SSX

 

SSX

 

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B003O6C9LK
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.5 inches ; 6.4 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: February 28, 2012
  

By : Electronic Arts
Price : $39.99
You Save : $20.00 (33%)

Product Description

Platform: Xbox 360
Amazon.com Product Description
SSX is a snowboarding game for Next-Gen game consoles that continues the over-the-top Arcade style fun that the long-running SSX franchise is famous for. The game features racing and trick gameplay both in single player and multiplayer options, with runs set across the mountains of the world using real-world NASA topographical data. Additional features include: new and returning franchise favorite characters, global events and the ability to race against ghost images representing a friend's time on a run, real-world conditions like avalanches, rockslides and freezing temperatures, and more.

Iconic Snowboard Racing Returns
A modern-day reinvention of one of the most critically acclaimed franchises of the last generation, SSX returns packing adrenaline and reality-defying gameplay into every moment. In this over-the-top snowboarding extravaganza players jump into the boots of your favorite SSX character -- including those featured in previous releases in the franchise -- and race, trick, and survive the world's most iconic mountain ranges. Based on real-world NASA topographical data, each mountain range delivers an experience true to the franchise's rich history, allowing you to defy reality and own the planet.
Gameplay
Along with racing and trick performance gameplay in which you pull off runs and sick jumps to build point multipliers and earn in-game currency, SSX includes the ability to explore the gameworld with minimal barriers as to where you can go. Additionally the game contains multiplayer options including the ability to compete in live events against real people in real-time on every drop in the game or to race against the posted times of friends in which ghosts of your friends' runs are visible in your world showing you exactly how they performed. Improve on these runs and earn in-game cash and if your ghost beats opponents reap additional benefits the next time you sign in.
Key Game Features

• Conquer the Planet - From the Alps to the Andes, the Himalayas to the Rockies, ride some of the most iconic mountains in the world. Developed using real-world NASA topographical data and SSX's own proprietary Mountain Man tool, every region delivers an exaggerated gameplay experience that is true to the rich history of the franchise.
• Race It - SSX goes way beyond your typical racing experience. With wide-open terrain, multiple elevations and starting points, and no invisible walls, it's up to your skills and imagination to discover the fastest line down the mountain.
• Trick It - Defy the laws of gravity by pulling off tricks that would make even the world's greatest snowboarders cringe. Nevermind a 1260° Double McTwist - in SSX, you're still a beginner if you still have both feet strapped to the board while spinning 200 feet in the air.
• Survive It - Escape avalanches, rock slides, freezing cold temperatures, and more as you take Mother Nature head-on in hope of surviving some of the most treacherous descents on earth.
• Explore - Explore every drop in the massive world of SSX. Set your fastest time on Race Drops, post your highest score in Trick Drops, and descend as far down the mountain as you can in Survival Drops. Instead of a traditional leaderboard showing friends' times to beat, ghosts of your friends' runs are visible in your world showing you exactly how they performed. Challenge your friends' ghosts or let your ghost chalk up wins and losses as you dominate your way to the top of your friend leaderboards.
• Global Events - Compete at every drop point in the SSX universe. Compete in live events against real people in real-time on every drop in the game. An event can last for a single run, hours, or even days and can support up to 100,000 participants, with your friends and closest competitors phasing in and out of your immediate surroundings at all times. Post a time and move up or down the leaderboard even if you quit out and turn off your console.
• RiderNet - Inspired by the incredible Autolog engine that powered NFSHP, RiderNet will guide you through the incredible world of SSX by allowing you to 'like' your favorite drops, recommending new drops and friends, guiding you to where your friends are, or drops that their ghosts are dominating, and directing you to the biggest and best global events for your level.
• Legendary Characters and All-new Icons - Favorite fan-selected characters, including Elise, Kaori and Mac make their return, joining new faces on the slopes.
• Every Moment is a Rush - A revolutionary physics engine pushes the boundaries and defies the laws of reality, allowing you to ride and trick off anything, unrestricted by invisible walls and barriers.

Additional Screenshots

A modern day reinvention of one of the most critically acclaimed arcade franchises of all-time, EA SPORTS SSX will allow players to experience the franchise's signature fun and adrenaline-packed gameplay across iconic mountain ranges all over the world. Utilizing NASA topographical satellite data, we've mapped out a Massive World for players to explore. Using a Google-Earth inspired interface, navigate throughout nine expansive mountain ranges and regions, each with multiple peaks and multiple drops. SSX packs reality-defying gameplay into every run letting players Race, Trick, and Survive down huge open mountains. In addition, Explore, Global Events and RiderNet - SSX's recommendation engine - headline an online feature set that will revolutionize social competition for gamers, making it fun and easy to compete with friends on your schedule.

Product Features

• Players will drop into nine of the most iconic mountains ranges and regions on planet earth and each of these iconic mountain ranges have then been exaggerated to deliver a gameplay experience that is true to SSX.
• SSX introduces arevolutionary physics engine that will allow players to ride and trick off almost anything in theenvironment
• From boards of varying speeds to wing suits that let you glide for longerdistances, upgrade your gear to ride faster, trick higher and survive longer
• Characters include: Elise, Mac, Kaori, Psymon,Moby, Zoe, Griff, Ty, Tane and Alex.
• Defying the laws of reality, SSX will enable players to pull off tricks that would make even theworld?s greatest snowboarders cringe.
• Advanced Physics - Harnessing the power of the current generation of consoles, SSX introduces a revolutionary physics engine that will allow players to ride and trick off almost anything in the environment, unrestricted by invisible walls and barriers.
• Characters Old and New - Favorite characters, as selected by the fans, make their return to SSX along with some new faces that will be joining the franchise. Characters include: Elise, Mac, Kaori, Psymon, Moby, Zoe, Griff, Ty, Tane and Alex.
• Conquer the Planet's Mountains - From Antarctica to Africa and the Himalayas to the Alps, players will drop into nine of the most iconic mountains ranges and regions on planet earth. Using NASA topographical data and our proprietary Mountain Man tool, each of these iconic mountain ranges have then been exaggerated to deliver a gameplay experience that is true to SSX.
• Upgradeable Gear - From boards of varying speeds to wing suits that let you glide for longer distances, upgrade your gear to ride faster, trick higher and survive longer.

Customer Reviews

(NOTE: I'm actually giving this game 4.5 out of 5 stars, not just 4)
PLUS:
-RiderNet is a godsend, even if it has already been done before
-Great soundtrack as usual
-Spectacular tricks and combo based gameplay
-Control schemes are well implemented, even offering a "classic" control scheme
MINUS:
-The spirit of the characters seems to have been lost from previous installments
-Campaign mode isn't really engaging
-Some mountains are a little TOO treacherous resulting in what feels like repeated cheap deaths
If you generally get a kick out of targeting your buddies best scores in any leaderboard based games or you lose sleep when someone has knocked you off of your high score perch and taking them down becomes the order of the day, then you will absolutely adore SSX.
The RiderNet setup is the absolute draw here, make no bones about it. I cannot praise this new feature enough. I've never played "Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit" but it's my understanding that the Autolog setup in that game works just like the RiderNet system does in SSX, by providing you with real time updates on who's doing what in the SSX world. In short, RiderNet makes this game feel alive. I guarantee that SSX will help create plenty of intense rivalries for those who immerse themselves deep enough in the game, thanks to RiderNet's absolutely awesome interface. I'm aware that I'm gushing maybe a little too rabidly about it but believe me, the recently released demo barely skims the surface of what RiderNet entails. There are a lot of races and trick runs to get to the top of here and RiderNet does a phenomenal job of keeping you up to speed in regards to not only how you're holding up but also how your friends are faring on those very same courses. I found it very easy to plot what it was that I wanted to involve myself in and which course records to shoot for next. Ghosts are automatically uploaded and downloaded and while there's no real time multiplayer involved, you're still getting the best of the experience by racing directly against the ghosts of other players doing their best runs. I'm loving what I'm seeing here in terms of early community interaction and judging from the scores and times already posted, it looks like I've got my work cut out for me on my way to the top of the boards. I really want to see more involved leaderboard systems like this in other games and genres, it's absolutely great and the best thing about the game, hands down.
I love the soundtrack and while it's a bit different from what I was expecting, there are a lot of great songs here that I'm sure anyone will enjoy. I found myself using Shazam a couple of times when I missed the artist and track title info, so that should count for something regarding the quality of the song selection. You can listen to your own music as well and the best part about that is that the game messes with the audio of the tracks just like it does with the in-game music, providing a seamless listening experience similar to what the game already gives you.
Using the right analog stick to perform tricks takes some getting used to and I'm not going to lie when I say that it's a lot to take in. The trick lies in getting used to the rhythm of the game. The game practically uses several different control schemes depending on whether you're on the ice or in the air and when you're careening down a mountain side and you're in the thick of a crazed trick busting, combo racking run, don't be surprised if you can't mentally process what your hands are doing of their own accord. I'm not knocking this because ever since the first game, this has been par for the course. It's all part of what makes SSX what it is. Like I mentioned above, you can play with a "classic" control scheme but I like the revamped style enough to stick with it.
On the negative side, I really didn't care for the campaign or story mode, if you even want to call it that. It's an admittedly thin plot that uses varying styles to push the story forward. I loved how the characters were bigger than life in the previous games but here, they've basically been whittled down to selectable characters. Most of them are still here but I miss the outrageousness and trash talk from SSX 3 and SSX Tricky. They've lost their mojo but they still bust out some of the most insane snowboarding tricks you'll ever see, so it's not so painful of a loss. Another slight issue I had with the game was that on several of these mountains, I was dying simply way too much. This was never really an issue in the other games but here, it happens a little more frequently than I would've liked and it kind of stops the momentum of the game every time you go flying off of a mountain and have to start all over. I found the Deadly Descent runs great on some sides and uninteresting on others.
I think the wingsuit feature leaves a bit to be desired also but hey, you can't fault the developers for trying something new. Thankfully, you don't use it all that much. Same goes for the rewind feature, which is really only useful for placing `geotags' throughout the world. The geotags themselves are a great and really cool idea (think of them as easter eggs that you leave behind for anyone else to pick up and the longer it takes for anyone to find them, the more in-game currency you receive; it's another great form of trash talking that the game provides) but since the clock keeps running while you're rewinding, there's really no use for it if you're on a serious run.
Is this the game SSX fans have been waiting for, for so long? Well, I suspect a lot of fans are going to have gripes with a lot of what I've mentioned and more but you can color this fan impressed. It's not perfect and could use a little more tinkering but this will definitely be my go-to game for when I'm not in the mood to sink a whole day into Skyrim or something else equally as time consuming. Truth be told, the hours melted away on me yesterday when I was posting up as many trick runs as I could before I went to sleep. Regardless of what you may think of the campaign mode, RiderNet will keep you coming back for more and is in my opinion, worth the cost of admission to the mountains of SSX alone.

The game does not provide a simultaneous multiplayer option where you can race your friends on a course that is initiated by a starting gate.
The player with the best time is the winner of the race, it is not the player who crosses the finish line first. I really miss the excitement of trying to cross the finish line first.
The rest of the game is sweet, but I am going to have to pass on it because it lacks what I like the most about the gaming experience (I already sold my copy), more specifically, it failed to deliver a solid multiplayer social experience.

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