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PEAK
PERFORMANCE
SSX
3
Written By Shaun McCracken
With winter about one month away, EA has set to launch it's third
installment of the excellent SSX series with SSX 3. The timing couldn't
be better, especially since it's starting to feel like the winter
months where I live (after the nasty near 100 degree temperatures a
week before November), plus it gets us in the winter mood, whatever
that may be. If you already have your holiday list put together, make
sure you have SSX 3 on your list, because it's probably one of the best
and most addictive titles of the year. It improves on everything that
has been done in Tricky, and totally re-designs the whole game play
structure. Instead of hopping to 8 or 9 different mountains all over
the world, you are now bound to one huge mountain with three peaks. And
while this may seem limited, there's a whole lot to do and see in SSX
3.
The first thing you'll notice is that you never really need to go to a
menu to start an event. You ride to the event, and this is done due to
the fact that you can either go for a free-ride on the mountain in the
back country or even through an event course. The ability to free-ride
increases depth immensely. Here, you are not bound by a race or event,
but you can choose to take on a "Big Challenge", which can range from
slaloms to trick challenges. Complete a challenge and you can earn
money. You can also earn money by placing 1st, 2nd or 3rd in an event
or collecting money crystals valued at $500, $1000 or $2000 (depending
on which peak you're on). But back to free-riding. When you decide to
go into the back country to ride, you can explore what the area has to
offer and find the collectibles scattered throughout the area.
Exploring the back country is also important because you will have to
race through it later on in a peak-event. Finding an event is done
pretty easy. You can either follow the signs posted, or use your M-Comm
communicator to transport you to the event immediately. Events range
from a standard race, to different trick events that range from
Slopestyle, Big Air and Super Pipe events. Once you complete the main
events, you will be challenged by an opponent to race or to go for the
higher score on a peak event, which is pretty long. One of the cool
things about this game is that you can actually race from the highest
point of the mountain to the lowest point, which could take you nearly
half an hour to do.
But more about the events. They are done differently than it was the
last time around. In SSX Tricky, the race and freestyle events took
place on the same course with almost the same layout (the freestyle
events added more rails and ramps). Here, each event has it's own
course. The race event does not share the course with the freestyle
events, and the freestyle events have different course designs. The
SlopeStyle event is pretty much close to a race course, except there
are more ramps and rails to trick off of. The Big Air events are pretty
short runs with ramps that give you but what else, big air. The Super
Pipe events are half-pipe events that are done SSX-style. The later
events may have multiple or even multi-tiered pipes. If you're
wondering about the race events, they are just that, races.
The overall game play mechanics, that is the control design and trick
design have barely changed. In fact, I was pretty much able to do the
exact same things I did in Tricky here. There are a couple of new
moves, though. One is the board presses. Using the C-Stick pressed up
or down, you can now execute a move that is pretty much a manual you
would see in Tony Hawk, and the use is to keep a combo going. That too
is a new feature. You can now create large combos for extra points by
doing tricks and manuals, as well as grinds. You have a limited amount
of time to link your moves together to keep the combo going, but by
doing so you can get big points that can really help boost your overall
score. Just be sure to take the point bonus before you end up losing
them on a bad jump, or a place you know you will crash. Another new
move is the handplant, which is something I haven't used too often. You
can use it to grab on to higher surfaces or to link your combo, and
it's good to know that you do have another move there.
Aside from the whole new mountain design, there is also the ability to
buy new customizations for your rider. These things can range from stat
points to improve your performance, to new clothes, boards and
accessories to even special unlockables similar to what was done with
the krypt in MK Deadly Alliance. I think the cash system is a great
addition to the game, where you can control how much your character can
increase his/her attributes and decide if you want to unlock
accessories or go straight for stat-points. This also makes it a lot
easier to get new outfits and boards than it was in Tricky.
But, with everything good that has been put into SSX 3, they left
something out that was really helpful in the last game: the trick book.
In Tricky, you can look up how to do a specific move and even learn how
to do it by tutorial. In SSX 3, they pretty much assume you know every
trick and let you go. It's difficult in the Big Challenges where they
ask you to do specific moves, and you pretty much have to figure them
out by trial and error. There's not even a trick list in the manual.
For the rest of the game, I usually just hold a set of buttons and
don't care what move I do. But when I need to do something specific, I
would like to know how it's done.
The graphics in SSX 3 are much more improved than SSX Tricky,
especially when you're comparing the Gamecube versions. The frame rate
in SSX 3 is more constant, the textures are not nearly as blurry, the
sense of speed seems a little higher and the player models don't look
like they are made out of plastic. That is one thing I noticed the most
when I saw the Elise model for SSX Tricky and SSX 3, she looked a lot
more human in SSX 3, here clothes never seem painted on, and she's not
as shiny. The animations are also smoother as well. Then there are the
special effects such as the glistening of the snow and ice, the weather
effects and even some avalanches. Plus, it has some great lighting. But
there are a couple of minor issues. One, the game still has the weird
texture and polygon shifting issue I noticed in Tricky. I can
understand that would need to be done to keep up with the size of the
courses, but it reminds me of what the PS1 games used to do. Although
it's not as extreme, you will see times where a surface may re-shape
itself or texture shake a tad. The other thing is that the frame rate
does slow a little in certain areas. Not as bad as Tricky, but if there
are a lot of effects or events taking place, the frame rate will take a
momentary hit. It doesn't hinder game play, but is noticeable.
The sound is excellent, and why should it not be, seeing how it's THX
certified. I think the best way to describe this game is loud. There is
a lot going on in the sound department, from character voices to the
arcade sound effects and the music. The music in SSX 3 is perhaps one
of the best soundtracks assembled in a long time. I found a lot of
likable music that has a lot of range, from established artist such as
Fatboy Slim and Chemical Brothers, to new acts such as Yellowcard. It's
not like THPS 4 where I really couldn't find one real song I enjoyed or
even heard of. Here, you may have not heard of some of the artists, but
the music is pretty well known thanks you it's use in commercials or
television shows. But it's also the range that is impressive. It's not
just all rock, or half rock, half hip-hop. It's a mixture of
alternative rock, techno, dance, hip-hop and R&B. Is it better
than the SSX Tricky soundtrack? It just might be. Also, the game has
adapted a radio system like MSR, except relevant to what is going on.
The DJ that comes on is not that annoying, and actually does sound like
a DJ. But aside from giving off banter about what is going on outside
the game (such as talking about an "orange cat" or people who
skateboard on ice), he does provide information on where your heading,
who your rival may be and so forth. It can be useful, especially if
you're not sure which event you're heading to.
SSX 3 does support GBA/GCN connectivity, but I'm not sure it's all that
useful. From what the manual says, you can transfer money into the
game, which could be useful in buying items, but it's not very integral
to the game. It doesn't make up for the online mode the PS2 version
has, but it IS something.
Final Thought
SSX 3 is an excellent snowboarding game, hands down. It's highly
addictive, it has a great open design, and it's a very tight and
polished game. After playing SSX 3, I'm wondering if Nintendo's own
1080 Avalanche has enough to go against EA's snowboarder. I heard that
Nintendo's offering is more of a simulation than and arcade experience,
but it all comes down to how much you want to play the game and for how
long. I have a feeling many would go for the PS2 version just because
of the online mode, which is unfortunate, because it's more of an extra
than a core gameplay element. The GC version is just as competent as
the other console versions, and just as fun. For GC owners, this is a
must have for the system (or any system you have). I'm not going to say
this is better than 1080 Avalanche just yet, but it sure does have the
potential.
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Published
By :
EA
SPORTS BIG
Developed
By:
EA
Year Published :
2003
Players :
1-2
ESRB Rating:
EVERYONE
OVERALL
SCORE
10
VISUALS |
9.5 |
AUDIO |
10 |
GAMEPLAY |
10 |
REPLAY
VALUE |
9.9 |
INNOVATION |
9.2 |
SSX 3 is by far the best snowboarding game ever made, and it's one of
the best extreme sports titles to be released as well.
SSX
Tricky
SSX On Tour
Amped
1080 Avalanche
Transworld Snowboarding
There's
really no other snowboarder better than SSX 3
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