SSX Blur

"Hard At First But a Rewarding Payoff"

Like most others I was both excited and skeptical when I heard that an SSX game would be coming to the Wii. Once I found out how the controls worked I was even more intrigued. SSX has always been one of my favorite series, and I was hoping for something that would re-ignite my faith in the series, after a sub-par effort with SSX On Tour.

Graphics:

The graphics are the best of any Wii game to date. Clearly sharper and more vivid than the Xbox version of SSX3. The particle and snow effects are excellent and the frame rate is smooth. There are, unfortunately, a few animation bugs, but they are so few that it isn't really an issue. The character models are very detailed, but look a bit blocky from lack of antialiasing. Still, the overall look of the game, especially the backgrounds and snow textures, is outstanding.

Graphics Score - 9/10

Gameplay:

Right off the bat I have to say that the learning curve is steep. The controls are difficult to master, and the UberTricks are especially so. However, hard does not mean bad in this case. mastering the controls takes some time, but it is also very rewarding. Once you do master the controls the game becomes very enjoyable, if still challenging. The UberTricks require you to draw shapes in the air while holding down the A button. You must be very precise or it doesn't work. Luckily the game has a practise mode where you can practise drawing the shapes until you get it right.

Regular tricks are done by flicking the Wii remote forward, back or side to side to do flips and spins. You can do grabs by pressing Z on the nunchuk and tweak them by tilting the nunchuk. Carving and steering is done with the nunchuk. The default setting is to carve by tilting the nunchuk and then adding steepness with the analog. You can, however, adjust it so that you steer entirely with the nunchuk or the analog or whatever variation you like. It works fine.

My biggest complaint with the controls is that occasionally they are non-responsive. There were a few times that I'd get some air, flick the Wii remote and have no spin or flip happen. Or I'd press A to get out of a trick and land and my character would still wipe out. Also, on a few of the half-pipes I couldn't avoid landing on top of the pipe and losing my momentum.

Overall the controls do work, and they make for a challenging yet rewarding experience. Personally, though, I would still prefer to play a game like this with a PS2 controller. Not that the Wii controls don't work, they do. It's just a personal preference.

The tracks in the game are all from SSX 3 and SSX Tricky. They are pasted into a new mountain that is in the mode of SSX3. You can explore, enter events, pick up challenges, find collectibles and enter tournaments. There are 3 peaks and peaks 2 and 3 are unlocked through tourneys. New boards and skis are unlocked through challenges. There is a leaderboard that you compete in by getting points from everything you do.

The structure of the game is very much like SSX3. However, I would have liked to have seen original tracks in the game. Also, since they used tracks from previous games, I was left wondering why there were no tracks from SSX Tricky, and why some of the more interesting tracks from SSX 3 were left out. There is no boarding through cities in SSX Blur, and that's too bad.

The create-a-nameless character from SSX On Tour has been abandoned in favor of using more traditional SSX characters like Psymon and Moby, etc. That's a good thing, except that characters don't look like the ones you've come to know and love.

Gameplay Score - 7.5

Sound:

SSX Blur supports Dolby Pro Logic which sounds great, and the sound effects are actually quite good. The soundtrack, however, is not so great. There is no licensed music, and the canned music is too repetitive and boring. Too often you hear the same music, and the in game announcer/DJ is actually even more repetitive and annoying.

One of the things that I loved About SSX Tricky and SSX3 was the banter and trash talk between the characters. In SSX Blur there is none of that. In fact, the characters don't talk at all! Very disappointing.

Sound Score - 6.5

Conclusion:

Overall, SSX Blur is a pretty fun experience. However, its difficulty and steep learning curve will scare some away. That's unfortunate, since anyone can master these controls give an few hours of solid play time and practise. The result is a rewarding, yet still challenging experience. The game isn't perfect, but it has re-ignited my faith in the SSX franchise. While I would definitely prefer a traditional control setup to the Wii controls, I still think that the Wii controls work very well and am interested to play another SSX game on the Wii, if they ever make one.

Overall Score: 7/10

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 03/05/07