The focus on gimmicks cripples the return of THE classic fantasy snowboard racer.
Now, SSX looks amazing, some of the runs are a blast to ride, and the real time leader board and challenge races are great, but that is where the positives end for me. The Dangerous Descents gimmick doesn't need to be in SSX. Granted, I always thought an avalanche during a race would be a cool detail, the rest of the gimmicks aren't very functional, nor do they add to the game. The thin air and freezing elements are unnecessary, and they really don't add anything to the race. The darkness element is virtually unplayable, and I'm really not sure how it made it out of play testing. The ice, avalanche, and flying suits do work, and those challenges are actually quite fun.
The music in the new SSX is a let down. Too much whiney garage band crap that doesn't do a thing to add to the excitement of a downhill race. The old drum and base / electronica tracks of previous SSX entries were much more suited to the game, and thankfully, there are still a FEW of these left in this game, and, as in other EA games, you're mercifully able to edit the in game soundtrack (thankfully there's no Avril Lavigne "Boyfriend" like there was in paradise city...).
Although I don't partake in online gaming that often, the omission of any kind of online multiplayer racing is a huge surprise. I don't know if it's a technical issue brought on by the ability to hit rewind (the button for which I almost wore out playing Kilimanjaro...) or what the case is, but the lack of an online component will put off a lot of gamers. Racing your friends' ghosts is fun, and sending them updates to let them know how completely you decimated their previous run time is always fun, but not being able to do it in realtime is a bit of a miss.
The online record keeping of scores and times that you can update and share with your friends is a great addition, as is the ability to set geotags in unreachable places for SSX racers all around the world to find and recover! The limited time events for in game credits are also a lot of fun!
Overall, the game is pretty fun (this statement does NOT include the DARKNESS challenge whatsoever...) and there are a lot of great additions to it. But forcing SSX fans and newcomers down the game's story mode and forcing the gimmick stuff down our necks was unnecessary, and I think detracted from the fun that the SSX series was about in its early days. Nintendo keeps releasing Mario Kart games, every time, there are a few minor changes, but the core of the game remains the same. Usually I'm all about innovation in games, and giving customers a bit of value for their money, but in this case, EA broke what didn't need fixing.