SSX 3

"Snowboarding that breaks physics, but what the hell; it's cool, anyway."

SSX (I honestly couldn't tell you what that stands for, sorry) was a launch title game for PlayStation 2. It had an all-star cast of snowboarders who tackled the mountain slopes. SSX Tricky came shortly afterwards, and in 2003 EA released SSX 3. It's more of the same style, and it is sure to please.

I say in the title that it breaks physics- that's correct; the players in SSX 3 defy the laws of physics. Do you REALLY think that a person can go off a 5 foot jump and pull a 1440, or more? Of course not- still, if you don't look at that particular aspect of the game, you'll have a great time; I'm not a sports person, and yet I still enjoyed myself.

Gameplay
Well, as I said, it's snowboarding, and whaddya know! The point of the game is to snowboard. It includes three aspects to it; racing, tricks, and freestyle.

The Racing aspect is what it sounds like. You go to a designated course, and you race computers (or your friends) down to the bottom. Using techniques such as boost (explained later) and finding hidden teleportation devices, it's a mad race to the finish with over a dozen different paths in each course, which makes for a great race, no matter what you're intent on.

The Tricks aspect involves events that revolve around performing awe-inspiring tricks to rack up points. With multiplier bonuses and bonus point icons, you can tweak your score by manipulating the terrain, or if you prefer to just do it your own way, certain parts of each track are designed for massive air-time, while others deal with killer grindrail combos.

As you do tricks, a meter fills along the side of the screen. This "uber meter" translates into boost for your character, to give you some extra air off a jump, or to pull ahead of your opponent in the races. When the uber meter fills completely, you are allowed to perfom uber tricks. Uber tricks bring in more points than a standard jump or flip, and although they're often dangerous, they're well worth your time and effort.

As for the freestyle, it's like a car racing game. You can go from location to location, traveling from event to event. In fact, you can go from the very top slope to the very bottom track without ever stopping. You can free ride all of the courses, and take on extra challenges for more points.

Now, the game deals with money, as well as with points. You can use this money to buy outfits for your character; each character has over two hundred parts to customize on them. (Yes, only about 30 are any good, but it's the thought that counts!) Some items are cheap- 100 dollars, or so. Others cost a whopping hundred grand to purchase. Money can also be used to buy stats; unlike previous SSX titles, each character is identical to the others, and are all raised to have incredible stats in all areas. It's not a cheap process- half a million dollars, easily.

Still, not to get discouraged. From a good run, you earn anywhere from two to a hundred thousand (based on the level of difficulty), so while it may seem daunting to gain millions in order to perfect your character, the reality is that it's not a daunting task, really.

Story
No storyline- it's devoted to being the best snowboarder on the mountain. No storyline beyond that, really. you deal slightly with rivalries and challenges, but again, that's not really a story...

Characters
The more interesting aspect of the game. I won't go too in-depth, but here's the synopsis. You pick a character, and you stick with that character until the end. Unlike a fighting game, you can't just pick someone else when you feel the need; each character has his own set of stats that cannot be transferred.

There's a mixed bag of characters to choose from, too. For the little schoolboys, there's Elise from Canada, a beautiful blonde who snowboards in bikinis. There's Moby, the crazy british-jamaican man. Griff, the ugliest kid to ever grace the slopes, but man is he wicked fast. Psymon, the deranged psychopath that somehow finds his passion in snowboarding.

It's star-studded, and you'll be sure to pick out someone who suits your tastes.

Graphics and Sound
The graphics are far better than in the previous SSX games, but they're still not awe-inspiring. With 3rd generation consoles to compare this game to, you don't get a sense of amazement. Still, they're good enough to get the point across, and it does still look very cool.

The sound is excellent- great dialogue and sound effects, with an in-game radio/DJ. You get to pick your own songs to play, so you can have 4 or 5 of your favorite songs in endless loop, if you like.

As snowboarding games go, SSX may be the craziest, but that's why it gets my vote as being the most fun of the snowboarding games.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 07/12/05