E3 2011: SSX Trailer Impressions Preview

It looks like EA has learned its lesson from the initial announcement trailer for SSX and has decided to take a more varied approach to showcase the new snowboarding game. At its press conference during the Electronic Entertainment Expo, EA showed off a stunning CGI trailer that highlighted the three pillars of gameplay that will be included in the new SSX: Race it, Trick it, and Survive It.

We watched as two snowboarders, Mac and Elise (Kaori was shown later), made their way down the beautiful, snowy mountain terrain, flying over trees and jumping over wrecked jet planes. While the game takes a more realistic approach, the death-defying tricks and stunts are still included; we watched the pair of boarders swoosh their up way up the sides of a naturally formed tunnel to do a full 360 loop as well as get enough air to jump over large obstacles--all while executing impossible tricks in the process. We even watched as Mac and Elise launched themselves off a cliff to escape an oncoming avalanche, where the Mac managed to catch the rail of a hovering helicopter with an ice pick while Elise opened her squirrel suit.

In between the transitions from one mountain to another, we saw a 3D model globe that highlighted some of the most famous peaks in the world, including the Himalayas and the Alaskan range. Using NASA's data, the team was able to re-create mountains from all around the world, letting players drop in on every major mountain range on the planet. It will be an open world for boarders to explore, and from the trailer, we got a good sense of speed and adrenaline. We hope that some gameplay will be shown in the near future to see if it's as exciting as it looks.

EA announced that Kaori will be joining the cast of the new SSX, and by the end of E3, there will be another new character announcement on SSX's Facebook page. Stay tuned to GameSpot for more updates on SSX, and look for the game when it is released in January of 2012.