`SSX 3:` Best snowboarding game ever

B6
LEISURE
www.FortHoodSentinel.com
November 13, 2014
Photos courtesy of ign.com
‘SSX 3:’ Best snowboarding game ever
BY CHRIS HAWKES
Commentary
As the temperatures begin to
plummet across Central Texas, I
suddenly find myself, like many
of my friends, wishing I could go
back to Colorado and hit
some runs on
a snowboard.
I
haven’t
been back in
a long time,
but a recent
conversation
with a friend reminded me of one
major way I could cope with my
time away from the mountains.
Snow blunders
My first snowboarding trip
was ages ago. At that time, there
were only four snowboaders on
the mountain (my brothers Matt,
Greg, my friend Chuck and me).
After the trip, many of us searched
for a snowboarding game that
simulated the thrill of riding down
the slopes. It was utterly disappointing initially. Snowboarding games were atrocious, and it
seemed like no game maker would
ever find the right formula for
avid boarders. But then came the
“SSX” (Snowboard Supercross)
franchise. I know there are a few
games in the series and while “SSX
Tricky” is arguably the most pop-
ular of the series, I’d rather focus
on the best, “SSX 3.”
Tricky, tricky
“SSX 3” expanded on the elements that made the previous
installments great: strong control
of your boarder, well-designed
levels, face-paced races and action,
and of course, a flurry of tricks to
pull off. This game is all about
linking enormous strings of tricks.
The four shoulder buttons each
perform a grab, but it doesn’t
stop there. Gamers can also link
combinations of buttons (even
pressing all four buttons) to perform more difficult feats. There is
also a tweak button that instantly
changes a trick, slightly boosting
your score. Also by holding essentially the “jump” button down
before hitting a cliff and twisting
left, right, back or front, players can add flips and spins to
their arsenal. Finally, each of the
personas you can select gets a
character-specific uber trick which
is performed after building up a
trick meter (and not crashing).
Open mountain
At the start of every session,
players are dropped off via helicopter at the top of the mountain. From here, gamers can pretty
much venture anywhere on the
mountain – downhill of course.
There are many events that range
from racing other boarders to testing your skills on a half pipe. Yet,
the freedom to pick and choose
what contests to compete in is
directly up to the boarder. In fact,
you can just goof off and ride
down the entire mountain if you
feel like it (which is much more
enjoyable than you might think).
In a way, this makes it feel more
like real snowboarding. You get
off the lift, you go on a few runs
and when you reach the bottom
you go back up to the top.
It’s true that the majority of
the tricks characters perform
are physically impossible. For
instance, for his uber move, Pysmon Stark detaches his snowboard from his feet and spins it
around his head like a helicopter,
twisting and turning in the air,
and then straps it back onto his
feet before landing uninhibitedly.
In reality, there is no way that
any snowboarder can unstrap his
feet from his board while riding, much less fly through mid
air. A snowboard is not a skateboard, but the lack of realism is
completely forgivable because the
tradeoff makes the game extremely fun.
THURSDAY
Big Hero 6, PG, 7 p.m., (4*)
FRIDAY
Addicted, R, 7 p.m., (2*)
SATURDAY
Big Hero 6 3D, PG, 2 p.m., (3*)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, PG-13, 6 p.m., $1.00 for
everyone
SUNDAY
Big Hero 6, PG, 2 p.m., (3*)
Alexander and the Terrible,
Horrible, No Good, Very Bad
Day, PG, 6 p.m., (2*)
Incentives to keep riding
If you grab a buddy, it only gets
better. It’s surprising how competitive things can get. A simple
game can become an epic battle to
land the most complicated tricks
and tally the highest score.
Players can also customize their
character with an assortment of
new gear and equipment. In fact,
dressing up your character can
become quite time consuming.
Finally, the soundtrack on “SSX
3” is one of the strongest ever.
Listening to Robert Miles’ “Children” during a snowstorm, flying
off a cliff, spinning and stringing
dozens of tricks will only motivate
you to keep cruising down the
mountain.
MONDAY
Closed
TUESDAY
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