The new issue of PSM3, featuring extensive coverage of Bioshock Infinite, is on sale now.
Good news. Based on our hands-on with near-finished code, EA's initially maligned SSX will leave doubters choking on its powdery trail. It looks incredible, with snow to top Uncharted 2 and animations so fluid, the most preposterous board-twirling looks grounded in reality.
We played a selection of Race It and Trick It tracks in the Himalayas, mostly with Mac and Elise, and were left astounded at the intensity of the trick system and combo potential of the scenery.
Even without trying you'll be linking four or five trick combos, leaping from natural ramps to linked rails to your helicopter (resulting in slow-mo for a massive Tricky bar-building points-boost). We were soon nailing two million point combos, but by the end of our session, scores of eight to nine million were common. The scenery is packed with trick potential, almost bewilderingly so.
The new right stick trick controls feel more instinctive than the original games - though you can switch to classic controls - and the temptation is to over-rotate tricks from 'HUGE' to 'MASSIVE' ratings.
Sadly (ish), split-screen play and 3D have been removed, but SSX works both for dip-in, dip-out blasts of play, and for combo-based challenge, rich with exploration. Full review in a couple of weeks, but only a freak blizzard of disaster could temper our excitement now.
If there's no split screen I'll have to rethink getting this (or getting it new and full price at least). Without it I'll never have as much fun as classic SSX
Really disappointed with the omission of split-screen MP, me and my mates loved playing the original and Tricky this way. I also kinda miss the old properly designed race courses of those games too, Garibaldi being a personal fave.
I'm bitterly disappointed with the visuals of this game, fortunately it plays well so is still worthy of a purchase but I don't think it looks good at all. I'm not sure why C&VG are so impressed?
I wasn't expecting to see pop-up in the scenery and the lame graphics/animation of the woman doing 'karate' moves in the helicopter is terrible
Comments
5 comments so far...
corkscru74 on 19 Feb '12 said:
Ah what? No local multiplayer? Damnit Devs, some of us still have real friends you know!
Balladeer on 19 Feb '12 said:
On a gaming forum? Are you sure?
richard99 on 21 Feb '12 said:
If there's no split screen I'll have to rethink getting this (or getting it new and full price at least).
Without it I'll never have as much fun as classic SSX
ensabahnur on 22 Feb '12 said:
Really disappointed with the omission of split-screen MP, me and my mates loved playing the original and Tricky this way. I also kinda miss the old properly designed race courses of those games too, Garibaldi being a personal fave.
h15c0r3r on 25 Feb '12 said:
I'm bitterly disappointed with the visuals of this game, fortunately it plays well so is still worthy of a purchase but I don't think it looks good at all. I'm not sure why C&VG are so impressed?
I wasn't expecting to see pop-up in the scenery and the lame graphics/animation of the woman doing 'karate' moves in the helicopter is terrible