SSX

SSX has so many great things wrapped into it that I could hardly be happier. Aside from the way the Deadly Descents "storyline" plays out and the occasional character getting stuck between two rocks, SSX brings back the joy of playing all hours of the night trying to outdo your previous score.

The SSX series has been reinvented and revitalized in the best possible way.

You'll get more than your money's worth here. This is a game that you will pull from the shelf for months to come just to drop in and do "one more race" that will lead to a few lost hours.

Despite the gargantuan scale, it's never less than incredible fun. [Apr 2012, p.96]

SSX is a must have title for any fan of extreme sports. It's a frozen paradise!

SSX is a return to the frantic trick-based games of several years ago with a modern online component. It is a heck of a ride.

It could have accomplished so much more, but it's hard to complain when SSX is still such a brilliant game.

Although multiplayer-wise EA could have done something more, SSX is surely what fans were waiting for: an intense, adrenaline-fueled and fun gaming experience.

SSX is the video game this generation has been missing...This is what happens when you don't just put the game out every year, but spend your time crafting it, creating the ultimate experience. SSX redefines snowboarding games, raises the bar for the genre, then backflips over it.

SSX is a must for long-time fans of the series and also those who enjoyed them, but didn't quite love them because of how much better the controls are and how much more balanced the game as a whole feels with it teaching you the essentials right away. The RiderNet setup may not please those craving direct multi-player, but should satisfy those wanting a challenge, and the thrills the game provides raise the bar for the genre as a whole. Many snowboarding games have been released over the years, but I don't think any of them quite top this new incarnation of SSX.

It's been a while, but SSX returns with a BANG! EA Canada delivers in almost every way, giving us the best virtual snowboard experience yet. The lack of online multiplayer is the only real downside.

Just about everything in SSX works well. It looks fantastic and is easy to play. Though there is little point to the story, for once that doesn't matter. SSX is thrilling and, most importantly, fun. And like the best things in life, it can be summed up in a very few words. Board, snow, mountain, awesome.

As I said at the start, it's just high-flying insanity to the max. The control is reliable and responsive, the courses are expertly designed, there's great variety in both the locales and the events, the satisfaction level is crazy high, and the production values are equally high. Yes, it gets unforgiving (and frustrating), there's no standard split-screen option (still a bizarre omission), and the AI makes almost zero errors, but above all else, there's no mistaking the entertainment factor. It's not only evident, it's oozing from the damn screen.

SSX is a triumphant success that brings the thrilling snowboarding title to the starved gamers on the new generation consoles and does so by not breaking what already works but making it a lot more fun. Offline multiplayer is definitely missed, but everything else is surprisingly solid and makes for a much recommended title for sport gamers.

With easy-to-use controls, a smooth user interface, beautiful open courses from the real world, a killer soundtrack, and a bustling and competitive community created through RiderNet, everything adds up to a load of fun.

The gameplay is fun, fresh, exciting and bloody tough. Newcomers, however, will find the switches in difficulty brutal and unforgiving. It doesn't cater all that well to the casual enthusiast and will surely alienate those without fond franchise memories to sustain them.

SSX is a terrific evolution of the series that delivers extreme snowboarding thrills like no game before it.

SSX may not be the same party game it used to be, but that doesn't mean it isn't fun. The first time you jump out of a helicopter, you feel butterflies in your stomach, like only SSX can give you. It feels a bit like coming home. [March 2012, p.72]

Despite a missing split screen mode and a somewhat dissatisfying singleplayer SSX still proves to be a great sports game, because in a way it truly revolutionises online gaming.

SSX is a great reboot of the series. While the game has some shortcomings, it does provide an amazing adrenaline rush and sense of speed you rarely experience in other titles.

When you look past that and get to what really matters, actually carving your way down a mountain while pulling off stunts that Shaun White could never even dream of attempting, SSX is an absolute joy. Piling the tricks on top of each other, activating Super Tricky mode, and then nailing a Signature Trick while listening to a remix of Run DMC's "It's Tricky" thump through your speakers basically guarantees that all is forgiven. Welcome back, SSX. You have been sorely missed.

There's nothing out there on the videogame market today featuring snowboards that comes close to the compelling and joyous fun that SSX provides.

A triumphant return for the series. It may not be the most realistic extreme sports sim out there, but it captures everything fans have loved about the franchise since its 2000 debut, and brings a raft of innovative new features to the table. You won't find a better snowboarding experience elsewhere.

With an impressive set of levels based on real-world topographical data provided by NASA, hundreds of connected events to conquer, and the always-on RiderNet to tie scores together, there is a ton of content in SSX. More importantly than that, controls are tight and incredible combos can be linked together by all the seasoned players out there.

With SSX snowboarding returns with style. No strange gimmicks, a few new and good ideas and above all perfect, extreme boarding action. It´s a perfect finish for the winter season.

It's as though the team behind SSX were never quite sure how far toward realistic danger nor straight-up arcade ludicrousness it ought to veer toward, relying on the old school silliness of SSX's snowboarding gameplay to carry the load as the team built a gaggle of new mechanics and concepts around it--some of which don't really gel with that classic SSX flavor. The end result is an experience that can often be tremendous fun, though sometimes almost feels accidentally so.

SSX doesn't have the best graphics and lacks smooth controls, but heck; it's fun. The new features Survive It, Global Events and RiderNet make SSX a worthy purchase. Welcome back, SSX, we missed you!

Masterful reboot of the old snowboarding racer, with just the right mix of retro appeal, modern presentation, and brand new ideas.

A wonderfully fun game. It successfully captures the spirit of the earliest games in the series but without feeling dated. This generation of consoles has suffered slightly from an understocked catalogue of games that revel in their over-the-top nature and SSX is a perfect remedy for that.

Whether it's playing Buckaroo on your board for 15 seconds straight or hearing the game manually mix your custom soundtrack during an über-trick – bloody surreal when you're listening to Bankrobber by The Clash – there's nothing else quite like this on PS3. After years of waiting to get royally piste up, SSX's blizzardy brilliance remains as intoxicating as ever.

As someone who's waited years for a new SSX game, the frustration I discovered in EA Sports' latest snowboarder stings. Between the strong online infrastructure and the excellent controls, the foundation is here for the SSX reboot the franchise deserves. I can only hope that this team gets another chance to go for the gold and cuts out all of the unnecessary realistic flourishes next time.

[P]layers won't get much out of SSX until they put a lot of time into each of the game's courses – packed with branching paths, high ridges, and suicide leaps – and work out a custom plan of attack. Without one, SSX can deteriorate into a discombobulating frazzle of questions like: where am I going? Is this the fastest way down? And how come the CPU is 15 seconds ahead of me? While the required exploration means a tonne of replay value, it also means newbies will have to board up a hockey stick-shaped difficulty curve to feel in the game. [April 2012, p70]

The campaign feels awkward and unfamiliar and the multiplayer doesn't allow for direct head-to-head competition (oh well), but the game still manages to fuel our competitive juices. [Apr 2012, p.82]

Beautiful design and flawless presentation make SSX a hard-hitter this season. Unfortunately, its lack of local multiplayer and thin singleplayer experience doesn't quite make it live up to previous games in the series.

That being said, the game still does have its issues-and some of those issues do really mar the experience. The foundation of a solid current gen SSX game is lurking right beneath the surface of this title-let's hope EA unearths it for the potential sequel.

If you're prepared to stick to its well-crafted online modes and endure its over-sensitive handling the fun just about outweighs the moments of frustration brought about by questionable course design and the poorly implemented rewind mechanic.