So, SSX is back! Sort of. As one of my personal favorite franchises on the PlayStation 2, sitting alongside TimeSplitters as an early example of what Sony’s new machine could offer back in 2000, it’s long awaited return should be big news. But 10 years is a long time and much can change over the course of a decade.
Just how much can things change, exactly? It would seem quite abit. That most beloved arcade formula, with it’s vibrant visual style, over the top characters, imaginative track design, big scores and even bigger tricks, seems like a far and distant cry from what EA demonstrated at this weeks VGA ceremony.
Out goes the Tricky, in comes the Deadly Descents.
Incase you haven’t already seen it, the launch teaser trailer is now available for your visual consumption over at the the SSX: Deadly Descent official website. There’s also a description of what the new game will entail along with a small selection of handpicked photos.
The description reads:
“Players will explore the story of a team who seek to be the first to descend the faces of the most treacherous mountain ranges on the planet. The team will travel the world to face the worst that Mother Nature can throw at them. From the peaks of the Himalayas, where the air is so thin that riders have to descend through the death zone at breakneck speeds to keep from blacking out, to the solid ice ranges of Antarctica, where a sunlit line is the only survival option when temperatures drop 50 degrees centigrade in the shade.“
All sounds abit over dramatic to me. The site goes on:
“And the mountain isn’t the only danger players will face. In SSX: Deadly Descents the first goal is to survive. The second, in true SSX fashion, is to look good doing it.“
That’s where I start to worry. Over dramatic is fine, even if it all looks and sounds abit too Call of Duty, but that last sentence sounds so ridiculously tacked on. Big tricks and scores are part of SSX’s heart and soul. Infact, they’re the only reason it really exists as a franchise. I just wonder at this point how much emphasis will be placed on that when EA has you hurtling down a mountainside at death-defying speeds. Not quite sure where classic courses like Tokyo Megaplex or Merqury City Meltdown fit into all this, either.
Perhaps it’s just the likes of myself standing in the way of progression, or just being grumpy for the sake of it, but there’s very little about what EA have shown us so far that appeals to the parts of me that still hold the original game so dear. So what’s the point? But, as always, I guess we’ll see. These are early days. In the mean time, here’s some pictures from Call of SSX: Deadly Descents. Ahem.
Email the author of this post at matc@tap-repeatedly.com
You know, one of the parts I absolutely hated in Modern Warfare 2’s single player was that ice-climbing thing at the very beginning. This kinds of makes me think of it.
I was not a console lad when the original SSX came along, so I missed out on it. While it doesn’t seem like “my” kind of game, it’s one of those I always felt I should have played, like Space Channel Five and Jet Set Radio Future.
You know, this could be kinda cool. There are range of activities that really shouldn’t be done in the flesh. They are done in the flesh mostly (but of course, not exclusively) by young males because, well, I suppose mostly because sperm is cheap and they are as good a reproductive strategy as any. To my mind, auto racing is another of these activities as well as high altitude climbing.
Hard to believe I once had the skiing ability necessary to be asked to tag along on a trip such as this. Naturally, I refused to endanger my meatbag in such a endeavor Still, with graphics the way they are now, if you could really present the challenge properly I’d have no reservation about sending my avatar down there. None whatever.
Holy crap cakes Helmut, I see what you mean. Save your meatbag. I never thought I’d say that.
This move reminds me of Evolution Studios’ treatment of the Motor Storm franchise. I’ve only played Pacific Rift but the new Apocalypse seems a little… I dunno, desperate. The problem is when you’re trying to be extreme ALL THE TIME you’ve got to find new frontiers. I mean, when you’re on ten where can you go? They’ve had to leave it ten years because there’ll be nowhere to go after this one. Same goes for Motor Storm.
Jumping the shark springs to mind but that might be unfair and premature at this stage.
SWEET MOTHER OF…
Helmut, I am very glad you protected your meatbag. I want it to be me who destroys you utterly, not some terrifying mountain.
I used to ski. I was never very good at it but it’s fun. It’s kind of a pricey sport, though, and we’re not very mountainous where I am. Which is probably for the best because I’d’ve hurt myself.
Gregg said:
I mean, when you’re on ten where can you go?
You go up to ELEVEN.
I get vertigo just looking at that picture – I can see why you’d need a Helmut.
It’s hard to get enthused by any game that’s based on a sport, sorry. If they’re a sport, people should be out there playing it.
Of course, change that sport by involving hulking robots, blasters, wizards, and/or light discs, then I’m there!
Which reminds me, we need a new American Football (Gridiron) game with giant robots.
Listen to that sustain!
Jarrod, there’ve been many such games over the years. Robots, orcs, you name it.
Nail’d has the same vertigo but looking up. Played a bit with Ralph yesterday and the tracks look like you’ll be driving up a cliff face. Then you fly the ATV off the cliff and arcade steer in the air. All very silly fun–except for the part where Ralph mocked me for coming in a minute behind him. Every. Damn. Time.