GBAtemp Recommends #108: SSX 3
This entry, I’ll be discussing a sports title, but not just your average sports game. Let’s look to the snowy mountain peaks for some wild snowboarding action, because it’s time for: SSX 3.
Originally, the SSX (Snowboard Supercross) series debuted as a Playstation 2 exclusive in the year 2000. Riding on the hype wave of the recent Tony Hawk: Pro Skater franchise, EA’s fledgling snowboard game garnered critical acclaim. But it wasn’t until the 3rd entry, released on Nintendo Gamecube, Microsoft Xbox, and Playstation 2 in 2003, that the series really took the critics by (snow)storm.
Somewhere, on a fictitious mountain, snowboarders are competing in order to win the SSX championship. There are 19 different characters that you can play as, ranging from new rookie boarders, to veterans from previous SSX games, and even wacky “cheat” characters where you can choose to play as a beaver, and even crazier, as a yeti.
Your goal is to “conquer the mountain”, and you do so by taking on freestyle challenges and races in order to obtain medals. Winning will slowly advance you up the three peaks of the mountain, towards the top where your goal awaits. Each peak will get progressively more difficult, starting with clear blue skies and simple courses, and ending with many out-of-bounds chasms to fall into, tons of obstacles to avoid, and ridiculous slopes to traverse.
Gameplay is simple at first, and the game is quite lenient at the start, letting you get a feel for the smooth, responsive controls of your character. You can pull off a multitude of tricks which all have animations that are fun to watch. There’s a great sense of satisfaction from blasting down a course, racking up a huge combo, and doing “Super Uber” tricks all over the place. The camera in this game is fantastic, managing to pan and zoom at just the right angles in order to make everything, from your tricks, to the vertigo-inducing drops, intense. In events like Races and Superpipe, you’ll have to pay full attention to make sure that you get a gold medal. However, if you want to take it easy and just explore the mountain at your leisure, SSX 3 offers that option as well. There’s a lot of fun to be had from just slowly making your way down, collecting glowing Snowflakes for money and just getting used to the course.
Another great addition to this game is its soundtrack. There’s a lot of catchy early-00’s licensed punk and rap songs. These tracks are full of energy, and really get you in the mood to to play the game. It also helps that they’re able to be listened to a dozen times in a row, as you fight your way for a gold medal on the crushingly difficult Peak 3 courses.
Despite being 13 years old, SSX 3’s graphics still hold up. Though it doesn’t compare to later HD entries, the visuals are nice here, and the game has good draw distance, letting you see everything in all the detail you need to, in order to avoid upcoming trees and cliffs.
The thrill and rush from playing SSX 3 is awesome. This game just has so much charm, exploration to be had, and well-designed courses to play over and over again. Even if you don’t tend to like sports games, I more than recommend that you give this one a try.
Genre: Sports/Racing
Release Year: 2003
Developer: EA Canada
Published By: EA Sports BIG
Released For: Playstation 2, Microsoft Xbox, Nintendo Gamecube, Nintendo Game Boy Advance
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