SSX: On Tour
| Developer: EA Canada | Publisher: EA Sports BIG |
| Release Date: October 6, 2005 | Also On: GCN, PS2, & Xbox |
I was never the biggest SSX fan. Ever since its release on the PlayStation 2 in 2000, I've usually preferred the Xbox snowboarding title Amped over the SSX series. With this year's edition, On Tour, I was completely taken aback and I was even more surprised to find that EA Sports BIG was putting together a PSP version. After a lot of time with the game, I'm happy to have played it, and they've has made a fan out of me.
EA Sports BIG puts almost all of the game's emphasis on the gameplay mode known as "The Tour". What this is is essentially a big setup of events that you go through on snowboards or even skis. For the most part, each event is a challenge to earn the most points or the best time on each of the different slopes, but there are different types of events that differentiate them all. For example, on one time attack you might be trying to beat CPU opponents in the best-of-two category, but in another, you might be going in an elimination-style challenge. What this really comes down to is that you have to get progressively better and better, because the goal of The Tour is to earn gold medals and take the top ranking on the leaderboard. Of course, this isn't the only feature in SSX--there are multiplayer modes available with the PSP's WiFi Ad Hoc mode, and there is a mode titled "Challenges" that simply gives the player a difficult goal to complete on any of the unlocked levels from The Tour.
To keep The Tour relatively handheld-friendly, EA Sports BIG made an option on the main menu called "Now" that takes you to a random Tour-related event that you haven't yet completed or earned a Gold medal. The load times aren't too long, but they aren't the shortest on the PSP, so this "Now" feature helps clear up menu-surfing for players who just want to have a quick session. I didn't mind menu-surfing with this game, because EA Sports BIG made an interesting presentation with their quirky art style that consists of funny sketches of animals and snowboarders as well as completely random things like symbols and such. It looks just like someone's virtual sketchbook on every loading and menu screen.
The art design isn't the only thing that looks good--as a whole, SSX On Tour is one of the best-looking PSP titles. Effects like wind and blowing snow really flesh out the slopes, which are detailed with all sorts of plants, rails, and lights as well. The music selection is also much better than the rest of EA's handheld games have had in the past, and ranges from rock to rap to techno.
There is one complaint that I have with SSX On Tour, and it's something I've always had with the series. For the first hour or two of my experience playing On Tour, the controls had my fingers in an all-out confusion until I really got into The Tour. Even when the controls became a second nature to me, the difficulty of the game is pretty high on its own. Really, the game just forces perfection--and once it's achieved, this complaint disappears.
Simply put, this is one of the better games EA Sports BIG has ported to the PSP. I think they've done an all-around solid job with all of their three or four games on the PSP, but on its own, SSX On Tour is just a great game. It's fun, it's fast, and it's a challenge that you won't want to miss. Check it out. Even though it's a strange $10 more than the console version, it's still worth the extra cash to take around with you.
| Graphics: | 8.5 |
| Sound: | 8 |
| Gameplay: | 9 |
| Creativity: | 8 |
| Replay Value/Game Length: | 8.5 |
| Final: | 8.5 |
| Written by Cliff | Review Guide |
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