Ok, you've stormed the original, you've played Tricky till your thumbs were raw and bleeding, but are you ready to Conquer Three Peaks? Because Believe you me, SSX is going to blow your mind
Okay, it seems really unfair to judge a sports game apon it's plot, as usually any plot in a sports game will be paper thin. Unfortunatly SSX 3 isn't much different in these respects. In the capaign mode you choose one of the generic characters available, and you must work your way up all three peaks of Three Peaks mountain, you get some choices in the way in which you wish to conquer the mountain, be it financially, by winning races, or by showing your skills in the freestyle (Tricks for all you non-borders) mode.
Ah this is where the
points are really made up for it's lack of real depth. Let's start with looks,
snow plumes up when you take a sharp turn, the sunlight glares of the screen
when the conditions are right, Avalanches will crush trees in their paths and
will bury an riders unlucky enough to be caught in it, in other words, The
Graphics are Gorgeous.
As for the sound, the soundtrack is one of the
best in gaming history, featuring such masters of sound such as Royksopp, The
Red Hot Chilli Peppers and The Ceasars. If you have a splitting headache, all
these wonderfull bands can be selected onto your own playlist, or just turned
off, but even when it's off the Ambience is amazing, Birds call overhead, the
Rider's trash talk at each other and the rockfalls make satisfying
rumbles.
Right, onto the real issue: Gameplay. Well as with many such "extreme" sports games, SSX 3 is easy to pick
up and learn, but a real thumb burner to master. It's simple enough to win a
race without pulling a single stunt, but no stunts mean that you won't earn any
precious Boost. Tricks range from the simple 180 spin, to OTT Uber Tricks such
as the La La La Lockstep. Combine the two, and you have a mix for fun. I do find
the game a little unbalanced though, with Race events often being much easier to
earn a gold in than Freestyle events.
Once you have worked your way up
the mountain, earning yourself lots of nice goodies and rewards to decorate your
character with, you will face the ultimate Race or Freestyle. A half an hour
time limited Race or Jam (Read: Earn over a certain amount of points) down the
whole of the mountain, taking at least two courses from every peak. Put on the
coffee, for you're going to need to concentrate on keeping in the time limit,
but also, in the case of the Jam, on racking up so many points that your console
will struggle to keep all the digits on the screen at once.
Total Score: 8/10
Great Game, My only quarm is the slight lack of Depth
