SSX 3, the 3rd in the great and well known snowboarding series by EA has just been released. This time around, the game takes on a kind of GTA style. Let me just say, SSX 3 is the best in the series and it quite possibly the greatest snowboarding game ever made. SSX 3 is no doubt, a blast to play. You have your basic snowboarding game elements (racing, intense speed, tricks) and a kind of GTA feel to it. You can choose from about 10 characters at the start. There are several new additions to the SSX family which include Griff Simmons (12 year old prodigy who is hooked on sugar), Nate Logan (a mountain man), Allegra (a total hottie) and a few more. These new additions really give SSX 3 a great amount of style and personality. A few veterans have also returned, like my personal favorite, Kaori, and of course, Mac, Elise, Moby, Zoe and Psymon. In SSX 3, you can go from Peak One, to Peak Two and then finally to Peak Three. Each peak is harder then the last. In the first peak, there are some avalanches, fierce winds and a few more weather conditions to worry about but its relatively safe and easy. In peak two, you have more avalanches, stronger winds, thunderstorms, falling trees and more. This is when the game starts to get a little challenging. And in Peak three, you have many avalanches, fierce winds, many thunderstorms, more trees, falling ice bergs and more. To advance to the next peak, you must complete the one of the objectives. The objectives are basically to get a gold medal in all of the races, to get the highest score in the super pipe, to get first place in the big air event, and a few more things. Like in SSX Tricky, you can customize your characters looks, attributes, clothing, boards, etc.. However, you can do so much more in SSX 3. Some people can wear walkie-talkies, backpacks, and everyone can have their own shirts, hats, shoes, boards, pants, hair styles, etc. You can also buy attributes with your hard earned cash. You can earn cash by winning events and completing objectives or by simply going around and doing tricks. You can then go to a lodge where you can save, buy new stuff, switch characters, enter a cheat code, equip gear, equip clothing and a few more things. You can also go to a transport which will bring you to different areas, stations, peaks and events on the mountain. The controls in SSX 3 aren’t too great, you will constantly do flips and end up falling down while trying to speed up and you will probably have one hell of a hard time trying to do uber tricks as well. Furthermore, SSX 3 is much harder then SSX Tricky or SSX. Even on your first competitions, the AI will score much more points then you and somehow, go so much faster. Its not until that your attributes are nearly maxed out that you start to catch up to them. For someone who is new to the series or the genre itself, they may not like SSX 3 because of this. Even SSX veterans may give up! However, this can also be a good thing. SSX 3 will last you a long time if you try to complete everything (similar to F-Zero GX). The camera in SSX 3 can also use some work, but its not that bad either. Lastly, SSX 3 may be the most buggy game I’ve played in ages. You will constantly trip on nothing, go through walls, snow and rocks, get stuck in between trees, and more. However, the game somehow, still remains fun and addictive. Visually, SSX 3 is a masterpiece. Its pretty much anything you can ask for. You can easily tell who is who from a distance. The snow looks amazing, and the characters look awesome too. My only complaint is that there is some slowdown here and there and during these slowdown periods, the textures look quite blocky. The music in SSX 3 is GOTY material. Its got tons of songs from people like Fatboy Slim, N.E.R.D. and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. I cannot forgive EA for removing Rahzel though. They replaced him with DJ Atomika. Not that Atomika is bad, but he is so..... white. You really have to play the game to know what I’m talking about. Like I said, SSX 3 will last you a really, really long time if you try to unlock everything and build up everyone’s attributes. Thankfully, the game motivates you to do so with awesome collectible stuff (sorry, I don’t want to spoil anything else). You can spend anywhere from 50-75 hours simply trying to unlock one person’s gear and clothing. If you thought SSX Tricky would last you a long time, you are in for a treat! Overall, SSX 3 is a must-have for any snowboarding, racing, or SSX fan. Its an awesome buy for pretty much anyone else to! Being the SSX veteran that I am, I am pleased to say that I’m happy with SSX 3 and I will be anticipating the next game in the series as well!
Facing huge peaks of ice with a speedy board while performing huge jumps and hoping an avalanche isn't suddenly triggered by strong winds has got to be one of the world's most exciting experiences. Unfortunately, it is n... Read Full Review
I was never a snowboard fan before, I was a soccer player, but after this game, I've really wanted to try it out on my next vacation. The game offers tons of things to do, and what it has, is great. EA sports BIG went fo... Read Full Review
