SSX: TeenzSpot.com Score
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9.4
superb
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Difficulty:
Hard
Learning Curve:
Approx. one hour
Platform:
PlayStation 2
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 Publisher:
Electronic Arts
Developer: Electronic Arts
Requirements: PlayStation 2
Genre: Sports
ESRB: E - Everyone
SSX is one of the PlayStation 2 launch titles that truly excels
in every single category a game can be rated on, to the point that
even video game fans who aren't into snowboarding games have to
sit up and take notice. For those of you who are fans of games like
Cool Boarders 2 and X-Games Pro Boarder, SSX is reason enough on
its own to pick up a PlayStation 2 this October.
 SSX
is a snowboard racing game in which you compete against other boarders
from around the world. One of the major differences between SSX
and previous snowboarding games is how well SSX balances racing
for position and performing tricks. The game awards points and an
adrenaline boost for the tricks you do. The adrenaline boost is
used as a turbo of sorts, which helps you race down the courses
faster then you could on your own. This allows the game to be heavy
on tricks while still keeping a fast-paced racing game edge. From
the game's outset, you can select from four different characters,
each of which has a different persona and boarding style. Progressing
through the game by finishing in the top three of every course in
the preliminary, semifinal, and final events unlocks more tracks,
boarders, special boards, and character outfits. In all, the game
features eight courses and eight characters. Each boarder has multiple
boards and outfits to unlock, and those boards and outfits enhance
your boarder's attributes and drastically change the way he or she
performs on the snow throughout the game.
 One
of the best things about SSX is how unbelievably large and diverse
theeight courses are. The first two tracks are fairly standard,
which gives you a chance to get a feel for the game in a familiar
setting. After those two tracks, though, the designers let their
imaginations run wild, creating tracks that range from a run though
a snow-covered city at night, to a desert, to an indoor course styled
after a giant pinball machine, to a course that runs down an iceberg
sitting in a Hawaiian harbor. While some of these tracks may sound
completely absurd, they are in fact some of the most exciting, innovative,
and unbelievably fun courses ever created for a snowboarding game.
Plus they are incredibly expansive - on some tracks you can literally
spend close to ten minutes boarding down one run at top speed. What's
even more impressive is the freedom the game gives you to explore
the vast levels, which is impressive since the rule of thumb is
anywhere there's snow, you can go. Even if it's past the course
boundaries, or even behind the grandstands, if you can see a way
to get there, you usually can. You may occasionally run into an
invisible boundary or two, but it happens so rarely that you forget
they're even there. This freedom to explore is much more than just
an impressive technological feature, as exploring the levels is
how you find the hidden shortcuts that are almost necessary in order
to finish in first place.
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