Written By Shaun McCracken
SSX Tricky is the sequel to 2000's PS2 hit SSX. Now that there are three
consoles out, I guess it's only appropriate to put the sequel on all three
systems. The GCN may have pulled the short straw when it comes to all three
versions, but it's still a fun, highly playable and fully compotent game. The
basics of the game is rather simple, you either race or pull tricks, or do
both! Oh, and I forgot to mention, this is a SNOWBOARDING game. Thought I
should clear that up. You can start out with two available characters, Elise
or Eddie. As you progress with one of the players, you can unlock other
riders, boards and clothers. You also unlock courses that become available in
the single race modes. Simple, right?
Each race is made up of three heats, or in lesser terms, you play the same
course three times. Finish the final heat, you move on. A bit tedious, but it's
not as bad as Freekstyle. At least here you can place 2nd or 3rd on the finals.
The stunt mode is where you pull off your best tricks to beat the score
required for the medal. Getting a medal also can increase your attributes, by
allowing to enhance your players speed, agility, etc. There's really not much
more to say about how the game is played, because it's pretty simple. But there
is one other thing to know. You have a thing called a "Tricky" meter (on the
right side of the screen). This is also your boost. If you fill this meter up
by pulling tricks, you can then pull off an "uber trick" for big points and a
letter. Spell TRICKY, and get unlimited boost for the rest of the course. The
manual explains this better.
You may have heard this before, and it's fairly true, the GCN controller is not
best suited for this game. It mostly has to do with the shoulder buttons, which
are your grabs. First off, you lose one grab, since the GCN controller only has
three shoulder buttons. Second, the Z-button is tough to get to when you really
need it. Third, the L and R buttons are tougher to use here, since you need to
press down a lot more than the PS2 controller. The GCN's analog buttons are
better suited for racing games or games that require this kind of precision.
SSX Tricky is really about how fast you can come up with these combinations.
But there is a slight solution. If you invest in the Mad-Catz Cubicon controller
(which is found at Target under the "Get Into The Game" label), the shoulder
button layout is much like the PS2's and the Z-button is easier to get to. Also,
the D-Pad is bigger, which is great for spins. While it may be a little "tricky"
to pull off stunts here, the control is actually not all that bad and becomes
easier as you go.
The graphics is another little issue between other versions. While the lines may
be smoother than the PS2 version, the framerate dips a little more in places and
textures are kind of blurry, almost like some first-generation Dreamcast games.
The player models are good and well animated, but some have some seams, and in
Elise's case, she's missing her chin in close-up shots. And here's something
really odd: texture warping! I thought we got away from this! I wonder if the
textures tend to shift aroubd in the PS2 and X-Box versions. But again, it's not
terrible, and the game is still very playable. At least there's no fog.
The sound is the high point of the game. While it doesn't have all the Dolby
stuff in the PS2 and X-Box editions, the GCN version sounds just as sweet, and
I assume the average gamer has their system hooked up to their $120 stereo and
not an expensive home theater. The music is great, but I could have sworn I have
hear one of these songs in Rollcage. A great mix that doesn't suck. And there
are celebrity voice-overs from Lucy Lui and Bif Naked to name a couple. Not an
important part of the game, but delivers a relaxed and a very playful atmosphere
to the game.
While SSX Tricky for the Cube may have some problems (mostly minor), it's still
a really fun and addictive game. And let's face it, there's not many
snowboarding games out right now. Your other choice is Dark Summit, which is
something different from SSX. So until the next 1080 comes out in 2003, SSX
Tricky still fills in the much needed snowboarding fix and is worth keeping
around for the long run.
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SSX Tricky
