Review: SSX: Out Of Bounds
Score:
85%
Version Reviewed: MMC
Buy Link | Download / Information Link
What is SSX? That’s the first question. Well it’s one of Electronic Arts lesser franchises, set in the world of competitive snowboarding. Nokia are shouting quiet loudly that this is "the only SSX game released this season" but that’s probably because EA are waiting for the PSP and DS rather than a conscious marketing decision on their part. SSX sees you strap a single plank of your wood to your feet as you slide down a mountainside either in a race with other boards, or in ‘show off’ mode.
If you were thinking this sounds remarkably like Tony Hawk Pro Skater, then you’d be right. You’ve got the same basic gaming principles here of competing in events, building up your character, and trying to score points by doing spectacular jumps, spins, and grabs in the air. Except now we’ve a racing element added as well. Don’t forget that Tony Hawk was a damn good game, with a huge amount of replay value. SSX promises exactly the same mix of fun and addiction, and I’m confident it’s going to be a long-term success.
SSX looks impressive – the developers now do have a hang on how to do proper 3D engines, and they’re improving all the time. SSX is probably the smoothest yet and wouldn’t look out of place gracing a good third person shooter. The level design of the hillsides helps a huge amount. There’s no one single route down a mountainside, you have to navigate the crevasses, jumps, and safety rails yourself to find the best route. And in many cases the quickest route in terms of speed might not be the route with the big jumps and cliffs you can jump off and do your tricks from. There are a couple of bridges and ice caves as well, where you can happily go under another route, and all the time the look is clear and crisp.
Given that Eskimos have three million, six hundred and twenty seven words for snow (roughly) it’s nice to see that in SSX it’s possible to tell the different types of snow that are under your snowboard just by the colour and texture of the graphics. That’s what makes it so impressive. The animation of your snowboarder is clear as well. Even when you start doing triple turns and flips combined the frame rate stays just high enough that you can make out what you’re doing at the end – because the most important point of the trick is getting the landing correct so you don’t tumble or fall over.
At its core, SSX is a racing game. Get down the hill as fast as you can, and before everyone else does. And if anyone does gets in your way, then you can give them a little push off-balance when you get alongside them. So why waste time jumping and spinning in the air when you could make a beeline for the finish? Because every trick completed scores you extra points, and adds to your Boost meter. And there are times when having a large amount of boost to speed you up is going to be indispensable. Doing tricks is pretty easy. You’ve got a jump button (although it’s best to find a little ramp or cliff edge and jump off that for more height) and when you’re in the air, the D-pad will control where your body leans. Tapping the number pad will let you reach out and grab your snowboard, bending your body into a funny shape.
Ultimately, you need points to move onto the next race, and the next levels. Winning may be everything in an event, but it’s points that make prizes. You’ll get a lot more points from pulling a triple spin and nose grab than finishing in second instead of third. There are some levels where you’re not even racing, just working your tricks to get a certain number of points – score more points than your opponent, who performs after you, and you advance a track, otherwise you’ll have to try again. Time to practice those moves, mister!
But SSX also lifts heavily from the RPG stable. When you first start, you choose a Snowboarder from a list of people, all with appalling names and poor attributes. Barely able to spin and hold the board at the same time. But as you race, and improve, you win cash. And that cash can be used to increase your attributes. So you can jump better, faster and stronger than before. And as you unlock the later tracks, you’ll need all those boosted attributes to compete. The multiple tracks lend a certain longevity to the game, by allowing you to mould each character (even to the point of buying them a nice new purple jacket), and then go back and do it all again with another character with different starting stats.
As with every N-Gage game out there, we’ve got some Arena features. In a similar way to Tony Hawk, you can upload your best races down the hill, and download others to do some Shadow Racing and see how you compare. There’s also ‘exclusive clothing, equipment and characters’ that are only available to purchase or use by logging into the Arena. Finally, if you need to see how something is done, or want to show off just how high you can jump, you can upload and download videos of some SSX moves from other players.
SSX looks good, plays well, handles smoothly and is yet another MMC title that shows just what this platform is capable of. It’s definitely comparable to SSX on the older home consoles such as the PSX, and the reaction on seeing this running from SSX fans I know who aren’t N-Gage nuts shows just how advanced the N-Gage is. Yet again, a strong title that’s going to be lost in the Press infatuation with the new consoles from Japan. But I guess us fans are beginning to accept that now – because no matter what everyone else says, this is going to be as big, if not bigger, than Tony Hawk was when the N-Gage launched.
If you liked Tony Hawk on the N-Gage (and let’s face it, the majority of N-Gage users have at least tried it), then SSX is an almost required purchase. It’s more of the same, but better. A strong stylised racing game, with a simple core but a huge amount of space for practising and improving your characters and your race strategy. SSX is a recommended title to everyone out there – you won’t be disappointed with it.
Reviewed by Ewan Spence at