SSX 3

"Good Things Come In Threes"

Somewhere, somehow, a die-hard RPG fan picked up a sports game and had the time of his life with it. I admit, the only reason I decided to actually buy this game was because of magazine hype and m friends' advice. What I discovered was so magnificent I had to pick up the game's predecessors, both of which were worthy of my money.

Visuals: B+
Why, though, is it so magnificent? I hate snowboarding. SSX3 sets itself from the competition with moves that defy reality and physics, and it's wonderful to simply hold down the buttons and watch the majestic board do its tricks. Once you get into the game, the visual effects are simply stunning. Every environment is drawn out well, with plenty of variety in the slopes (particularly in the backcountry areas). Only once have I managed to catch a visual flaw, where I traipsed upon a loading mountain in the background. However, this is a one-time experience and it never happened again. Another minor flaw in graphics is the poorly-designed avalanches and rockslides. If you manage to come behind one in a race, you can see that not much effort was put into their models. Aside from this, the graphics in the game are slick and among the best I've seen in any GameCube game, and the detail left out from the character models is nearly unnoticable.

Gameplay: A+
Gameplay is what truly draws the crowd in, however, and SSX3 does not fail in any way here. The controls are very responsive, as they should be in a sports game. The rules of physics, though somewhat tweaked, are evident and accurate in the game. Ubers, Super Ubers, and Monster Tricks are abundant, always good. Recovering from a fall (an action new to the series) takes a while, so even one recovered mistake may cost you the race. This gives a sense of strategic importance to the faults of your opponents, and makes races challenging and enjoyable. Freestyle events and BIG Challenges are equally satiating, as they require the player to find secret areas to not only increase airtime but to find point/trick bonues and the like. The branching paths do not always come easy, however, and are sometimes very challenging to reach. The game isn't impossible, however. It's very easy to pick up for beginners, with its three peaks that get consecutively more difficult and larger. This allows players to work at their own pace, even though unlocking the upper two peaks really isn't too hard. A well-paced, challenging game that is virtually flawless in execution and easy to pick up.

Audio: A-
Great music from rock, techno, and hip hop fills your ears as you listen to EA Radio while riding the slopes, but once you hear it all it's pretty much the same as watching MTV (which isn't necessarily bad). I would have liked to have some new, unlockable music for the Backcountry battles.

Replay Value: A+
This is what SSX3 is all about. Finishing the third peak and conquering the All Peak Race/Jam means the game is far from over. If you haven't finished all of the linear quests (Race and Freestyle goals) it's plenty fun to do those, but the BIG Challenges give the game a very GTA/platform game-ish feel. Challenges force you to explore the depths of the mountain and find secret areas, handplanting on high-placed signs and grinding swinging logs. There are hundreds of challenges and benefits to reap, and you will find yourself playing for hours and hours long after you've finished the main game. Playing with your friends is also splendid, as you can match yourself against your friends, that is, if you're tired of kicking the CPU's ***. This provides simple, fun pleasures unattainable in 1P mode such as colliding with your friend in a Super Pipe freestyle. Good stuff, good stuff.

Single-Player Mode: B-
This is truly the single biggest flaw in the entire game. While the single-player experience itself is not all too bad at all with its replayable courses and quests, there are many things that make it uninteresting. Minor annoyances such as the DJ's repetitive punch-lines and announcements seem to sour after your hundredth run down the slopes, and switching to the mountain ambience sounds on your radio doesn't help either, since it's pretty boring too. Characters essentially have rivals that act the same way, challenging them to yet another duel in the Backcountry. A boss battle, right? Sounds fun! If only. It's practically the same as if you were to transport to the top of the mountain and do a run, only with the advantage of knowing what score to reach and the possibility that you'll get next to the sucker and knock him out. Your rival is nearly-perfect, making it annoying when you land in a spill and have to recover. These are minor gripes, however, when you see the grandiosity of the game when you do an All Peak Jam and see your points and tricks accrue and rack up. It would have simply been better if there were more courses, as the third peak has all of four that are mixed and matched in the end.

Overview
This game IMO is one of the best I've ever played, but it's mostly a matter of preference. Stunning visuals, killer gameplay, massive tricks, big air, replayability, and a nice variety of snow types come together so fluidly you'll be playing this days on end. My suggestion is that you rent it first, but you'll soon realize that you should have spent the $50. Another masterpiece from EA Big. 8/10.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 12/27/03