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Review : SSX On Tour for Gamecube, PS2, Xbox and PSP
EA has released a third update to their SSX game series, SSX On Tour.
This is a fantasy snowboarding game that has next to nothing with actually reality but it focuses more on fun game play than having a realistic recreation of the actual sport. SSX is a lot like the Tony Hawk Pro Skater games in that they are a pure fantasy with players being able to pull off incredible trick by just pressing a sequence of buttons and moves. That does not mean that they are not fun, they are quite fun just not very realistic. In SSX the riders can disconnect from the boards in mid-air in order to do flip tricks and then magically get them re-attached in order to land. It is pure fantasy but it is fun.
This is the fourth game in the series and each game has had gradual evolutionary changes rather than a totally new game. This works out and it is good in that the games are new but it is essentially the same kind of game play.
This game is truly multi-platform. There is a PS2, Xbox, Gamecube and a PSP version and I have to confess that I actually have bought this game twice. I first got the PSP version and then later got the Gamecube version. The PSP game is currently around $50 while the other versions are around $30.
The PSP version of the game is a blast. It does not have the far drawing distance and some of the graphical details have been streamlined but it is a very nice version of the game. Hey you can play it on the can. What more do you want?
The Gamecube version has an extra level and it has Mario, Luigi and Princess Peach as guest characters in the arcade mode. It is pretty funny to see Mario bust out some tricks on the slopes.
There are some major changes in this game that make it different from the rest of the series. There is no online game play unlike SSX 3 but there is split screen two-players action on the consoles and ad-hoc wifi networking on the PSP version.
There is now skis in the game in addition to the snow boards. There is slow motion and motion blur when you are busting out super moves.
Your cant play the Tour mode with the existing pre-made characters but there is a good "make your own character" mode But if you ask me the gameplay and the mountains are the real characters here.
There is really good music from real bands with real labels on the soundtrack and the music is played on sort of a virtual radio station like GTA.
There is cute intro animations and loading screens of wild cartoon drawings that look like a listless high schoolers binder doodles.
SSX On Tour is a good send off to this generation of games and just know that they are making some SSX game on PS3, Xbox 360 and Nintendo Revolution that will blow this away. It was a good game regardless if you have played the series. As a rule I don't really like extreme sports games unless they are Tony Hawk or SSX.
Jake at January 26, 2006 
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