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The Playstation 2 had a very
mixed launch, many people thought there were no good games to
pick from, but in my opinion, there were plenty of good games.
You just have to know what to pick and do your homework. SSX is
one of the titles that proves the launch line-up was worth
while, with amazing gameplay and great graphics, there aren't
very many other PS2 games I would recommend over this right now.
I take that back, there aren't any period.
Graphics: Just about any game that you can pick up on PS2 is
going to have at least decent graphics, that's a given, but
SSX's graphics are just plain better than just about
anything else currently available. The game runs at a stunning
60 frames per second (although it does have a tiny bit of
slowdown occasionally while going through sharp turns) even with
everything happening on-screen, just showing how powerful the
PS2 really is. Also, unlike quite a few of the launch games, SSX
is almost completely anti-aliased and flicker-free. Another cool
graphic effect are the great looking fireworks that go off when
you pull off a good trick, they can make the lamest trick look
great and add a bit to the feel of the game (I'd rather watch
these fireworks than buy Fantavision anyday). One downfall is
that the 2-D objects (the crowds and a few poles) look pretty
strange. The crowds do on the other hand have more animations
than most other 2-D crowds. 9/10
Sound: The sound is great also. It has a nice, up-beat theme to
it and for once, the announcer actually sounds pretty cool. And
I just can't get that song ''Shake What Your Mamma Gave Ya'' out
of my head! Really catchy stuff. The sound effects are great
too, when you move your board left and right or make a sharp
turn, the snow sounds like you would imagine it to. The sound
after you pull of a trick is cool too. Really, nothing bad I can
think of about the sound. 9/10
Gameplay: Everything in the game is really great but the
gameplay stands out as possibly the best part of this game. If
you've played your fair share of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater then
you'll be right at home here. Not saying it's exactly the same,
it's similar but SSX's gameplay is also quite unique (I actually
prefer SSX's gameplay, that's a huge accomplishment for any
game). A small over-view of the gameplay goes something like
this: you hold X to jump and after you hit a ramp or hill and
are in the air you can press either way of the eight directions
to spin or flip in that direction. You can also press either one
or a combination of the shoulder buttons to add grab to the
trick. You can also combine tricks to get new stuff. Each
boarder also has a trickbook that tells you specific tricks to
perform and once you perform a certain amount of them you can
unlock other outfits and such for that boarder. Also, if your
thinking this is like a racing game and try to stay close to the
corners you're going to get irritated pretty quick because in
this game what you try to do is get as far on the outside as
possible so when you come down you're going a lot faster. The
only thing I can think of that's bad about the gameplay is if
you hold up while your riding and you jump you'll do a flip, so
if you're used to holding up in racing games that can get
annoying in the beginning, but eventually you'll get over it.
Replay Value: Well the replay value isn't THAT amazing but it's
good none the less. The game is somewhat short but you can beat
it with many characters and unlock all of the tricks in the
trick book and secret boarders and outfits. Then there is also
the 2 player mode which is quite fun. That's about it though.
Not that it really needs anything else. 8/10
Overall, SSX is a very refreshing game that no PS2 owner should
over look. It provides great graphics and sound with amazing
gameplay for an all around great game.
.:. Andy787 |
