SSX Blur

Maybe it was the developer switch or maybe it’s just that the Wii controls don’t fit the game, but SSX Blur is unfortunately a clunker. That being said, if you can get past the controls there is a ton of content to experience and unlock.

Once you master the controls you’ll enjoy the game for a while, but it will eventually you’ll find it hard to keep your interest in the game due in large part to the randomness of the tricks and the impossibly difficult to pull-off uber-tricks.

I really liked the game when I got over the controls' initial crazy learning curve, but after a while, my overall interest began to wane.

It’s important to stress that this game is not going to replace Wii Play on your kegger nights. SSX Blur requires a good deal of time to become competent at, and will reward you well for doing so. If you need a game that’s easy to pick up and play, you won’t find it here. What you will find is a solid evolution of an established franchise that was in need of a change.

Overly finicky controls are the biggest ding against this decent but not superlative version of SSX for Nintendo's winsome Wii.

The control scheme just doesn't feel as tactile and appropriate. The courses feel awfully familiar, despite being a little less flashy. The energy level doesn't seem quite as high, the presentation doesn't grab you with as much gusto. [Apr 2007, p.42]

The series is solid, but too little of this game is truly new, save for the functionality provided by the Wii's unique control scheme - and that doesn't quite work right.

It's a shame that the only real issue we had with Blur was its controls. If you can get over this the game is a blast, although not the SSX franchise's peak.

Blur will take you on a fantastic holiday, then, but perhaps not the most relaxing one. [May 2007, p.88]

Other than the frustrating experience with the Wii controls, Blur seems like a rather decent game.

We want a full-on SSX game for the Wii – one that feels like "SSX 5," not just a very competent spin-off. Blur will just about do until then, though.

By attempting to innovate the way the game is controlled, the overall quality of the title is far removed from what would be expected from an SSX diehard. EA really needs to hit the drawing board much harder for any future SSX Wii releases.

Many of the tracks and events have simply been lifted from earlier entries, and the controls aren't reliable enough to consistently deliver the elation that characterized the best SSX titles.

The net result of all this control confusion is that SSX Blur demands just as much mastery as its predecessors, but sets the bar for entry much higher, and never gives you the sense you're fully in control of clearing it.

Instead of making controlling your snowboarder easier, the Wii's new motion-sensing controls have made SSX much harder than it needs to be. What once was one of the best extreme sports franchises has been reduced to one of the most disappointing games of the year.

Patient players, prepared to persevere will be happy with Blur, but those expecting the same level of intuitiveness and accessibility as other Wii or SSX games are likely to be very frustrated.

Players with infinite patience and the strength of will to complete the game will be well rewarded, but those expecting the same level of intuitiveness and accessibility as other Wii or SSX games will be more than a little frustrated.

The game for me was just ok – it didn’t have the same sort of wow factor I had with previous games in the series – it just felt like more of the same except with a new (sometimes frustrating) control scheme.

No matter how badly you want to get into the game, to find the flow...the game doesn't let you. And that's too bad, because it really does look great, the multiplayer mode is basic yet competent, and there are flashes of true SSX brilliance.

As a "My First SSX," Blur is passable. But for longtime SSX fans, this installment's much too limited coursewise, the track design is as poor as "SSX on Tour's", and instead of innovating, the unreliable motion controls get in the way. [Apr 2007, p.80]

So much promise, yet it's all dashed on the ice due to sloppy,unresponsive and frustrating controls.

It all boils down to the controls. When you have the capability to utilize the innovative controls of the Wii, sure use them to the fullest extent, but don't leave the casual gamer in the powder while you do it.

Dedicated (read: sadistic) gamers willing to invest the time necessary to figure out the controls might get a kick out of this one, but the convoluted controls will turn off most players. The lesson here is clear: Wii developers need to start with a blank slate rather than graft old-school control schemes onto the Wii Remote because, as SSX Blur demonstrates, it just doesn't work.