SSX Tricky

"This is a great Xtreme sports game for the GBA"

Intro: I got this game from ToysRus for $20. At first i thought it would be bad. then, when i played it i really enjoyed it. Many people may see it and think '' oh, a bad sports game'' but they are wrong. Its a great third party game. Finally... a good Xtreme sports game!!!

Gameplay: 9/10 The gameplay is great. The levels are not that long but for the 2 minutes of snowboarding fun you will really enjoy yourself. It runs really smoothly, and i played it for hours and only stopped when my thumbs started to hurt. there are many characters who you can unlock by beating levels in World Circuit mode, each character better than the last. I missed the board and outfit selection option, but thats only one minor fault. the three modes (Showoff, race, and Time attack) were great. Showoff is a mode where you have to get lots of points by doing tricks, race is...well... a race! and time attack is just getting records. This game is a lot of fun.

Controls: 7/10. The controls could have been better, but they were ok. one of the main problems i found was that when crouching (holding A) you could not turn. The L and R buttons were put to good use, but if you were holding forwards (which makes you go faster) when you jump, you automatically do a front flip. All the Uber tricks are in this game, but some of them may cause you to stretch your fingers across your gameboy. I reccomend using an original gameboy advance, not an SP as the SPs L and R buttons are very small, and you will need to use them a lot.

Graphics: 8/10. The graphics are spectacular. They took the intro video from the gamecube version and edited it down to about 30 seconds and put it on the GBA. The intro video is amazing, its almost as good as gamecube graphics. the graphics in the game arent that good, and they are kind of blocky. The tricks you do look really cool though.

Sound: 5/10. If there is one thing that i didnt like about this game it is the music. the music is really annoying and it bugs you a lot. when you do a good trick it says ''excellent'' in a horrible voice. also, when your power meter is dropping fast is goes ''Tricky Tricky Tricky Trickyyyyyyyyy.....'' in a static voice which trails off. When i play this game I usually turn the sound off.

Conclusion: Now ive told you about this game, go and get it! it may be by EA games who dont make many good GBA games, but even so i enjoyed it a lot. its a pity that the sound was such a dissapointment, but its nearly as good as all the nintendo classics!

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 08/28/03