SSX 3
From globe-hopping to mountain-conquering, SSX still delivers the goods!
Tags: SSX3 Categories: PS2 Reviews, Reviews
Posted by Craig "American Idle" Hansen on Jan 7th, 2004
| Title | Players | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| SSX3 (title page) | |||
| Developer | Publisher | Genre | Online |
| Action | No | ||
In the early days of the PS2, one of the first true hits that really showed off the power of the new platform was a snowboarding title by EA’s newest studio, EA Sports BIG, SSX. Although EA Sports had made its living off making most of its sports titles deliver a true simulation of the sport it was depicting, EA Sports BIG decided to go a different direction.
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Eschewing realism for fun, SSX too the extreme sport of snowboarding and, moving beyond a faithful depiction, amped and ramped up the arcade-style action by making the game more colorful and more filled with an “awe” factor. While Midway and Konami and others released tamer, more sim-like snowboarding titles, so realistic they inspired yawns, EA once again guessed what the public really wanted out of a snowboarding title and maxed out the “wow” element, enabling gamers to pull off reality-stretching tricks that were just beyond what’s believable.
With SSX Tricky, the series went for the celebrity factory, hiring an impressive cast of B-list actors to deliver the voicework for Tricky’s ’boarders, upping the uber-trick emphasis and stuffing the game full of DVD-style extras like outtakes from the actors’ voice sessions and other behind-the-scenes mini-documentaries.
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With SSX 3, the celebrity voices are gone, replaced by a thick, blazing soundtrack that really gets the blood pumping on the slopes and is the best videogame soundtrack to appear anywhere since the release of GTA: Vice City. With plenty of musical variety, it’s not likely you’ll turn the music off for quite a while. EA has so much confidence in the music for this game, it’s actually been released as a separate soundtrack CD already available in music stores.
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Where previous SSX games took gamers on a globe-trotting mission, allowing them to experience one or two trails from several different mountains, the emphasis changes this time as developers decided to focus on developing one single, three-peak mountain that is realized in never-before-seen detail. Rather than being limited to courses with boundaries, depending on the type of event you choose, you can actually ’board just about any spot on the mountain, including backcountry areas that are completely off-course.
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Of course, such ventures astray are not without risks; hazards like avalanches make their first appearance in SSX with this title and about the only thing missing is wildlife; imagine the jolt of fear that might go through you as, coming around a corner, there’s suddenly a huge black bear or a moose or a bobcat in your path. Adding that in as a random element in the backcountry areas is about the only thing developers overlooked this time out.
Gameplay is more challenging than ever and even on the easiest setting, veterans of the series probably won’t be able to conquer the mountain overnight. That’s a good thing, since there are over 1,000 awards and customizations to be earned as you progress through the game.
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Online play makes its debut with this title, but unfortunately it’s not much different than playing with a friend in your living room since only two players can participate in any given race. Since most races in the game allow for six racers, it would have been nice to see online races allow for up to six entrants. Perhaps there were RAM limits or bandwidth limits behind the choice to limit online play to two real players per race, but the choice is a disappointing one that will hopefully be corrected in SSX 4.
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Still one of the most stunning, eye-candy-filled sports titles on the market – far more visually appealing than even Tony Hawk’s Underground in terms of visual flair – EA Sports had advanced the look enough to keep SSX 3 on the cutting edge of next-gen sports titles and – arguably – still the king of snowboarding titles on PS2, or any other platform, for that matter. SSX 3 is yet another must-have from EA Sports BIG.
| What Works | Score |
|---|---|
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— Great mix of favorite boarders with appealing new characters. — The most rockin’ soundtrack this side of GTA: Vice City. — One of the most detailed single mountains ever realized in a videogame. — Super-solid challenge factor; you won’t beat this game overnight. |
9.3 |
| What Doesn't | |
| — Virtually nothing that’s more than nitpicking; a few more boarders to play through as is the only improvement I can think of, and I’d probably say that no matter how many there were. | |
| Under the Shrink-wrap | |
| EA Sports BIG proves the first PS2-generation snowboarding title is still the king of the mountain. | |
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Tags: SSX3
Posted by Craig "American Idle" Hansen on Jan 7th, 2004 and is filed under PS2 Reviews, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can post a comment, or trackback from your own site.
