SSX 3

Game Info

Publisher: Electronic Arts

Developer: EA Canada

Genre(s): Extreme Sports

Platform:  PS2

Players: 2

ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)

Release Date: October 20, 2003

Intro:
A radio announcer comes on-air to introduce players to what's new and great about SSX 3.  But, just like in-game, the game shows and tells.  A camera flies over the mountain sites as the three mountains are shown.  Weather conditions on the mountains peaks are announced.  Features are shown as a camera glides over the mountain terrain and all of the players are introduced.

Getting Going:
Players are asked to choose a PC and soon find themselves flying over the mountain in a plane.  The plane stops at the top and your boarder gets off.  For a moment, you take control of your boarder while the radio announcer tells you more news.  An e-mail arrives and you find yourself looking at a FAQ-type list.  This does slow things down a bit, but it is informative. Once you finish with the e-mail, you're returned to the mountains for more boarding action. 

Fun:
The play is virtually non-stop.  Once you are on the mountain, the only choice is to go down it, no matter what.  Crashes usually elicit humorous remarks from your PC but, while they will ruin your race progress, they don't really slow down game progress.  The game is fast-paced and offers many choices and rapid decisions, effectively keeping your undivided attention during play.

Visuals:
While still cartoon-ish vs realistic in art style, the visuals are greatly improved in SSX 3 over SSX.  The snow is better rendered, the trees are better textured, the avatars have more detail and the game, in general, looks more polished.  There is a lot to see and do in this game, yet it seemed as if the right path was better-marked, helping the player to stay on course.  Signs along the way are color-coded so that, while they fly by a little fast to read sometimes, they are easy to catch over time.  Coloring in the snow shows faster areas as well as jump areas and all of the goals and helpers are well-marked visually.  Boarding isn't limited to the mountains or tracks, either.  There is a city track in the first level taking players down alleys and city streets, over trains, and around buildings.

Sound: 
Big Radio announces everything from your position in the race to event announcements and sounds very authentic.  The broadcaster also does a fantastic job of keeping the music pumping, effectively creating mood and pace in the game.  Players who would prefer a more subtle sound option can choose the ambient mountain sounds instead.  During the race, there are sound effects for position, voice-acting barks for the avatar, and authentic ambient sound effects for boarding and rail grinds.

Intelligence:
The player characters have a likes and dislikes list and some of this is very notable during gameplay.  For instance, Zoe likes to beat Elise, but is partnered with Moby.  In her regular comments, if she and Elise are vying for position, there will be multiple comments directed at Elise.  If Moby is around, there will be boosting or humorous comments thrown his way.  The characters also talk to themselves when they screw up, etc.  This gives the impression of AI and that players are not alone on the mountain.

Immersion:
The game is fast-paced and involves continual forward motion, effectively immersing the player in play because there is no other option.  Ever-present announcments and music keep the player's head in the game and immerse the player in a way that simple directions would fail to do. 

Rewards and Punishments:
Rewards include money to buy things, increase in rank, and increase in player stats.  There are a multitude of challenges, items to pick up, and tasks that can be completed to earn rewards and trophies.  In addition, players have the opportunity to improve their skills for each player character keeping you returning to the mountain time and again.  There isn't a death or fail state in the game.  Even in the first level, there is much to do so that, if one challenge is too hard or frustrating, the player has the option of moving on to another area.  All three areas must be complete to "Conquer the Mountain" and there are three mountains to conquer.  However, for play to progress, certain markers must be obtained.  The player must rank in the Top 3 in a race to continue.  Higher scores can be worked on, as well.

Cameras:
Where you go, the camera goes, so there isn't a lot of control here.  The game is too fast-paced to look around and see other path options and there is no fly-over for strategy.  The best option is to simply try the course several times. 

Controls:
The game offers special moves for each player character.   Players can crouch, boost, jump, spin, grab, punch and do board holds.  They can also do hand grabs on the rails for extra style points.  In short, there isn't anything that seems to be missing in player options.  The controls are intuitive enough to be easy to use without too much forethought, which is important in such a rapidly-paced game.

Ideas:
I can't say I got many ideas from SSX 3.  It's a franchise game, so, coming off of reviewing the Guitar Hero franchise, I noted that EA did right by it's franchise.  SSX 3 took everything that SSX did right including pacing, sound design, visual style and player rewards; and added onto it to create a more polished game.  There are more things to do in the first level, improving the player experience by increasing decision-making and decreasing frustration. 

Memory:
SSX 3 is a fast-paced visual feast for snow-boarding fans or anyone who enjoys the challenge of completely conquering a game.  I will play again.