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 THIS IS GOING TO BE VERY, VERY INTERESTING SSX TRICKY Written By Shaun McCracken SSX Tricky is the sequel to the surprise hit SSX, which debuted on the PS2's launch. Now that there are three consoles out, I guess it's only appropriate to put the sequel on all three systems. Seeing how there are now two consoles that are more powerful than the PS2, you would think that the Xbox and Gamecube versions of the game would look better. Well, that's not entirely the case. While the game is still a lot of fun, the Gamecube version falls behind the other versions of SSX Tricky in terms of frame rate and clarity. If you haven't noticed by the box art of the game, this is a snowboarding title, and it happens to be one of the best snowboarding games made. The concept of the game is pretty simple: you either race against opponents, or play in a freestyle event to pull off tricks for points. Each race is made up of three heats, or in lesser terms, you play the same course three times. Finish the final heat, you move on. The process seems a bit tedious, but tolerable. At least you can place 2nd or 3rd on the finals, and still be able to move on. The stunt mode is where you pull off your best tricks to beat the score required for the medal. Getting a medal also can increase your attributes, by allowing to enhance your players speed, agility, etc. There's really not much more to say about how the game is played, because it's pretty simple. But there is one other thing to know. You have a thing called a "Tricky" meter (on the right side of the screen). This is also your boost. If you fill this meter up by pulling tricks, you can then pull off an "uber trick" for big points and a letter. Spell TRICKY, and get unlimited boost for the rest of the course. The manual explains this better. You may have heard this before, and it's fairly true, the GCN controller is not best suited for this game. It mostly has to do with the shoulder buttons, which are your grabs. First off, you lose one grab, since the GCN controller only has three shoulder buttons. Second, the Z-button is tough to get to when you really need it. Third, the L and R buttons are tougher to use here, since you need to press down a lot more than the PS2 controller. The GCN's analog buttons are better suited for racing games or games that require this kind of precision. SSX Tricky is really about how fast you can come up with these combinations. But there is a slight solution. If you invest in the Mad-Catz Cubicon controller (which is found at Target under the "Get Into The Game" label), the shoulder button layout is much like the PS2's and the Z-button is easier to get to. Also, the D-Pad is bigger, which is great for spins. While it may be a little "tricky" to pull off stunts here, the control is actually not all that bad and becomes easier as you go. The graphics is another little issue between other versions. While the lines may be smoother than the PS2 version, the frame rate dips a little more in certain places and textures are kind of blurry, almost like some first-generation Dreamcast games. By comparison, the Xbox version has a smoother frame rate that really never bogs down, and the texturing is more detailed. The player models are good and well animated, but some have some seams, and in Elise's case, she's missing her chin in close-up shots. And here's something really odd: texture warping! I thought we got away from this! But again, it's not terrible, and the game is still very playable. At least there's no fog. The sound is the high point of the game. While it doesn't have all the Dolby certification in the PS2 and Xbox editions, the GCN version sounds just as sweet, and I assume the average gamer has their system hooked up to their $120 stereo and not an expensive home theater (yet). The music is great, but I could have sworn I have hear one of these songs in Rollcage. A great mix that doesn't suck. And there are celebrity voice-overs from Lucy Liu and Bif Naked to name a couple. Not an important part of the game, but delivers a relaxed and a very playful atmosphere to the game. While SSX Tricky for the Cube may have some problems (mostly minor), it's still a really fun and addictive game. And let's face it, there's not many snowboarding games out right now. Your other choice is Dark Summit, which is something different from SSX. So until the next 1080 comes out in 2003, SSX Tricky still fills in the much needed snowboarding fix and is worth keeping around for the long run. . . |
  Published By : EA SPORTS BIG Developed By: EA Year Published : 2001 Players : 1-2 ESRB Rating: EVERYONE  OVERALL
SCORE
9.3
SSX Tricky for the Gamecube isn't as polished as the other versions in terms of graphics, but it's still a great game.  1080 Avalanche Transworld Snowboarding Amped  SSX 3 |
