Customer Reviews

SSX Tricky

5 star:		(92)
4 star:		(24)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I became an SSX fan when it was thrown in with the PS2 bundle that I bought at Amazon.com. I wasn't a skating fan before, but I found SSX to be an excellent game that was highly addictive. The same is true for SSX Tricky, the latest snowboarding game from EA Sports. SSX Tricky is an improvement in pretty much every area over SSX (although keep in mind, I am comparing the PS2 version of SSX to the GameCube version of SSX Tricky), and the few flaws that were retained from SSX or introduced in this version are far outweighed by the quality of play and graphics.

If you've not played SSX before, the concept is simple - start by choosing one of a few riders, enter races, win to unlock tracks, boards, and riders. You get medals for placing first, second, or third in the final heat of a race or by beating specific scores in Showoff mode. As you gain experience, you add points to your rider's abilities - these abilities, combined with the board your rider uses, make it easier to speed, turn, do tricks, and stay on your board when you get a shove.

SSX Tricky takes each area of SSX and expands it a little. There are two new tracks, a beginner track and an expert track, and the others exist basically as they did before, but with more detail, rails, jumps, and tricks. Most of the characters were carried over from the original, although some of them have markedly different personalities now (I liked the old Zoe better than this one), and new characters have been added too.

Personalities? One of the big changes is that the behavior of your rider is more significant. In SSX, your rider made comments as he or she did their thing, but the main sound came from the music in the background and the announcer, who's the same this time around. In SSX Tricky, your riders make more comments, and the background music is quieter by default. However, the biggest change there is that you now have "friends" and "rivals." Rivals are more likely to knock you down during a race. If you knock people down yourself, you increase their aggressiveness toward you. That carries over to future races, so you may not necessarily want to knock down everyone in sight. I haven't yet figured out how to make people more friendly.

Successfully knocking people down is one way to fill your familiar "boost meter," in addition to the time-honored tradition of pulling off tricks. The bigger the trick, the more boost you get. You can still use it for turbo, but this time, it's more important than that. When you fill the meter, you start a 20-second timer. During this time, if you catch enough air, you can pull off an uber trick, which is worth significantly more in points than the others. Complete six tricks and you get unlimited boost and uber potential for the rest of the race. Let the time expire or wipe out and you have to fill your meter again. Wiping out in any event will reduce your boost meter, as will using Y to bring your character back on track (if you've fallen into a giant ravine, are way off course, or are stuck). Once you get to some of the more advanced tracks, you'll need to pull off uber tricks to get medals in Showoff mode. Remember that uber tricks are like regular tricks in that they can be part of combos and that you get half credit for repeating a trick, one-third credit for the second repeat, and so on.

Another improvement is that individual statistics are kept for each rider - their best time and score on each track, along with medals they have, and their best performance in each of a number of categories, including knockdowns, number of each kind of trick, and rail, grab, and air time. I like records because they give you something else to go after if you're stuck in a rut or have unlocked everything. There are also bios on each rider as well as a movie that can be unlocked if you reach Master level with a rider.

Trick books work differently now. In SSX, you had three levels of tricks, and you could complete them in any order, if you could figure them out. Remember how Hiro's trick book was messed up? Well, in SSX Tricky, you have to complete them one chapter at a time. Each chapter contains 5 tricks, so with 6 chapters, you have fewer tricks to complete, and you don't get credit for pulling off a triple back flip from chapter 3 if you're still on chapter 2. It also seems as though there is less variation in the trick books - everyone has basically the same tricks in chapters 1 and 2, but starting with chapter 3, you get some originality. One nice new feature is that you can pause the game during a run, bring up your trick book, and see right there what combo you need to pull off. In the past, you either had to write it down, buy a hint book, or have a really good memory.

I did mention flaws. Some of them existed in SSX, like the annoying thing about Alpine riders where you really need to go forward, because the board isn't symmetric front-to-back like a Freestyle or BX board, but it slows you down to turn around, and you can't always tell which way it'll turn you. Because you're going the same way, you really can only do half of the tricks that another board will let you do, because you don't have the option to do a Switch trick (off the opposite foot). On that note, because the GameCube controller has three trigger buttons instead of the four the PS2 has, this version allows for fewer in-air variations, so you have to be more careful about repeating tricks. I also disagree about some places that it insists are out-of-bounds. All in all, though, those are minor complaints.

The combination of the more in-depth tracks, better graphics, and uber tricks makes for some really interesting racing, both for spectators and players. Also, I really appreciate the uber-tricks because they make it possible to get the higher scores on some of the more difficult tracks like Elysium Alps. In SSX, you pretty much had to nail every 5x crystal to get a gold, because you had no other way of getting big points. Now, with the right jumps, you can use uber tricks to make up for that. You still need to learn the shortcuts and alternate routes to get the big points and quick times - and you may need a different route in Showoff mode than the one you took in Race mode. The graphics also add something else to the characters, showing a little more of the story behind them ... in more ways than one. The scene that's played when Elise moves up a rank is, um, interesting. There's definitely a feel of designed-by-teenage-guys to this game.

Overall, this is a really good sequel to SSX. I'm sure the PS2 and Xbox versions are good as well, but I would definitely recommend this game. I've got three other GameCube games, none of which has managed to hold my attention, and right now, they're all patiently waiting by the TV for SSX Tricky to leave the spotlight. I think it'll be a while before that happens.

As a fan of the first game, I was impressed by the improvements that make this a much more solid game. The ability to make enemies and the addition of the celebrity voices make characters a lot more interesting to play. My personal favorite is Macy Gray's Seeiah, but they all are fun.

That said my only criticism is that compared to other games out there like Dave Mirra or Tony Hawk, a track editor or even more tracks for that matter would be welcome. While each track is vast and well thought out, you can only play Merquery City so many times before needing a change.

Lastly, the addition of the Uber-Trick is was brings this game together. The first game only made you do tricks to unlock boards and get speed boost. This one makes you want to do tricks just to see those amazing board spinning moves. The cool factor is escpecially high, and it's extremely satisfying when you nail one. You be busy celebrating the trick, then realize you have a race to finish.

I recommend this game very much. It's doesn't have the high replayability that Tony Hawk has, but it can be a lot more fun in many ways.

A selection from the full review at Nintendorks:

"SSX Tricky's in-game speech will frequently remind you that, 'It's all about putting on a show,' and that sentiment goes to the heart of the game and is what separates it from previous extreme/trick-based games. There's no pressure to complete your tricks or point your board in the right direction long before you land (a la Tony Hawk Pro Skater), and there are no quasi-realistic physics to encumber a free spirit (a la 1080 Snowboarding). SSX Tricky is about getting an obscene amount of air and pulling off entirely ridiculous stunts while just barely nosing out another racer at the finish line. It's more exhilarating than 1080 or THPS while being a bit less challenging.

Briefly, you steer with the analog joystick and hold down the A-button to charge up a jump. During the last few milliseconds before a jump, you also charge up a spin or flip on the D-pad. Once in the air, your hands make a topward shift of focus to the L-, R-, and Z-buttons to pull off a variety of stunts, while you tweak the stunts or super-size them in Uber mode with the B-button. Completed tricks fill up your adrenaline meter and let you boost with the B-button when you're on the ground. During a race, you're forced to do tricks in order to be fast enough to finish the race. During Showoff mode, you're forced to use your adrenaline to hit the ramps with a good amount of speed so you can achieve more air and more tricks. Each character has tons of stats and boards to unlock, and solid replay comes from repeating the game with each character.

If I had to liken SSX Tricky to any other game that a Nintendo system owner might have played, I'd have to suggest the great Beetle Adventure Racing on the N64. If you liked the over-the-top courses, shortcuts, and personality of that game, you'll enjoy SSX Tricky. So far, no screenshots or videos of SSX Tricky have been able to convey the shear visceral thrill of launching your character off of the side of a mountain, having the music melt away into a faint beat while you pull off an incredible 1440, then landing perfectly to cheers, popping fireworks, and a musical crescendo. It's something you have to experience to get excited about, and I hope you at least rent it. I know my copy will keep me company through the relatively barren winter release schedule ahead."

This game blew my mind!! Its like a mix between luging on a snowboard and Tony Hawk gone ballistic!!
The levels are incredible with plenty of sick secret levels and routes to take. The racing is an all-out blast down the hill complete with other players trying to knock you down ro you knocking them down. The tricks will blow you away!! They are easy to learn but the higher level tricks take some serious practice. Tricks like superman, break dancing on top of the board in mid-air, using the board as a helicopter blade, and more!!!
I found myself playing this game until the wee hours of the morning and regretting it the next day. Very, very addictive and always fun to play with your kids or friends. Multi-player action is a must!!

I purchased this game the day it came out. The graphics are near-perfect, and the gameplay is unreal. There is a massive variety of tricks ranging from backflips to filet o' stalefishes.
If you are not a quick trick learner, there is a TRICK TUTOURIAL mode, where you pick a trick from the trick book, then see the controls used to execute the trick, and then you can even see the trick demonstrated or try it for yourself. There are two other modes: where you can practice by yourslef. Then there is a friendly race. And there is also a WORLD CICUIT, where you race against a certain number of computer players and try to medal to advance to the next race. If you do well in the races you will inluck new snowboards and levels. You will also be able to add status points(you can build up your balence, speed, and jump). You unlock levels around the world and eventually a UNTRACKED level, where there is no trails, but just fresh powder. Then there is SHOWOFF mode where you try to get a high trick score in order to advance. After pulling off a few major tricks in a row, UBER tricks will be available. There tricks you just have to see for yourself. The riders take the board off of their feet and do crazy thing! Please buy this game!

my boys can't get enough of this game

This is the one video game that everyone in our family enjoys equally. The kids love it because the races are exciting, the basic tricks are relatively easy to master, and the characters are entertaining. The parents have enjoyed it because the shortcuts and hidden paths make for an intriguing puzzle, at heart it rewards skill and effort, and the characters are funny, engaging and surprisingly well-developed.

Unlike other kid-friendly games (Super Monkeyball, Luigi's Mansion), this one is designed so that even younger players can have fun with it. It doesn't involve a lot of manual dexterity, nor does it force a player to think strategically in every mode.

The language is by and large appropriate for kids, although a few of the characters' remarks are a bit crude and not quite as entertaining when repeated verbatim by an eight-year old. The violence is relatively muted; although characters can score points by knocking down other characters, there is no head to head fighting, and there appear to be consequences to making enemies.

This is the best snowboarding game I ever played. It has hip hop and other classics stunts. This game is even better than any Tony Hawks game. It's fun and intellagent. If u have a child or if u are a child, check this out. No snowboarding game or skateboarding game can beat this.

This is a really great game!
Not only is it fun to zip around bends on a snowboard but you can also knock over the other players! Theres great music, wonderful characters with their own personalities, genius courses, and a huge variety of awesome tricks! ...That is sucha bargain! I'd pay $50 for this game because even after you've unlocked all the tracks in the world circuit its still fun to go back and do it again. Theres not many games where you can do that. Or at least to me theres not because most games get pretty boring once you've gone through all the courses or have done the majors things but I could play world circuit with every character and still not get bored of it! So whether you're playing with your friends, by yourself, in the dark, in the light, this game is one you shouldn't be without! Enjoy it!

I must admit, I was a little cautious before buying this game in fear that my hard earned money would go to waste but not so with SSX Tricky! I have never owned a snowboard games, or played one for a long time. But SSX Tricky very much appealed to me (must be there catchy " It's tricky" song they used to advertise. But The game is great! You get to have fun doing impossible moves and you really get into the game with it the games music. The character's are funny and you'll fall in love with each one very soon.
I gave it 4 stars because the controls are difficult at first (i kept stumbling over the reset boarder button when i got excited doing freaky tricks) But you will learn and in minutes have alot of fun.