
Exploring new routes on these massively long tracks is encouraged: within them you'll find secret goodies as well as special trick areas and time-saving shortcuts. Wipeout-inspired arrows line the base of the banked corners increasing the sensation of speed. At certain points fireworks will explode around you. Moving ramps, rotating doors and tons of non-traditional elements litter the trails. Heightening the experience, the Dual Shock 2 reacts to even the subtlest bumps and jostles.Įach of the 10 courses features much more than simple jumps and grinding material. Successfully completing tricks boosts your adrenaline meter, thus making it easier to perform the hardest crowd-pleasing maneuvers. Catching massive air is more the norm than the exception. Tricks are pulled off in a variety of ways but mostly by simple combos using just about every button on the controller. We love it when those two elements come together.Ĭharacter animation is topnotch (very fluid and realistic) and controlling any of the eight post-gen-x, prototypical riders is smooth and intuitive. More importantly it has excellent gameplay. Needless to say, SSX has enough eye-candy to satisfy any graphic snob. Vibrant lighting effects, robust colors and the excitement of the crowd get the extreme sport mojo flowing. In stark contrast, as the camera approaches the foreground, scenes of "freaky holiday" surround the staging areas and perimeters of each boardercross event. Rolling terrain peppered with slopes and monster cliffs abound. Huge panoramic camera sweeps reveal majestic mountains and picturesque snow-covered forests and hills in the background. It's hard to describe the sense of vast space and depth in this game. EA Canada has created a wholly unique experience that can only be described as a beautiful, psychedelic carnival on snow. Don't let the throngs of mind-numbingly average snowboarding titles released before SSX taint your thoughts.
