I very rarely give a perfect 10, in fact, I never have before, but this game is really deserving; shame theres no online
So let's talk about gameplay. The gameplay is very good, and I would say easy to pick up, but I can not be certain of this as I owned SSX before buying this. Most importantly, the gameplay is fun. Just racing, or doing tricks, it's fun. That's why freeriding is such a big part of the game, because it's just fun ripping up the mountain with your board. The races are always challenging, so you always have to be on your toes, and especially as the game progresses, hopefully your skills have too because the races get alot harder. It's the same with tricks, they get harder and harder, up to the point where you can't actually do it (I still can't on some tracks). But these are fun to do as they are good personal challenges.
That's another thing, getting a gold medal in this game actually means something, as they are very hard to get an take alot of work and skill, believe me. You can also get platinum if you complete a track with gold alot of times. At the end of races, you might get into the high score leader board, just like on most other games, for best scores on a course or best times. But unlike most other games, players will text you saying they beat your record, so you have to go do it again if you want to stay at the top. That is very good, as the game keeps making you try harder. This is what the aim of a game is to do. Ok, so now graphics. I would say that these are some of the best graphics on the PS2. The snow glistens, the avalanches cover you in snow power, the rock races fall apart and you go tumbling with them. Of course, like in all other SSX's, the graphics are very cartoony, but I personally wouldn't like it any other way. It adds a touch of 'cool' to it (no pun intended). Basically, they couldn't have done better with the graphics. The music is untouchable. Unlike other games, it is presented as a radio station: EA Radio Big. With the coolest radio presenter you've ever heard. The genre of music is generally electronic and indie styling, which is perfect and sets the mood of the game. It adds a touch of class to the game. OVERALL
They could not have done better with this game and there is proof in this that when they tried to improve it (with SSX On Tour) they just made it worse. Although on tour is good, this is just the best in the series by far. However, the one improvement would be online play, but it had this before the servers were shut down. If you enjoy extreme sports games, eg tony hawks or any other ssx in the series, or you want to try something that's a challenge, then this game is worth getting. Plus it's cheap as it is getting older now. :D