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Review : SSX3 for Playstation 2, Gamecube and Xbox
Normally I do not really dig sports games. But I don't really consider SSX3 for PS2 a "Sports Game"
SSX3 is a fantasy snowboarding game that resembles the actual sport of snowboarding about as much as Star Wars is a historical documentary about the Hundred Year War. But this does not stop SSX from being the most fun extreme sports game outside of the Tony Hawk Pro Skater series. Actually the SSX games owe a lot to the Tony Hawk games and I doubt that they would be around if it were not for the success of the Tony Hawk games.
The series is a fantasy interpretation of the actual sport with low gravity, huge over elaborate courses full of trick ramps and fireworks and invincible super human athletes that never get hurt or grow tired and can perform endless complex air tricks at the mere push of buttons. Most of the game is a downhill race between snowboarders but there is a very cool RPG elements where the performance of your boarder will unlock a plethora of accessories, clothes, tracks and skills.
The levels are huge and it is possible to start at the top of the mountain and have it take a whole twenty minutes or so to get to the bottom. They have really gotten the real time loading of graphics down to an art form.
SSX3 is the third in the gradual evolution of the series and unlike SSX Tricky there is 100% new courses and graphics. SSX Tricky was not quite "SSX 2". The new features of SSX3 are the ability to correct an off balance mistake an recover before falling all the way, and a very cool system of unlocking accessories and skills by buying them at a ski lodge.
There is a Xbox and Gamecube version but the PS2 version has free online network game play. I tried it out last night and it was very very slick. After you sign up for an free account with EA you can access their pretty slick online system. There is quick one on one matches both ranked and un-ranked, support for both modem and broad band users, chat rooms, personal Instant messengers and online news. This is exactly the kind of online gameplay and features that should be standard in PS2 games. I tip my hat to EA for this. They delivered an online experience that is just as good as Xbox Live but free and on the PS2.
I heard that the lack of a grab button on the Gamecube version affects the number of tricks that you can do compared to the PS2 and Xbox versions. I rented the Gamecube version but I bought the PS2 game.
My only complaint is that the soundtrack did not have the Run DMC tracks of SSX Tricky and I like the selection of music in SSX Tricky better.
SSX3 is one of the finest extreme sports games and the series has brought about countless clones but EA has kept the humor and high quality game experience that the series is known for. Some places have lowered the price of this game to $30 and it is a deal at that price.
Jake at March 25, 2004 
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Comments
Definitely one of the best extreme sports games of it's time. I was skeptical at first, as I had never played a snowboarding game before, but am currently quite addicted. Great review :)
Posted by: Mici at March 25, 2004 11:37 AM
ssx tricky is fun as heck dude.
Posted by: gringo at March 25, 2004 2:15 PM
I was sad about how much this crushed 1080 redux, but it was hella fun to play. 1080 has a good sense of speed though, but the levels and setup on SSX were so much better.
Posted by: Anthony at March 25, 2004 4:30 PM
I enjoyed the soundtrack of Tricky much more than SSX3, too. There was just something about it...
Posted by: Chad at March 26, 2004 4:27 AM
I have enjoyed the SSX saga up until now. I haven't had the chance to play SSX3 yet, but I plan on it in the near future. SSX Tricky was the best, in my oppinion, to date, and seing how each game in the series progressively gets better; I have high expectations for this SSX3.
Posted by: Deuce40 at March 26, 2004 7:44 AM
I paid $49.99 for SSX 3, and then about 2 months later it dropped to $29.99! Argh, oh well.
I'm not sure if I like Tricky or SSX 3 more. They're both great.
Posted by: Jonathan Bennett at April 9, 2004 10:46 AM
