SSX is one of the best times I have had in a game for a while. However, it isn't without it's issues, albeit small ones.
As I stated before, this is one of the best times I have had playing a video game for a long time. However, it isn't without it's issues. But hey! Nothing's perfect, right?
Here is my short lists of pro/cons about this game, followed by a full review of all it's features.
Pros:
Exceptional, and I mean "Exceptional" Online Multi-Player
Customizable Playlists
Most realistic mountains in a game. Ever.
Over-the-top, high-speed, gameplay.
Cons:
No 2-player mode...
Random avalanche camera.
You only race "ghosts" or "replay data" of other players.
Short single player mode.
It's not often that I will call a game with no local play a good game. Let alone a great game. Add to this the fact that the single player isn't more than 10 hours long, and you would expect this game to fail miserably.
However, despite it's few issues (that I feel stand out like a sore thumb) this is a game that I have been hard pressed to turn off at night. I find myself wanting to play just one more race... one more tricky event... one more cycle of survival mode... It doesn't matter, they are all just as addictive.
The special thing about SSX, and really the core of the whole experience, is it's exceptional online mode.
Now let me stress that I am not an online multi-player kind of person. I don't own COD or Halo, and the only Live friends I had before this game were people I knew in real life, and they don't play the games I play.
But that's the thing that makes SSX so special. I have never made friends on Xbox Live. Now I have a growing friends list, of which I can't wait until they are online again.
This is surprising because you actually don't speak, or even ever see any other players in the game. When you are racing online, you are racing a character with their gamertag on top, but it is just a "ghost" or "replay data" for the lamen.
Not to say that this detracts from the experience, in fact it's hardly noticable except for the fact that you don't have anyone speaking to you in the game on their headsets. (Something many people will see as a great plus) I find it a little disappointing that I can't trash talk anyone as I pass them up on the races, or land an abusrd combo that slides me up 3 slots in trick mode.
None the less, it is a blast racing their replays. There is a great feeling of going head to head with someones character down a mountain. So much so that you will want to add them to your "Rivals" list.
The Rivals list is an in-game friends list. This system tracks what times, scores, and in the case of Survival matches, their distance. It works great, as you spin the virtual earth in look of your next drop you will see pop-up messages (that are much less obtrusive than the X360's notifications). These will inform you if/when one of your friends, or "rivals" has smashed one of your scores/times/distances. It even gives you the option to jump immediately to that level so you can try to reclaim your stolen glory.
Now, with all the multi-player greatness that this game offers it saddens me to once again have to say; "This game has no 2-player"
Once again we are subjected to a game that has thrown off the very part of gaming that brought so many people together in the 90s. The lack of a 2 player mode is a major dissapointment, not just for gaming as a whole, but simply because I wanted to sit down with my kid brother and hit the powder.
Which brings me to the single-player mode. Excellently crafted, this "World-Tour" will take you across the planet to the 9 "Deadly Descents". This is by far the most fleshed out story mode for SSX I have seen. As a reboot of the franchise, the SSX "team" has gotten together to beat their ex-member Griff in a race to conquer the planet. (Figuratively speaking of course.)
The movies are well made with good animations, and the voice actors of the heli-pilots deserve extra gold stars for their performance. As an awesome bonus, whenever you unlock a new character you are treated to a beautiful (yet short) Motion comic that briefly explains their connection to the SSX team.
Some of their camera choices IN game however, are questionable as well. Specifically, the Avalance camera. This flips the camera to a heli-copter view as you ride down the mountain, trying to outrun an avalance.
I give them credit for a camera that adds suspense to the avalanche levels (of which their are only a few) However, the lack of an option to use the camera that works perfectly in every other level means that you are forced to play these great levels in a way that really kills the fun. You can't see where you are going, and because it is so zoomed out it becomes near impossible to figure out how to land your combos. (Which build your boost so you can outrun the avalanche)
All things considered... I love this game. I am playing as I write this in-fact.
EA is doing amazing things with online multi-player, and I hope they keep up the good work.
However, I hope they stop charging gamers who buy used copies 10$ to get online access. In addition, the DLC for the character Eddie is already on the disc, it just unlocks it. Lastly, they didn't even bother to add artwork to the manual. As an individual that really appreciates box-art, it is sad to open a case and only see the Seizure Warning.
In closing, play SSX.
If you don't have fun then I feel sorry for you.
Live Long, Play Hard, & Love All.
~VPHD