Phat beats a'plenty
| Platform | OVERALL |
|---|---|
| PC | 8.70 |
| Overall | 8.70 |
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I was first introduced to the snowboarding franchise on the Nintendo 64 with the excellent 1080 Snowboarding. Since then I have always had a keen interest in these types of games when I can get my hands on them. I began my SSX experience with the second installment called SSX Tricky. This game was arguably the best snowboarding game ever made purely for its intense style (never has an EA logo looked so hardcore), out-of-this-world Ubertricks and excellent cast of characters who draw you deeper into the game's vibe. This being the case, I can't say I've had a negative experience with the series and so any preconceptions I had about SSX Blur were entirely positive. I have heard many accusations about EA trying to milk the series for all it's worth and to some extent I am not surprised. After all it's EA we're talking about here. However, the gaming giant has decided to shake the franchise on its head with SSX Blur including a radical new control scheme based on the Wii's motion sensing capabilities.Just like previous versions of the game, SSX Blur gives you almost every imaginable way to carve down a snow-covered mountain on a waxed plank along with those other things you might have heard about...umm...what's the word...skis! The main gameplay component is the Career mode which starts you off as a lowly grommet with almost no skills and a single mountain slope to learn the basics. Events are placed at different locations on the mountain and you can either make your own way to them or select which event to try in the in-game menu. The list of events includes Slopestyle, Half-pipes, Races, Slalom, One on One and many others and you progress by winning these events and unlocking new content, skills and new Tournaments. These events can be quite challenging and you really need to practice and get your skills up if you want to achieve any success. Speaking of practice, this game is no walk in the park. Not only does it take some degree of coordination with controlling your character, you will find sticking the Ubertricks quite a challenge if you aren't patient. First of all you carve by twisting the Nun chuck controller left or right. To dig your edges a little harder for a sharper turn you can use the analogue stick in conjunction with the tilting. This will seem a little disconcerting at first but once you get used to it, you'll be carving and launching off ramps so accurately that you'll never want to go back to the old control format. Nearly all of the tricks are performed by the remote except for grabs which use the Z button. Essentially you press A to start your mid-air performance and finish it by pressing A again. The Uber tricks in Blur have been the subject of many discussions and have led to a polarisation of opinions on the game overall. To perform Ubertricks in SSX Blur you must draw a designated shape in the air while holding the A button. This can be quite difficult at first and, at times, becomes quite frustrating. This is the very reason why some critics have lowered their overall score for the game. However, and this is a BIG however, what these critics don't usually possess is time on their hands to master the game. Some have said that the Wii has trouble picking up the movements. What they fail to realise is that the Wii has the movement plotted to a reasonable accuracy. The PLAYER was the one making the wrong movements and this is where the game really shines as a true hardcore-gamer's game. You must LEARN the movement to perfection, and when you do you will be rewarded with Uber after Uber after Uber. The soundtrack, produced by the breakbeat legend Junkie XL, is another integral part of the SSX Blur experience and not just some background noise plonked into the game for no reason. Each time you successfully land a trick your Groove Meter will build. Then for each segment of the bar you reach, a new audio layer will be added to the soundtrack. Once you reach the limit of the meter you will be graced with a brain-humping soundtrack that will send shivers down your spine as you pull off every subsequent Uber trick in short succession. In addition, while you perform each Ubertrick, the music drowns out and you're left with a matrix-style camera movement. The very moment you land, the music roars back in a single, pounding beat and you feel an overwhelming sense of achievement from it. This makes for a thoroughly enjoyable experience once you have mastered even the basic Uber moves. On the other hand, however, there is a DJ who, like every DJ on this green Earth, loves the sound of his own voice. Thankfully, he can be turned down so that the pumping soundtrack can drown out his voice. Some of the gameplay elements in Blur are a little tame, just like the new EA Big logo as you begin the game. When you finish a race it seems that there is some kind of ghostly audience cheering for you because there is nobody to be seen on the sidelines. This is very disconcerting because, say, if you've just completed the most gnarley trick combo in the world and you've glided elegantly to the finish, you are shown standing at the finish line all on your own without a single soul to be seen except for a few disembodied voices crying "yay". Hardly a rewarding experience for a game that relies on spending hours to perfect moves. Another mediocre aspect of Blur is that there is no narrative to give you a connection with any of the characters' personalities. These guys are the raddest, baddest bunch of snowboarders (and skiiers) in the SSX universe and yet there is not a single cut scene showing them smack-talking the opposition or showing off how sweet their awesome skills are. While this may be an intentional omission by EA, it is something which would have made this game trump the utter craziness that was Tricky. The graphics in Blur are a step above anything that has been produced for the Wii and make the game look very polished. From the funky animated menu screens, powder effects, excellent sense of speed and the lens flare as you launch off a ramp and into the sunlight, the visuals are very well presented. Overall SSX Blur is definitely a fresh new look on a franchise that is increasingly becoming worn out with repetitive formulas. While there are some features that are lacking the pizazz that games like Tricky dealt out by the truck-load, you are still rewarded where it counts and the game provides excellent entertainment for your money. |
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Posted by selbie Sun, 25 Oct 2009 14:20:29
Recently Spotted:
*crickets*
I'm been a big SSX fan ever since SSX 3. While I love the graphics in Blur, I hate the controls. I've tried and tried to become good at doing those uber tricks, but consistency was never to be had. I think it was a mistake to make the controls so difficult because it kills the fun for a lot of people. SSX always appealed to both harcore and casual players, but Blur's controls changed it into a hardcore-only game, which I find ironic since it's a Wii exclusive. I'm all for having a difficult-to-master motion controls as an option, but not as the only option. If I could have played this game with the Gamecube or Classic Controllers, then I'm sure I would have enjoyed it.