Two years ago, Electronic Arts wowed us with SSX 3. The title, which is the third in the company’s growingly popular snowboarder franchise, combined everything that makes a great extreme sports game in one seemingly ideal package. Crisp visuals blurred together with immersive sound and smart controls married with deep combo mechanics made it one of the year’s best releases and perhaps the best snowboarder ever released.

At the time, it seemed obvious that EA Big should go on to create a sequel that was even bigger, better and badder – which, for the record, we know isn’t a word. Now the company has done just that. It’s taken everything it has learned throughout this generation with its original franchise, mixed things up and packaged them together in one gift basket just in time for the holidays.

But does this mean things are necessarily better? The simple answer is yes, but the fact is SSX 3 put forth so many winning elements that there just isn’t a lot left to do with the genre. The same design that made its predecessor so enjoyable is still intact, and in fact it is actually even better in many regards. For example, mountain design is even larger and open ended. However, there are some problems, and they kind of damped the experience.

Features

• Over 15 different courses to master
• Choose between over 5 different character templates, and create your very own skier or snowboarder
  GameCube owners get exclusive characters Mario, Luigi and Princess Peach
  
• Introduces skiing to the SSX franchise
  
• Huge library of songs includes over 40 different tracks from artist like Louis the IVX, Red Hot and Overkill
  
• Pretty graphics engine creates excellent sense of speed
  
• Dolby Pro Logic II support
  

Mountain Rock Star
You start out as a nobody in SSX On Tour. EA Big has adopted the prove-yourself theme that so many games feature lately. You can create your very own character, though not completely from scratch. You can choose between a number of character templates – each with his or her own looks. Next, you get to choose your rider’s size and his or her appearances to some degree. Unfortunately, the amount of customization here isn’t quite up to par, and some might feel a little letdown by this. Thankfully, later on in the game, through the campaign mode, you can buy new clothes, change looks and more.

On Tour does a few things differently than any of its predecessors, though it still keeps a lot of the series’ trademarks. In place of the three peaks that you boarded your way down in the last game, is one huge mountain. All of the game’s different modes take place on this mountain range. However, EA has made sure that the scenery is almost always changing. While you’re always on the same mountain, you’ll see different areas of it depending on what ski or board path you ride.



SSX On Tour

Course design in On Tour is pretty diverse. Some courses take place at night and others during the day. Likewise, some have more going on than others. One of our favorite runs has you blasting your way through a snowy hillside stamped with Nintendo’s logo and other trademarks all over the place. The scene is of clean, bright white snow and plenty of objects to grind. While this run is top-notch, many races are far too lengthy and feel drawn-out.

There are two main modes: The Tour and Quick Play. The former is basically the main mode. In it, you compete in a number of events that grow in challenge as you progress. Events range from races to trick challenges. There are also some other variations of these modes. For instance, one mode has you launching off a huge ramp in an attempt to pull of the most dynamic combo possible. Those who played past SSX games will no doubt recognize this mode type. What’s more, one mode has you rushing down the mountain collecting a certain amount of medals before time expires.

Every time you complete an event you’ll earn money and other rewards depending on how well you did. With these earnings, you can take a trip to the newly implemented shop, which sells different gear, such as tricks, boards, skies, clothes, apparel and more. By upgrading these things, your character will advance considerably, making him or her faster and more talented.