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RATING: (weak) 1 2 3 4 5 (awesome) (No Rating Assigned)
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IN BRIEF
Pros: Makes good use of PS2's hardware and power with multiple boarders, great graphics, and speed. Cons: This ain't no loungin' snowboarder's game, this is boardercross. In a nutshell: High-speed racer that unleashes the power of the PS2. *ESRB rating: E |
FACTS
Game Title: SSX Snowboarding Platform: PS2 Developer: EA Sports Publisher: Electronic Arts Release Date: October 26, 2000 Price: $49.99 |
THE REVIEW by Steven Kent for Gamers Today
Playstation 2 Goes for the Boarder
Everybody has heard about PlayStation2's legendary power, but judging by the games available when the system launched, no one has actually scene it. Some games had slowdown problems and others were simply basic games. From what I have seen, the most aggressive project on Sony's new platform is SSX from
Electronic Arts.
SSX may have snowboards in it, but this is no snowboarding simulation. If you're thinking 1080 Snowboarding (for Nintendo 64) or Coolboarders (for PlayStation), you're on the wrong page. SSX is not about snowboarding, it's about "boardercross," a hybrid sport that combines the equipment of snowboarding and the complete insanity of motocross.
According to Electronic Arts, boardercross has existed as a sport for over a decade. Boardercrossing may exist in the real world, but the eight boardercoss courses in SSX are definitely the product of somebody's twisted imagination.
Take the Tokyo Megaplex course, for instance. In this indoor course, players race down a run with pinball-style bumpers that knock them off their path, gates that open and close, and a shortcut that takes them over a platform made of brittle glass. (The glass shatters behind you, preventing you from following the same exact path on later runs.) Finish a lap on this course, and you don't ride a lift back up the slope. Instead, you get hurled to the top in a pneumatic tube.
Actually, not all of the courses are this normal- some, like Aloha Ice Jam, are really weird. This course is fast, and why not- its slick surface is the melting ice of an enormous iceberg that somebody towed into a Hawaiian bay. Each course has its own unique look and dynamic, largely determined by its snow and boarding conditions. Impressively, SSX calculates different speeds and control dynamics to each of the several varieties of snow you encounter. And there may even be several kinds of snow on a single course.
SSX stands out because it makes good use of PS2 hardware. Sure it has the multiple skiers, boards, and outfits for players to choose as they start the game- what snowboarding game doesn't; but this is a fast game with great sights and loads of boarders. Forget about the two-boarders-at-a-time mentality of 1080 Snowboarding; SSX sends you down in parties of six.
This game shows off PS2's lighting effects- fireworks throughout many races, fogging-multiple layers of snow and spray, and sheer power- five racers at once and the ability to watch the action below as you cross over the glass in Tokyo Megaplex.
SSX is a well-conceived game that is particularly significant as it pertains to the future. The majority of the first games for PlayStation2 have been a bit hopeless. Thanks to SSX, it appears there is reason to be hopeful as you wait for things to come.
*For a complete explanation of ESRB ratings, check out the official ESRB Web site.
