SSX Tricky Preview

The original SSX made quite an impression on the PlayStation 2 as one of its most popular launch games, and EA Sports Big is hoping to duplicate this success on the Xbox. Where Microsoft's Amped: Freestyle Snowboarding attempts to achieve stark realism, EA Sports Big's SSX Tricky is its direct counterpart in almost every respect. The courses and tricks are exaggerated, the fictional riders feature a stylistic panache, and the visuals are far more colorful and vibrant. Regardless of which type of snowboarding game you enjoy, the Xbox will have you covered.

SSX for the PlayStation 2 featured an incredible amount of depth for an arcade sports title, and the series is taking an evolutionary step with SSX Tricky. The sequel is set one year after the original, and things have changed on the SSX circuit. The primary gameplay mode is still the world circuit, but the seven tracks that are returning for another go have been drastically tweaked so that there are more shortcuts, hidden lines, and big hits to launch off of. Old tracks such as Snowdream have been so drastically altered that it's nearly impossible to recognize them. Two completely new tracks have been added as well: Garibaldi in British Columbia, Canada, and the cliff face-filled Alaska course that EA Sports Big promises will be the most difficult SSX course yet. Six of the eight riders from last year's installment have returned, with Jurgen and Hiro sitting out due to injuries sustained during the off-season. The new riders include the saucy Spanish club girl Marisol, the backwoods redneck Luther, the afro-sporting Eddie, the Zen surfer Brodi, and Psymon the psycho. As in last year's game, attribute points and new boards are awarded for progressing through the world circuit.

The single-event mode lets you compete against other riders on the course of your choice. The practice mode includes an updated version of the trick tutorial that actually shows you each trick, so you don't have to figure them out on your own. The trick book is now broken into five chapters with 10 tricks in each one, making it much easier to sort through. When you land a new trick that will be added to your trick book, it's immediately recognizable, thanks to both auditory and visual cues. It will even prompt you as to the next trick to add to your repertoire. Last year's show-off mode was rarely played by most, but several changes have been implemented in SSX Tricky to remedy the situation. The biggest change is that each course will be altered to suit the mode, meaning there will be more obstacles, hits, and downslopes strategically scattered throughout the courses to facilitate going off. As if all these gameplay modes weren't enough, SSX Tricky will also include more than 45 minutes of behind-the-scenes footage. You can watch Mixmaster Mike cut it up on the wheels of steel, voice actors laying down the rider comments, and much more.

Addictive and deep gameplay is what made SSX such a stellar game, but EA Sports Big isn't afraid to experiment with new ideas. Increased rider interaction and a healthier story mode are the biggest additions to SSX Tricky, and if the specs are any indication, both should help make this sequel even more immersive than the original. Opposing riders now come with attitude attributes that determine whether they're friends, buddies, or rivals. Each rider has a tolerance meter that determines how he or she will treat you while riding down the hill. If you're constantly harassing another rider with a rival attribute, and his or her tolerance meter peaks, the rider will do one of three things: talk trash, follow you down the hill interrupting your lines, or outright attack you. Computer AI has also been tweaked so that making it down the mountain first requires more than just finding the best shortcuts. SSX's already impressive trick system has also been revamped.

To add even more incentive to busting tricks, EA Sports Big has added the option to perform ubertricks. Ubertricks can be performed once you've maxed out your adrenaline meter by performing other, secondary tricks. There are 12 different ubertricks that can be performed with four for each class of rider. If you land an ubertrick, you are awarded with one letter toward spelling the word tricky. If you stomp five ubertricks in one run, a loop of Run DMC's "It's Tricky" begins to play, alerting you that you're now capable of pulling off your character's special move. If you land the special move, you are awarded with maximum attributes for the remainder of the race. Another new addition is the big-air bonus, which is awarded every time you spend three seconds in the air.

Porting SSX's control scheme to the GameCube controller is difficult, but the task is even more daunting when dealing with the Xbox controller. Tricks are mapped to the two shoulder buttons and the black and white buttons on the controller's face. Reaching the black and white buttons without pressing any of the other face buttons is difficult, but it's hard to see how else EA Sports Big could approach the problem. In its current scheme, the A button is used to jump, the X button is used to boost, and the Y button changes the camera. The directional pad is used to pre-wind tricks for added spinning velocity, and the right analog stick is used to attack other riders. Playing SSX Tricky was the most difficult with the Xbox controller because of the controller's unintuitive button configuration, but changes are still in the wings, so hopefully it will be improved before the game's release.

The Xbox version of SSX Tricky is barely in its pre-alpha stage, but it's already looking quite good. The smooth animation from last year's game has returned, as well as all the slick effects that made it so eye-popping. Particle effects are used to show snow being kicked up by boards, volumetric fog is used to create blind landings during big jumps, and real-time shadows chase the riders down the slopes. As a unique graphical feature of the Xbox version, riders will also have shadows cast upon them by objects located on the courses. The physics model is also worthy of mention as riders' arms flail about in a believable manner while stomping tricks or lifting off from a major hit. Even Eddie's afro reacts to each bump and jolt as he careens down the mountainside. Character models have been vastly improved and now feature facial animations that perfectly match their dialogue. Cinema sequences will also play a major role in developing the game's story. Rivals will spit verbal jabs at one another at the bottom of the hill, and each character will have 10 different cinemas to signify increased attributes. A wrap-around camera will also be implemented so you can get a better look at especially huge airs. The pre-alpha Xbox version of SSX Tricky present at the annual Camp EA event was the earliest of the three versions on display and included some frame rate hiccups, but EA Sports Big is promising a blistering 60 frames per second when the game ships.

No extreme sports game would be complete without a blazing soundtrack, and SSX Tricky is no different. In addition to the game's signature track courtesy of Run DMC, Mixmaster Mike from the Beastie Boys, Aphrodite, The Plump DJs, and many more yet-unnamed artists will provide the tunes. Celebrity voice talent has been commissioned to supply the riders' vocal snippets, but EA is unwilling to supply names at this point in the game's development. It was also announced that the seminal industrial label, Nettwerk Records, will release an SSX Tricky soundtrack sometime around the game's release.

The Xbox version of SSX Tricky is barely into development, but EA contends it will be released before the end of the year. It already looks to have a slight jump on the other versions as far as lighting and textures are concerned, but there's still quite a bit of tweaking left to be done before it's ready for consumption. EA Sports Big is working hard to make sure that SSX Tricky will have enough new features to please those who have already conquered the original, while perpetuating the same addictive gameplay that made it a hit in the first place. If you're into snowboarding and are planning to buy an Xbox, SSX Tricky will make it more difficult to pick up Microsoft's Amped without thinking twice.