"An Intense Snowboarding Game, Better than the Prequels"

Introduction:

Ah, SSX. The snowboarding at the speed of sound, the jumps as wide and tall as a skyscraper, and the tricks that make you look like a space ring flying in mid air. As you can see, SSX is not an ordinary snowboarding game. It's snowboarding to the next level. I recommend you decide to pick this game up thats hard on the eyes, but so much fun!

The Game:

A lot is jam packed into the game, and its guaranteed to last a while, even after you beat it. The basic plot of the game is to reach the top of the snowboarding and skiing charts. The very top. Does that sound easy? Well, I'm not going to say its hard, but its not easy either. I would say its about medium, but that can differ depending on whether you've played previous games or not. Anyway there are two main types of competitions in the game:

The first one is the racing. This tends to be the harder part of the game, but it is also the one you will find you heart pounding after. You and the rest of the racers race through a set level on the mountain and zoom through it at huge speeds. On occasion you might have a one on one race, but most of the time you are challenging a good 9 people. Chances are you will not be able to get ahead of the first racer by pure skill once you start to move along in the game, so finding short cuts are needed in the game. Every part of the mountain has short cuts, some are easy to find and some aren't. They all allow you to get a little further ahead and the race, and sometimes allow you to get more points for the next type of competition, which leads me to the next part...

The second type of game is the trick mode. Here, you battle your competitors (once again either 1 or 9) to see who can pull off the most tricks and score the most points, just like in Tony Hawk. Occasionally, these trick level will be done on a half pipe, which makes this mode way too easy, but most of the time they will be done on sections of the mountain, and you will be doing them alone, as the other competitors will have already been through their heat.

And of course, a game like this is packed with extras. Unlike past games, you can now make your own character instead of picking one. Also, your skills are based only on the board or skis you have, and you must not pay extra for skills. You can buy new clothes for your person whenever you choose, as long as you have the money. Boards and Skis may seem to cast a lot at first, but after you are sponsored, it may seem to easy. The game has a lot more to offer, but these are the basics that can help you to understand the game.

Graphics: 8/10

The graphics are as average as they get for a GameCube game. And the average is an 8 nowadays. Thats pretty much all you say about them.

Sound: 8/10

The other snowboarders still yell stupid insults at you when they pass you, and the soundtrack consists of some punk rock bands that no one has ever heard of and some rap. It's pretty good as well.

Gameplay: 10/10

Outstanding. The controls are somewhat awesome. The levels are intense and the feel of the game make it wonderful.

Overall: 9/10

The game rocks, and I have a feeling I will be playing it for a while. I have a feeling the next SSX will be even better.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 11/14/05