Gadgetory

what's up Internet Kevin here with TLD bringing you our review of SSX for the Xbox 360 and ps3 now it's been quite some time since I've played an SSX game and thankfully this one does not disappoint at first glance it looks as though it has tried taking on a more serious tone than past entries but thankfully a lot of the core concepts are still there to keep it the same really fun gameplay that it's always had players you know given areas based around real-life mountains to race on and most of the tracks take on slightly more realistic designs and styles compared to past entries in the series but still managed to add enough ramps declines rails and crevices to keep each stage feeling unique and interesting well the game still features the standard two match types of race it and Trickett there now exists a third mode called survival based round players trying to simply make it through some of the most brutal courses possible this new mode serves as a major theme for the game as several of the courses are based around individual hazards and players are tasked with not only learning how to survive them but also must make use of a number of special pieces of equipment not only do characters equip different boards and suits but now have a number of additional options such as body armor to survive rough areas filled with rocks and trees headlamps to see in dark courses or even wing suits for being able to cover large jumps these dangers can make some courses very difficult and in some cases very annoying forcing players to focus on different writing techniques to survive whether it's carefully navigating small areas staying in the light as long as possible or just simply descending as quickly as you can while simply surviving these areas can be difficult to begin with things really get interesting once you start to do race or trick modes on these courses having to balance simple survival tactics while going as fast as possible or getting in as many tricks as you can now to help players survive these new dangerous courses they are given the ability to rewind but this is not an ability that can just be used freely rewinding time reduces your score and also doesn't rely on time for opponents so you'll lose ground in races and points for trick matches and in the case of survival games you're limited to only three rewinds total making it very important to only do so when absolutely necessary the game is divided into three different modes in total first off there's the single-player campaign serves like a gigantic tutorial introducing players to the various courses and strategies as well as unlocking all the different playable characters players can also play the exploration mode which lets them try and place the best scores and times on the various courses in the game which can also be played in the games main attraction in the global events mode global events of the games main form of multiplayer which works quite differently from conventional games rather than place players and matches together each course is an ongoing challenge that persists for so long players that enter set course will compete with everyone else's performance being ranked according to how quickly they complete the course or how high of a trick Square they can get when the match closes players will be rewarded with a number of credits based on their ranking which can then be spent on buying better gear for the characters or entering higher stakes events that feature by ends it's an interesting way to handle a competitive sports style and that it gives a much larger scope to matches however it does defeat some of the charm and being able to directly race against other players especially when there's things like being able to actually see your opponent or being able to do things like run into them or push them off the course another downside of this design choice is that it doesn't feature any form of multiplayer not just in terms of direct online matches but you also have nothing you can do locally in other words you're only forced to be able to indirectly compete with other people online rather than being able to play with friends another thing I find slightly annoying and a little sneaky is that while players can gain credits by successfully racing they can also purchase them directly for real-life money what's really devious about this is that when players buy items for their snowboarders the items are randomized and time-sensitive so if a really good board shows up for sale and you don't have enough credits the only real option you have is to actually spend real-life money especially when some items are very rare or show up as mystery items where you don't know what they are until you buy them now one last thing I feel like is very important mentioning for this game especially considering the series is its use of music the game's soundtrack features a very eclectic mix of different styles of music mostly pulling from an electronic field but it fits really well with the games play style even if it's not something that you personally like it just goes so well with the gameplay that you just really get into it players were even able to pick which songs they don't want to play and if they wish they can even add their own songs from their hard drive overall SSX is a great snowboarding title and an excellent game that you can sync time into whenever you have a quick second while the lack of direct multiplayer is a bit saddening it does allow players to play online matches at their own pace not forcing you to have to find matches or deal with other people's connectivity issues and while I personally disagree with their use of an actual real money credit system with randomized items it doesn't directly detract from how much fun actual gameplay is it does an excellent job of balancing its gameplay for two very different types of gamers those looking for something that they can just pick up and play ever now and then for some quick matches or those looking to perfect their play styles as much as possible to get the highest score as they can on the leaderboards that's where are you SSX for the xbox360 and ps3 if you guys haven't gotten chance it makes you check out our latest video at the new iPad as always guys thanks for checking out our videos if you want to be extra awesome make sure that like button and I'll see you guys next time you