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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.
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Published
By :
EA
SPORTS BIG
Developed
By:
EA
Year Published :
2001
Players :
1-2
ESRB Rating:
EVERYONE
OVERALL
SCORE
9.3
VISUALS |
8.4 |
AUDIO |
9.5 |
GAMEPLAY |
9.5 |
REPLAY
VALUE |
9.3 |
INNOVATION |
8.5 |
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
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