Where to begin?...
Graphics: For the time, and for a gcn launch title, positively awesome. The runs are massive, environments are very well designed (see: Alaska), and everything just looks the way it should. The boards and outfits are all very well done, with each being more slick & stylish than the last. In all, the game looks great and feels great.
Sound
Music: I just have 7 words to say. Mix Master Mike, John Morgan, and Hybrid. All of whom contributed to the music on this, and all of whom produced, well, kick-@%$ tracks!! First is Mix Master Mike. He dj'd for the Beastie Boys. The #^!@ing Beastie Boys, man! He brings all his talent to the table in this, laying it out in tracks like slayboarder and board burner that appear in Merqury City and Pipedream. These songs...just epic to ride to, in game and in real life. Next, John Morgan. Hoo boy. This Canadian DJ had already worked with the series on the first installment, and he returns to keep making, well, bombtracks!! He's credited with most of the course intros, which are already awesome, but he also did adam's revenge, a great one, bass invaders (the addictive title theme) and a song called Gin & Sin. Gin & Sin plays during snowdream, and is my favorite song out of all of them in the entire series. It's that freaking good. Lastly, Hybrid. An english electronic music powerhouse, this duo contributed their track named Finished Symphony to the very last stage in the game. Just listen to it, fer chrissake, and you'll see why it's so awesome.
Other areas of sound: everything on the courses sounds like it should. There, done, got that out of the way. Now, onto the main course. The voice acting. Hot damn, is it awesome in this game. A star studded cast lends its talents here, with the voice actors for Eddie, Mac, Psymon, and Moby all doing a terrific job. Hell, they even got Lucy freaking Liu.
Gameplay: Brilliant. You pick one very customizable boarder, and fling them down the mountain at speeds up to 72 mph. This area is what the ssx series is known for the most. It's over the top, insane, and incredibly fun. I have too much to write about this, so I'll just say go look it up on youtube or read my ssx 3 review. It's just too much!
Overall, pure nostalgia raises this from a 9.0 to a 9.5, purely because I played this for such an incredibly long time. Buy this game, buy this game, buy this game.