ssx on tour gamecube review

SSX On Tour Review

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SSX on Tour is the fourth game in the series, and the first since 2003’s SSX 3. Concentrating on a solid single-player experience, the development team dropped online play, but have succeeded in delivering a game that – while not all that different to previous games in the series – should please existing fans and newcomers to the series. A unique art style and a pumping soundtrack sweeten the overall package.

The biggest change (although it’s mainly an aesthetic one) is the option of skis or a snowboard for your character. This is the first time skis have been an option in the series, and while it’s a nice addition, it has little impact on how the game plays; being able to choose skis might please anyone with an aversion to snowboards, but you’re still going to be pulling the same insane stunts and huge jumps as you speed down snow covered mountain sides

Before you even start skiing you’ll notice the rather unique art style the game uses. The game is covered with doodle-like pen drawings – the kind you’d find on the cover of schoolwork folders. These obscure drawings all animate beautifully and bring the game to life before you’ve even hit the slopes. It’s a real contrast to the usual clean-cut, quite formal presentation that most games go for. You’ll spend a fair bit of time exploring all the submenus simply to take a look at all the art in the game, be it a guitar wielding unicorn or some freakish half human half monster creation.

This style hasn’t really been carried over to the in-game visuals, which look remarkably similar to previous games in the series. Considering SSX has always been a good looking series, this isn’t a bad thing, but a little more creativity wouldn’t have gone amiss. Technically it’s very good, with good draw distances, a solid frame rate (not so solid on the GameCube) and some brilliant effects, such as falling snow and fireworks. It’s a great looking game, just nothing that hasn’t been seen before.

The main single-player mode is the tour. You’ll have to create your own character (there’s some basic appearance customisation and board or ski selection) and then you’re ready to take part in the usual SSX events: race, trick, and slope-style. The actual challenges are quite varied, ranging from simple one-on-one races to scoring a set number of points within a time limite. Events that challenge you to grind a certain length before the time runs out, or complete the course with your time on the snow not reaching a set limit (Each time your board or skis touch the snow a timer starts) are great fun, and they way they’re used keeps the tour mode feeling fresh throughout.

Gameplay changes over SSX 3 are pretty minor, but do affect how the game plays. ‘Ubertricks’ are now called ‘Monster tricks’ and the way they’re performed has changed. You still need to build up your boost metre – by performing smaller tricks as you move down the slope – but pulling off a Monster trick is a simple matter of moving the right analogue stick in a direction. It does simplify this area of the game, but it’s not really a bad thing; in truth it makes the game more fun to play. The roster of lesser tricks has been increased and a whole new set are available when using skis.

Previous games took place on closed slopes, with just you and the opposition to be seen, but SSX on Tour’s inclusion of other skiers is a welcome addition, giving some life to the game. Crashing into them will slow you down considerably, but near misses will increase your boost metre, in an obvious homage to EA’s own Burnout series. In fact, SSX on Tour is faster than previous games in the series, making excellent use of motion blur effects as you reach incredible speeds careering down the slopes. Non-racing skiers, some insane speed and some pretty challenging course designs make SSX on Tour no pushover.

Aside from the brilliant art style, the game’s audio is a real highlight. There’s a great soundtrack featuring tracks from the likes of Bloc Party, Queens of the Stone Age, Motorhead and Iron Maiden. The on-slope atmospheric effects are excellent, too, with wildlife, talking skiers and slight variations in the sound of your skis/board on the snow, depending on what type of snow you’re on. All this fades away, though, when you start pulling off huge jumps and using your boost metre. It works really well and helps heighten the sense excitement and the extreme nature of what you’re doing.

Multiplayer support isn’t really anything to get excited about. Limited to two-player split-screen, it’s there if you really want to play with a friend, but it’s not something the developers spent a lot of time working on. All three versions of the game are pretty identical in terms of content, but the GameCube version does have one trump card in the form of three Nintendo characters. Mario, Luigi, and Peach are selectable in the quick play mode, and while there addition isn’t major, it lessens the blow of more awkward controls and a worse frame rate that Cube owners have to put up with.

SSX on Tour is a very enjoyable game. It’s been a while since the last SSX game, and it’s nice to see that EA has made an effort to try and give the game its own identity, even if the core gameplay remains pretty unchanged. Fans of the series will lap this up, and the cool presentation and rocking soundtrack should appeal to anyone wanting some thrilling extreme sports action. Even without online play, SSX on Tour is a great return for the series.

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SSX On Tour Review

• First Released Oct 11, 2005 released

The subversive style of SSX On Tour is unlike anything the series has seen before, and it's pretty unique in the overall world of video games.

By Ryan Davis on October 11, 2005 at 6:25PM PDT

Though it has often found itself lumped in with Tony Hawk and the rest of his action-sports cronies, the SSX series has always been more of a racer, albeit a racer with an affinity for ridiculous airborne stunts. Last seen in 2003 with SSX 3, the series returns with the aesthetically revamped SSX On Tour. This is an incredibly slick package, and not just on the surface, either. On Tour tightens up a lot of the underlying course designs and gameplay mechanics, and it quickens the pace without betraying the fundamentals of SSX.

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We can't talk about SSX On Tour without first talking about its unique art style, which permeates all of the menus and consistently creeps into the actual gameplay as well. While SSX 3 went for sleek and icy, On Tour's visual style has a real sweaty, wild-haired enthusiasm to it. The game specifically aims to mimic the hand-drawn notebook doodles of a bored, hyperactive heavy-metal high schooler. There's a purposefully crude, monochromatic look to everything, but all of the menus are crammed with details and weird, whimsical animations, adding a real oddball energy to the environment. Pensive-looking donkeys, twin guitar-wielding unicorns, and squat little monster-men with tongues of unsettling length are all common sights throughout the menus. This is not necessarily an original art style (you can look to the finale of Richard Linklater's School of Rock to catch some direct inspirado, and there are occasional Ed "Big Daddy" Roth touches), but it's delivered with a liveliness that is downright infectious.

The actual polygonal world of SSX On Tour isn't quite as daring as it was in SSX 3, and more of the technical muscle goes into the lighting engine in this game. The characters somehow seem less detailed than they did in SSX 3, but their animations are still silky smooth, and it can be fascinating just to watch your skier shift its weight from one foot to the other as it navigates some uneven terrain. The environments are absolutely jam-packed with alternate routes, shortcuts, and secret paths, but they all manage to come together quite naturally, and the actual geometry looks great, too. Topping it all off are some great particle effects (the falling snow and fireworks look amazing), and at least in the PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions, a rock-solid frame rate. The visuals have always been a strength of SSX, and On Tour is able to pull it together on both the artistic and technical fronts with great confidence.

The single-player experience in SSX On Tour revolves around the tour mode, where you create a custom rider, choose whether it's a skier or a snowboarder, and then compete in a lengthy series of class-based challenges. A good number of characters from past SSX games appear in On Tour, and you'll compete against them repeatedly. However, the focus on characters has been toned down significantly since they were all given celebrity voices in SSX Tricky. Now the big idea is to put the spotlight on you as you turn your lowly novice into a full-fledged snow-sportin' rock star. The three main SSX event types--race, trick, and slope-style events (a 50/50 race/trick blend)--are still staples in On Tour, though now there are more-specific challenges for you to face. Some of them start off being pretty mundane (like having to collect a number of special icons before time runs out), but they quickly become more inventive and challenge some very specific skills. You'll have to score a number of points on a limited number of jumps, grind a length of rail before you get to the bottom of the hill, or pull off a number of hand-plants before time runs out--and these are just for starters. One of our favorite recurring challenges is where you have to make it through a course while touching the snow as little as possible. Every time you touch the snow, a countdown clock starts ticking, and if it reaches zero before you reach the finish line, you're disqualified. Events like this add some amazing variety to the action in SSX On Tour.

The big sell in SSX 3 was the streaming technology used to create that game's seamless, one-mountain feel and to lay out courses that could last for nearly a full hour. SSX On Tour still takes place on a single mountain, and there are still plenty of lengthy courses, though the navigation is done entirely through a rather authentic-looking snow resort trail map. There are no big leaps in technology in On Tour, but there are plenty of under-the-hood adjustments and additions. Superficially, the biggest addition to SSX On Tour's gameplay is the ability to put your rider on skis as well as snowboards. This opens up a whole new set of aerial maneuvers, but its impact on the actual controls is pretty nominal. More significant is the way that SSX On Tour handles massive aerial stunts. "Ubertricks" have turned into "monster tricks," and instead of holding a shoulder button and a face button in tandem to pull off these natural-law-defying maneuvers, you simply hold the right analog stick in a specific direction. You still need to fill up your boost meter by pulling off lesser tricks, such as aerial grabs, rail grinds, and hand-plants in order to access these aforementioned maneuvers. Some might frown on how much easier it is to pull off these monster tricks. Frankly, the trick system has always been mostly for show in SSX, and making it easier to pull off big tricks just makes for a more exciting show.

SSX 3 reveled in its wide-open, uncharted levels, which led to a really cohesive gameworld, but also made for some tedious stretches of track. SSX On Tour is a much meaner machine, dealing out tracks with much more focused, tenacious designs. One of the side effects is the preponderance of lengthy rail-grinding lines for you to pursue, which lead to some of the game's most outrageous moments, such as when you slide your way through a loop, or grind on a helicopter's landing skids while it's in the air.

You'll also notice that SSX On Tour no longer takes place on a closed course, and you can expect to (literally) run into other random skiers, snowboarders, and general winter sports enthusiasts on the mountain. In a rather obvious homage to Criterion's Burnout series, you can get a little bump on your boost meter when you have a close call or you run into a random person, though a direct collision will slow you down significantly. Actually, there are a lot of similarities between SSX and Burnout, not the least of which is a really amazing sense of speed. SSX On Tour definitely moves faster than any of its predecessors, and its sensation of speed is complemented by some great motion blur effects and a sound design that adjusts dynamically to the in-game action.

At slower speeds, you'll hear everything on the mountain--the sound that your board or skis make changes as you cut across ice and snow of different densities, the chatter of other people on the mountain, and the distant sounds of wildlife--but once you start burning up your boost meter, everything kind of tunes out, save for the whistle of the wind rushing past you. Sometimes the sound seems to drop out at moments when you're not really doing anything too death defying, but it's really effective more often than not. The game also features a great soundtrack of licensed music, with a distinct jean-jacketed, horn-throwing bent to it. The blend of indie rock, punk, hip-hop, and dance music is pretty predictable, though the pedigree is better than average, with critical favorites like Bloc Party, Diplo, Queens of the Stone Age, and LCD Soundsystem all contributing tracks. What really stands out, though, are the classic heavy-metal tracks by Def Leppard, Motorhead, Scorpions, Iron Maiden, and the godfather of heavy metal himself, Dio. You might not necessarily expect this throwback metal to work in the context of a snowboarding game, but it's a perfect fit for On Tour's crazy visual aesthetics.

SSX 3 for the PlayStation 2 featured an online multiplayer component that was, well, kind of half-assed. Rather than attempt to make a more fully-realized and entertaining online mode, On Tour ditches the mode entirely, which is sort of disappointing. The game still features a split-screen, two-player mode, though. It's technically proficient, though the level of detail gets bumped down and we noticed occasional frame rate hitches. Multiplayer has never been one of the big draws in SSX, though that doesn't lessen our hopes that EA will get it right one day.

With the online multiplayer out of the picture, the differences between the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and GameCube versions of SSX On Tour are few. Much like NBA Street 3 for the GameCube, SSX On Tour features Mario, Luigi, and Peach as playable characters in the quick play mode (kind of a throwaway feature, but one that we had a hard time not reveling in anyway). The GameCube version is also unfortunately saddled with a less-stable frame rate and a few other graphical rough edges. There aren't any detectable technical differences between the PS2 and Xbox versions, but using the four shoulder buttons on the Dual Shock 2 is much easier than using the triggers plus the black and white buttons on the s-controller, making PlayStation 2 our preferred platform for SSX On Tour.

But no matter which platform you go with, you're going to end up with a really fun game. The subversive style of SSX On Tour is unlike anything the series has seen before, and it's pretty unique in the overall world of video games. The game expertly balances the fresh and the familiar and creates an engrossing experience that will have fans falling for SSX all over again, while undoubtedly bringing plenty of newcomers into the fold.

• Leave Blank
• Stunning new art style
• Great sense of speed
• Streamlined trick system
• A licensed soundtrack with a little heart
• No online multiplayer
• Somewhat unstable frame rate (GameCube only)

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This last last gen installment of EA�s popular snowboarding franchise, SSX, is without a doubt the least appreciated, and most underrated game in the series. It�s definitely not without its flaws, but it seems too choked out by its predecessors, and nobody seemed to pick up on its bold new style of snowboarding. Graphics Nothing has been toned down or sacrificed in this area. As time goes on the graphics of SSX have really improved, and SSX on Tour goes to show that. The graphic are even a step up from the superb SSX3, something many thought couldn�t be done. But it was. You�ll notice right away the hip new art style of the game. It�s got that new kind of fad style going, with the menus being drawn full of weird little pictures, like the ones appearing on skate sweatshirts these days. Once you break into the levels, you hit cool brisk mountain reality though. Each level is unique enough from the rest, and has it�s own style. Each of the thirteen levels on the mountain is bursting with minor details, and really helps you feel immersed, and not just some lone snowboarder/skiier. Everything usual looks good: snow, trees, rails etc. There are some breathtaking locales like �On the Rocks,� �Nintendo Village,� and �Hot Dam.� You�ll be blown away by each of those courses, and how they simulate natural environments with things you could only do on a video game. There are few graphics glitches though, and you�ll see yourself snowboard completely under the snow very often. The graphics are the highest point of this game. Graphics Score (9/10) Sound/Music The sound effects in this game are well fitting and almost perfect. There aren�t many sounds, but the ones there are sound really good. Hitting rocks, and trees sounds very realistic. The sound of your board making turns and scraping the snow sounds just like when you�re doing the real thing. You can even hear the wind coming past your ears when you boost. The music in this game is a large collection of licensed tracks from real bands. This game has one of the more impressive collections of music from the likes of �Goldfinger,� �Iron Maiden,� �Def Leapord,� �Ok Go,� �Pennywise,� and more. The music is all rock/punk rock/rap If you hate that music variety, listen to something else because you�ll hate every song. Sound/Music Score (9/10) Gameplay There really isn�t a story in this game, and I think a story would hamper what gameplay there is. First off, you decide if you want to ski or board. They both handle slightly differently, so it�s not totally unrewarding to play two files for the different styles. Next, you create your character. It�s a pretty good creation system, and there are plenty of different hair/face/eye/body options to create a character of your image. It�s probably the best character creation you can find in a last gen game. Once that is all said and done, you can do the shred and medal events. When you load up the map, a number of challenges will appear for you to try and beat. There�s a pretty good variety of these, and some of them end up being quite fresh. There are regular races, and regular trick contests. There are modes where you have to tag other riders, or knock down other riders by ramming into them before the time runs out. A really fun, fresh new mode is where you have to board a certain distance while being timed. There�s a catch though; you have to do this without getting airtime. Sometimes you can only catch 30 seconds of air, sometimes less or more. There�s the same mode except opposite, where you need to get air, and cross a finish line. More challenges include trick deathmatches, lose your opponent by getting a certain distance ahead, handplanting a number of rails, doing monster tricks, and grinding enough rail distance. You�ll start off as a rookie, but as you beat challenges and events you gain hype points which rank you up to amateur, pro, etc. Doing this unlocks more difficult challenges. There is a multi-player mode too, where you can play with a friend on any of the challenges you previously did in 1-player. This is where having it on the gamecube is special; you get to play is Peach, Mario, and Luigi, along with any of the characters you race against in the game. Two characters are also unlocked with cheats. Tricking is an important aspect of this game, and you�ll need to get good at it to advance. Some of the hardest challenges are the trick ones, and the A.I. is really good at showing you up. Tricking is all done through the L and R buttons for grabs, X for handplants, the C-stick for Monster Tricks, and the D-pad for spins and flips. It is a little odd to get used to, but once you do there�s no problem with it. As you get cash through beating events, you can buy Monster Tricks at the shop. Monster tricks are exaggerated awesome tricks that are worth major points. You�ll rely on them a lot. Tricking also fills up your boost meter. Better tricks = better boost, and you�ll want to do a lot of them so you can keep filling the ever depleting boost meter, and get ahead of your opponents. Also at the shop are a huge array of new clothes, haircuts, attributes, and boards. It�s a fun place to visit, and spend your hard earned cash on good upgrades and awesome styles. Beating some boarders in a challenge can result in shop unlockables too. Cash can also be found on every one of the 13 tracks on the mountain. There are 25 $500 cashes and 25 $2,000 cashes scattered about in each track. Finding cash is a fun reason to go through each level again, and often you�ll find when you collect cash, you also find alternative ways to board/ski each level. One of the great things about this game is how each track on the mountain has so many things to do, and so many alternative paths to take. This adds a large amount of replay value to the game. You can go down the same track a large amount of times before it gets boring. There are so many rails, jumps, and cash to collect that it won�t get stale easily. Boasts are another thing to collect. Boasts are strategetically placed camera icons that you can try and jump into. These are usually found in hard to find or get to places, and getting them all is a real challenge. Now after reading all that, you�ll almost assume this game is perfect, and should be immediately added to your collection. But it�s not perfect, and has quite a few problems that bog the game down. First off, your boost meter shouldn�t deplete, and waste your hard earned boost. Next, you�ll find that the game has a few frame rate problems, and occasional glitchiness. Glitches include game freezes, sliding under the snow, and falling off your board from a fake crash. But there are two even bigger problems. The A.I. in higher difficulties uses cheap tactics and often cheats. You can boost constantly and never crash, and often they�ll still be right on your ass. If they do in fact crash, they�ll often just teleport a few meters behind you to make up for their incompetence. That really makes me mad when games have to resort to tactics like that to beat you. And last, but not least, monotony eventually sets into this game. At first the challenges all seem new, and in endless variety, but that fades about 3/4 through the game. The game is long, and with 140+ challenges and collecting all boasts and cash, this game can last a good 30 hours or more! But you�ll find once you hit the pro difficulty that a good 60 of those challenges are just boring recycled versions of previous challenges. A race with the same person might take place in a different level, or just last slightly longer; sometimes you have to do trick practically the same trick events, but with slightly higher requirements too. I strongly feel that the developers could�ve just dropped a good 30 of the challenges to keep it from feeling too boring. A freeplay mode is eventually unlocked in the game, and it allows you to collect cash and boasts outside of challenges. This would be good, except for one flaw. Say you want to collect cash in the first course at the top of the mountain, and that�s it. Well, you can�t do that. If you want to collect cash in the first course on free play, you are forced to ride down the rest of the mountain until the end. That forces you to play through the rest of the tracks, and you end up wasting about 15 minutes going through courses you never wanted to go through. SSX on Tour ends up being a good sounding and very good looking snowboarding/skiing game. The game is huge, and offers a good variety of tracks and replay value. This great experience is unforunately cut down by some sub-par challenges, glitches, and cheap A.I. tactics. It�s not enough to make you not want to play it, but these things definitely detract from the overall experience. If you want a long snowboarding game you�ll be playing for a good month, and can get past the shortcomings, this game is definintely for you.

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SSX On Tour – Review

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Reviewed: 02/20/2007

So you wanna be a rock superstar?

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