SSX (PS2) Review

Welcome to SSX! SSX is one of, if not the best ps2 game available right now. Developed by EA Sports, SSX offers what the usual snowboarding game offers and a little bit more.

Starting off with the visual appeal SSX offers stunning effects. One of the most noticeable visuals is the snow, the way it glides, covers your board in powder, and the way you can blaze your own trail. This is truly a feat that must be seen. The characters look good with a relatively high looking polygon count; however I believe that the characters could have been created with a little more detail. The environments are what make this game so addictive. The second course alone takes around 6 minutes to complete!

From stunts to racing side-by-side right before the finish are just some of the elements of game play you will find. In certain tracks, you will find more jumps than in others, but it is not always wise to do a trick. If you fall this could cause you to loose 2-4 places. Don't give up though as there is plenty of time to catch up and punch the other riders to gain places back. One feature that is close to real life is that, unless you get big air, you may only be able to pull off 2-3 tricks at a time. Although players may not like this, it gives the game a more realistic feel.

Races are setup so that you must win 3 times in a row to move on to the next track. A racer must place in the top 3, once for a race, another time for the semi finals, and another for the finals. This added along with the 4 playable players and 4 hidden players adds a lot of game play value.

The game sounds are ok; nothing to cheer about but it's alright. The character voices are done perfectly in which the way you expect the characters to talk is the way they do, but you wish they could say more. Other than the characters talking there isn't much sound. The tracks have some sound, but its not to noticeable. Of course if the background sound was too loud, players would miss out on a lot of cool sound effects. Some of the good sound effects include the gliding of your board on the different terrain such as ice, ramps, power, branches, rails, and other objects.

Controlling the game is quite easy. Players can use the analog or the directional pad although it is much easier to use the analog dual shock control. The analog is easier to use for manuvering around turns, and taking jumps. Pressing down on the d-pad or analog allows the character to crouch catching speed, while by pressing X right before a jump allows a player to jump and perform a trick. Tricks are performed by using the shoulder buttons with the and the combination of others for tricks worth more points.

With great graphics, awesome sound effects, and a whole lot of game play value. SSX is truly a game worthy of a purchase.

Graphics: Gameplay: Sound: Value: Overall:

8.5 9.5 7 9 9.5

SSX Review  By Quirk