SSX Tricky PS2 Review

The new game on the EA Sports BIG label, is one the biggest and best sport games around. A snowboarding game, recommended for ALL extreme sports fans with a PS2, whether you are a Skateboarder, or an Inline Skater, this is the extreme sports game for you.

Graphics

It has great graphics, with excellent snow effects, great sun down effects, lovely trees and great mountains. On some levels they have different colour lighting effects, which melt into each other to make a nice colour, and dazzle you by it’s spectacular view. Some excellent graphics, but has some major glitch issues. You can be about to hit a wall, and suddenly see the end of the snowboard go through it before you fall down, and then have you buzzing back and forth – stuck in this endless glitch until you reset yourself, which causes a major problem with the whole game.

Sound

It has a nice soundtrack, but not as hardcore as most extreme sports fans like it, possibly because it is aimed at a wider audience than just extreme sports fans. It has around 10 songs, but could do with at least 5 more. The only pop style song is for the Japanese character Kaori, as she is a shy character, who looks like she would enjoy that sort of music. It is a good soundtrack with what’s there, with no problem with quality at all.

Lifespan

It has a huge life span, with 8 levels to get through, each getting more difficult than the previous. Some of the earliest levels (like Mesablanca) are extremely hard to get a gold medal for showoff on, as newbies to the game may find it hard to pull of uber tricks easily, and even if they can, they may not be able to fin enough jumps. However, for those who have been playing for a long time, or have piced it up instantly, it won’t be too difficult to get gold on most levels, except possibly the last two (Aloha Ice Jam and Alaska), which are extremely difficult to get gold on, however it is worth trying them oevr and over, and once you get a medal (albeit, bronze, silver or gold, not necassarily the same medal on all the levels) on every level for an event (Race or showoff) in World Circuit mode, then you unlock 2 extra courses (Pipedream for showoff, Untracked for Race) which can’t be played in World Circuit mode. Also, in whichever syle you’re playing in, you can try and gain your Uberboard, a players ultimate board, even better than the one obtained at Master rank, which can help people along with later levels – raising their stats. SSX Tricky certainly has a long life-span, however some people may get bored of trying to complete all levels with every character, but some may not, and I can tell you, those who haven’t given up, keep trying, as you can easily become an SSX Master with every character, and when you do you unlock a “Mallora Board”, which is the equivilent of a “Trick Boost” on every jump.

Gameplay

SSX Tricky has great gameplay, with intense rases, trying to avoid the characters who hate you and wish to knock you down, and so slowing you down, and some tough showoffs. It is all part of the package given with SSX Tricky, and is well worth the effort put in to get as far as master. The races are easily won when you know the shortcuts, but there are no easy way outs on showoff – you have to beat it by getting as many multipliers as possible. There are 11 characters, each with different tricks, outfits, boards and ubertricks available, all of which are fun, and some difficult to unlock. There is also a “Trick Tutorial” to guide you through all the tricks in the trick book, which is very helpful, especially on some people’s hardest tricks (especially Kaori’s triple back flip). However, some people have found the controls rather difficult and strange, such as having to press a combination of back buttons, and square, just to pull of an ubertrick. Yes, ubertricks should be harder to pull of than normal tricks, but some people find it too hard, and will give up after an hours play.

Overall

Overall, a nice game to play, with so many characters available, all with seperate boards and outfits to unlock, and with different tricks and ubertricks, it is bound to last you at least a month or two. If you are an extreme sports fan, I have something to say to you: “Buy this now.”, and even if you’re not, it’s still at least worth a rent to try out, and then maybe worth buying if you like the handling of it.

9 out of 10