Preview: SSX

By Harriet Jones / September 6, 2011

When news of a new SSX was heard I was not the only one that was a little more than thrilled to hear. My history with the series only goes back to SSX3, but it€™s a game I still play today, the prospect of a SSX for the current console generation could only be good news right?This trailer threw us. Sure it looked a bit like SSX, but it could easily be any snowboarding game. It was too dark, and with €˜Deadly Descents€™ attached to the brand it seemed that SSX had taken a turn for the worse. It seemed that, going from the developers said, that it was a misleading impression of the new title. By the time E3 came around a new trailer was out to be seen, and for me at least, previous fears that the series was taking an all too serious turn were put to rest.The trailer let us see more of what the newest edition to the series will bring, and it certainly let us see that the essentially light-hearted and over the top arcade feel of the games has not changed at all, aided by the dropping of €˜Deadly Descents€™. Slopes wise, gone is the single mountain with three peaks like we saw in SSX3 and instead we€™ll be taken across various real life mountain ranges such as the Himalayas. Reportedly levels will more open world, have less invisible walls, and give the player more freedom in game. In addition to this the player will be able to travel between locations via the helicopter system we have seen in the series before, but even this has been reportedly developed further. New to the series is the use of wing-suits.

Admittedly this is an element I€™m a little unsure of, but depending on if the use of the wing-suit is essential or just optional it could be an interesting addition. Another feature new to the series is the RiderNet system. This tracks all your times and scores and uploads them to an online database. From this you can post personal bests, which in turn will send a notification to friends when they look at the world map. The can then choose to compete against this and your €˜ghost€™ features as they try and beat your score. If they lose, then you earn money for your own game, even if you€™re offline. It€™s an interesting addition to the game admittedly, and a nice little way to earn a bit of in-game currency, but how often the system will actually be used will remain to be seen. This ghosting system features in the multiplayer element, with players being able to drop in and out of tracks much like they do in solo mode, but instead competing against other players who will appear as ghosts on the players screen. What this means is that again there is more freedom in gameplay. You don€™t wait about in multiplayer lobbies until you have enough people to play; you simply join a multiplayer event and compete against ghosts. This is likely to be a surreal experience, especially for those who like the idea of racing against something more solid but the lack of waiting in lobbies can only be a good thing, it might turn into something you either love or hate. The character list is looking good, with veterans Elise Riggs, Mackenzie "Mac" Fraser, Kaori Nishidake, Moby Jones, Psymon Stark, Zoe Payne and Griff Simmons. They are joined by three new characters, Tane Mumea, Alex Moreau and Ty Thorsen. It has also been stated that some characters will be avaliable via DLC. Another aspect that long standing fans of the series will be interested to know, is that while the soundtrack is apparently set to be just as good as always, you will also be able to play your own music in the game while you board down the slopes. On a whole SSX is looking like a great addition to the series, sure to please long standing fans and hopefully attract new ones. It€™s certainly one I€™ll be looking forward to. SSX is out January 3 2012 for North America and January 27 2012 for Europe.