them when pulling off tricks and landing successfully) can select from different presets (No Speech, No Music, Music Only, etc.) or adjust them on your own in the game's options screen.
PROBLEMS?
Though SSX is very good, there will always be complaints depending on the type of game player (say, casual versus hardcore gamer). The game's learning curve can be steep at first because of the controls the game requires - it pretty much uses everything, d-pad (to execute moves), left (movement) and right (attacking opponents) analog sticks and buttons (boost, jumping, etc). Frustration may come along with the ride for a lot of you. If you have generally fast reflexes and can survive by the second, you'll be able to pick this game up fast. If that last sentence scares you, then expect to get quite a challenge from this game. When I first played SSX, I found it very frustrating, but once I fully understood the control scheme, I had a very good time just playing to get better at it.
An additional (albeit small) complaint is the game's loading time. A "loading..." screen will be the first thing you see when you turn your PS2 on to play it. Also, if you decide to restart on courses or quit your race in mid-play, you will also have to wait for the game to load again. This hasn't bothered me very much because once you're on a track or selecting options at the menus, the courses are so long that you shouldn't mind the wait in between.
Another small gripe is the game's frame rate: it isn't a consistent 60fps, so at times you're really getting into the racing while at other times (say when many opponents are near you and on screen), you'll notice the mild loss of 'super smoothness'. As I say, it's a small issue, especially when you're focused on tricks and racing, but it's something I noticed.
OVERALL
One of my friends called SSX "Tony Hawk's Pro Skater with snowboards". Though the controls aren't exactly the same, there's a resemblance in the controls (i.e., hold X to prep a jump, let go to jump and use the d-pad to execute tricks). Hardcore gamers will be able to get all the courses in several days: I unlocked all of the courses in about a week of on and off play. However, I've still found the game to be as fun as it was when I started. If one word can describe this game, it's "energy". It's in the characters, the courses, the music and the sounds. SSX delivers and it's the first launch title that has me hooked.
(random after thoughts)
-You might complain about not being able to steer once you hold down X to prep a jump. The manual says that pressing L3 (that's pressing down on your left analog stick until it clicks) will cancel the jump. Yes, it actually pays off to flip through a game manual. Also, when approaching a jump with lots of airtime, hold down X and let go slightly before you're actually in the air...
-Unlocking the games "Untracked" course (a snow covered mountain course with no specifically defined path, lots of hills for jumps and several instances of major air time, accompanied by an excellent symphonic/techno soundtrack) is a cool reward for dominating all the previous courses.
-After seeing the loading screen with the tip, "Recycle, stay in school and fight the power", then had I known that I'd been playing too much :o)
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
JamesWong
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Location: California
Reviews written: 60
Trusted by: 40 members
About Me:
Video/PC gamer, video editor.
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