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SSX
was one of the highlights of the launch titles on the PS2 and now its follow-up
SSX Tricky,
is upon us, but it's not really a sequel.
There's a number of different ways to play, starting with the 'Single Event'
or 'World Circuit' modes, practice what you're about to preach or get straight
on in with the action. Many of the tracks also have a 'showoff' mode - for you
to demonstrate your tricks. It's not the easiest of games though and you'll
have to come first, second or third in the Quarter Final, Semi Final and Final
rounds, before you can save your position.
Choose one of 12 characters, including six from the original game and all voiced
by film stars David Arquette, Lucy Liu and daggy pop star Macy Gray.
Note that the other boarders all have individual personalities, some feeling
neutral towards you while others are your true enemy. Then
pick an outfit and a snowboard, all from an initially-limited selection that
will expand as you progress through the game. Cut to a sweeping series of
camera shots of the mountainous... er... mountain you're about to negotiate and
you'll be filled with fear as you wonder how you'll make your way down without
breaking your neck.
What's new this time is a couple of new track layouts ("Garibaldi" and "Valdez")
while the rest are altered versions of the existing ones, each of them given
a graphical make-over and looking even better for it. While it looks stunning
overall, with your rider moving at lightning speed as well as the scenery,
I'm marking it down slightly this time because it occasionally suffers from a
slight case of "jaggies" where anti-aliasing is required to smooth out jagged
lines, something not seen on the likes of games that take the time to remove
them.
Sonically, EA are leading the way by introducing DTS soundtracks into the games
themselves. Even better than Dolby Digital, this particular game isn't quite
using the full 5.1 sound system - my Sony STR-DB930 amplifer registers "dts (2/2)" -
but it's impressive enough and a great improvement over standard stereo or
surround sound. From the mesmerising menu sequences, with echoing voices, to
the screaming of your character and the descriptions and comments about the
tricks you've performed, it's an aural treat.
The control system is usually fine, but when you crash into a post and can't
get out of the situation, it becomes a dog, making you twist back the way
you've come from before you can turn back in the right direction.
When time is tight and you can't move forward, it becomes a major frustration.
Thanks to
John Radford
for the info that pressing 'select' will put you back on course manually
and it can also be used to dodge having to leap over unforgiving jumps as
a press of the button places you on the other side!
Where it works fine, you can increase your speed by bending down or with
the adrenaline button. Performing any one of the massive variety of tricks
can be done fairly easily, but only providing you have enough room before
you hit the powder again.
This time round you can pull off an "Uber Trick". You do standard tricks to fill
up your Boost Bar, then you have 20 seconds to get "Big Air", press and hold
R2 or L2 depending on what you're told, along with the square button, to
really boost your score, providing you land the right way up.
Overall, SSX Tricky is fantastic, but if you have bought the original
then it's still worth getting but you may as well sell off the original
because this one has all that you need from it and more. One problem though
is that it can't load old
SSX
save games into this new release. Why, I cannot say.
Also, this time round there are DVD extras in the form of plenty of background
info to the game and a chance to hear all the music from the game separately.
GRAPHICS SOUND EFFECTS AND MUSIC PLAYABILITY ORIGINALITY ENJOYMENT
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Privacy Overview
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Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.