It’s Tricky, Tricky, Tricky
One of the first action sports titles on the Xbox is getting the Platinum Hits treatment. SSX Tricky from EA SPORTS now gives Xbox gamers big snowboarding excitement at a bargain-basement price that’s hard to resist. The game’s crisp graphics, ice-grindingly authentic Dolby Digital sound, funky soundtrack, high-profile celebrity voice actors, and added DVD bonus features truly light up the planet’s most powerful game console. And, whether you’re racing against computer opponents, maxing out your trick scores ala Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, speeding to beat the clock in Time Attack, or handing your buddy his hat in head-to-head mode, this title’s sheer variety of characters, boards, and courses will have you shredding the slopes in style.
Snow so real you can taste it. But I wouldn’t.
Don’t Blink!
The first thing you’re likely to notice about SSX Trickyon the Xbox will be the stunning slopes. The developers have made excellent use of the system’s graphical hardware to create complicated, detailed, bump-mapped courses for you to cover at blinding speed. Even on a vertical slope with your adrenaline boost on full, the frame rate will not skip, and the realistic snow and ice will barely blur. Courses with water look even better, especially the Hawaiian track (constructed out of icebergs dragged down from the Arctic—seriously). You can ogle your favorite races (and ‘boarders) to your heart’s content in the saved replay feature, which is handy for impressing your friends and studying your own style.
The characters, voiced by the likes of Lucy Liu, David Arquette, Macy Gray, Billy Zane, and Oliver Platt, look equally sharp and distinctive. That’s important because recognizing a character that hates your ‘boarder in time to get out of his way can save you from being knocked off the slopes—and help you select your own targets.
Big patriotic air.
Feel the Beat, Hear the Crunch
The sparkling sound effects of the slopes crackle in Dolby Digital sound. The scrape of the board on packed ice, the shouts of the crowd, and the gunshot crack of a board slamming into the track place you directly in the action. Keep your ears peeled for the taunts of your opponents; you can often avoid a backhand from the likes of Psymon or Seeiah by keeping an ear out for “Comin’ through!”.
The SSX Tricky soundtrack features an impressive collection of hip-hop, techno, and rock beats to keep you ‘boarding in perfect rhythm. Tracks from Run DMC (c’mon, guess which one), Mixmaster Mike and Rahzel, Bif Naked, and Pizzicato 5 keep you in the groove even when you’re a thousand feet in the air. You should also closely follow the comments of in-game announcer Rahzel, who will let you know when you’ve pulled the same tired trick too many times (repetition will cost you points) and when you’re really burning up the ice.
Pull off stunts like this with a full Trick Meter.
So Much to See and Do
SSX Tricky comes loaded with extra content you can unlock, including behind-the-scenes DVD movies, interviews with voice actors and game developers, stunning trick movies, and snowboarding music videos. By earning gold medals, you can also break out with new boarders. One gold will get you Brodi, a meditative preppie type; two gold medals will open up Run-Lola-wannabe Zoe; Vanilla Ice clone J.P. is all yours after three gold; rave-girl cutie Kaori is ready to hit the slopes after four gold medals; bell-bottomed Marisol (archenemy of this writer’s favorite boarder, Elise) unlocks at five gold medals; and shirtless madman Psymon screams onto the track when you earn six gold medals. Each character comes with a half-dozen or so unlockable outfits—none of them quite moving into Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball™territory, but hey, it’s cold up there.
The sheer variety of courses makes it very difficult to grow tired of SSX Tricky. Each one is loaded with unique features, ranging from sci-fi anti-gravity tubes on the Tokyo course to the thick wooded areas of the Elysium Alps. And, since this is a video game, you’ll get to snowboard through environments you could never try in reality—populated cities, tropical islands, floating tubes, and rails perched a mile above a canyon.
“Agh! My back!”
Tricked Out
Still one of the finest sports games available on the Xbox, SSX Tricky is even harder to resist now that it’s gone Platinum. Whether you’re showing off your funky freestyle or blowing past the competition, this game’s got the goods—for only 20 bucks!
By Ben Barker
