billservo's Full Review: SSX Tricky for PlayStation 2
Last year SSX helped launch the PS2 as one of the best games for the system and the first game for EA's new "Big" label. At the time SSX broke new ground featuring some over the top tricks, insane tracks and cool characters. This time around EA brings on much of the same but riding on the success of the first title allowing them to bring on some extra polish.
The original SSX wasn't a slouch in this arena, so the extra attention to detail on Tricky takes the game to a level of production that few developers ever get to. The most important tweaks went to gameplay and control, which seems to be much more responsive than before. The basic formula is still the same though, allowing returning gamers to get right in and perform. Six boarders go down the track doing insane stunts in an effort to get down first. Pulling crazy tricks and grinding rails fills up your boost meter as it did before. But this time around, that meter's a little more sensitive. Messing up a trick or getting knocked down can take away from that bar or deplete it altogether. Likewise, pulling your best tricks adds more back into it. Knocking down other players completely fills your boost. Also new in Tricky is the ability of the game to recognize when you get "Big Air". Not only do the characters react with funny comments, but trick point bonuses and a full boost are the reward. When you do manage to get a full boost you'll be able to access one of Tricky's new features, the Uber move. These are basically unreal tricks, usually involving unbinding from the board- don't try these at home. These tricks are super animated and take time to pull off so you'll have to wait for a nice jump.
It's a good thing the game is filled with jumps like these- it's easy to keep the game running at a manic speed and lets you pull off the more complex tricks more often. However, one boffed trick or knockdown can change all that quickly. Some gamers may be turned off by this aspect- it's easy to rise and fall in this game, but that's also one of the things that keeps the game exciting and keeps you racing to the end even when you're in 6th place. A couple modest tricks and some air can get you the boost you need allowing you to get back in the game.
Shortcuts are also back in Tricky, but their importance seems scaled down just a bit. The shortcut "signs" are much less obvious and a little harder to hit. When you do manage to get yourself into one, though, it's a little easier to ride the path out than it was in the first. But this time around, you don't need to follow them. Careful boarding and aggressive stunts can carry you through without chancing unmarked trail.
Some of the tracks have so much more going on in them now that shortcuts aren't even necessary to have an exciting run, either. Tricky featues more intertwining paths, and the ability to quickly jump from alternate path to alternate path. There are also new track hazards. One of the courses features a suspension bridge over an icy stream. As more boarders race over it the bridge sways more making it a little easier to get dumped.
Areas like this in the game are difficult, but difficult for a reason. One of the minor problems with the first was that the tracks seemed to be more of a collection of high points strung together with some connecting track. Here in Tricky tracks seem more organic- they actually flow. The beauty of this is that first time boarders on a track can actually stand a chance of performing well if not winning. Visibility on many tracks has also been improved a bit so it's possible to read the track ahead as you go down which helps keep the game more fun and skillful since you're not reacting so much as anticipating and preparing.
The only draw in the track department is that most of the tracks are the "same". But the changes to the existing tracks are so dramatic at times that it's hard to complain. For those who want something totally new there are a couple of added tracks, one of them instantly accessible as the new beginner track.
Like tracks, we have the same characters returning in Tricky. But again, they have been given much more life and attitiude than they ever had in the first. There are also some new characters, including the game's new frontman, Eddie- an afro-sporting, psychedelic, retro freak. Tricky improves on more than just the characters' looks- along with new characters is enhanced character interaction. Characters still evolve in Tricky with more gameplay time allowing you to add experience points to different attributes like stability, edging, or speed at the end of a circuit. But during a race characters have friends and enemies, and how you treat them on the course can change their attitude about you. In the first game shoves were almost an afterthought, letting you get an opponent out of the way but not really an integral part of the game. Here, playing rough gets them mad and in a circuit series may cause a particular rider to go target you.
Their attitude is reflected in dialog before and after races. Friends may tell you they'll look out for you on the course and enemies may threaten you at the end. With a proven license under their belt the development staff was able to rope in some professional talent to flesh these interactions out even further. The list is one of the most impressive of any game to date including David Arquette, Lucy Liu, Billy Zane, Bif Naked, Macy Gray, and others. The same annoying announcer is back, too, unfortunately, but the addition of much more character dialog makes him less noticeable. Music also gets a boost thanks to the Beastie Boys' Mix Master Mike. From the Tricky theme song to menuing ambiance it all has Mike's signature style- very cool. During a race the game is able to dynamically mix different tracks together for a different effect. If there's lots of tricks going on, the music picks it up- board in an isolate area and it goes back down a bit. This kind of reaction complements the flow of the track.
Users with a nice sound system will be able to fully enjoy the level of audio production that went into the game. Tricky is one of the PS2's first ever DTS games. The game outputs in four channels allowing you to easily track other riders just by listening.
While the audio features of the game received a lot of attention, graphics are mostly the same. We still have a few jaggies and a little clipping every now and then, but more detail has been added to each course. Courses generally have more objects, more light effects, and even a little use of volumetric fog for courses with a lot of loose powder. Nothing mind-blowing here, but it all works together nicely. Animations are much better, though, with a lot of added detail. Characters react more convincingly with some extra movement thrown in for realism's sake. This also helps a bit with gameplay since you can read your character and prevent a bad landing.
Outside of the game are even more improvements. EA's finally putting games on DVD, including this one. This means faster load times- much faster. There's even some DVD video content fetauring an exhaustive "Making Of" feature of the game that's actually fun to watch. It seems EA tried valiantly to tell gamers that this isn't just a rehash.
And that's the only big argument against the game. It isn't a full blown sequel, but it's not a game that can be called a simple expansion. If EA renamed the courses, changed a few of the graphics and objects within and modified a few more turns, most gamers would probably be satisfied in calling this a sequel. But there is still a lot of original SSX content, keeping this from achieving true sequel status.
But in the end, there are just so many improvements that for fans of the original, this is definitely worth at least trading in your old copy and for new players to finally see what all the fuss has been about.
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