Review: SSX Snowboarding Game a Must-Have
— -- One of the great things about video games is that it gives you afeel for doing things you would never do in a million years in reallife.
Aerial dogfights. Driving 200-mph race cars. Fighting to thedeath with slavering space aliens.
Or snowboarding.
You may find snowboarding the greatest thing going. Thecombination of being wet, cold and facing a six-hour crawl home infoot-deep snow with a broken ankle means you’ll catch mesnowboarding … well, you won’t catch me snowboarding.
But if I ever did go snowboarding, it would be because avideogame made it so attractive I just couldn’t resist.
That game would be SSX, now available for the PlayStation 2 fromElectronic Arts Canada for EA Sports.
Built for Power
SSX is one of the few games spawned for the PS2 which actuallytakes advantage of the new machine’s extra power and abilities.
That muscle gives the game a spectacular look and feel as itplunges you into a series of stomach-churning tracks with brilliantgraphics and solid control.
A snowboard game is only as good as its tricks, and SSX has amonster selection. Switches, lates and fakies (leading with youroff-foot) are as easy as pushing the right buttons. You can ridethe rails (slide along a rail, log or other obstacle), spin or flipin midair — and earn points in the process.
The game also gives you a number of modes in which to perform.Warmup teaches you how to pull off those spectacular tricks, whileFreeride lets you run one of two courses or get in some additionalpractice without any pressure.
Eventually, you’ll have to put your talent on the line in one ofthe competition modes like World Circuit, a full season of racingagainst the best on the planet. Or try a Single Event, whichincludes race and showoff selections. There’s also theobstacle-loaded Adventure mode and the Knockdown mode, where youwin if you flatten the most opponents.
There are seven venues to compete on, including a Hawaiianglacier and a snowbound city, with one bonus track available. Andof course, there’s a head-to-head mode which lets you competeagainst a friend.
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