SSX Tricky
EA Sports BIG
Platforms: PlayStation 2, GameCube, Xbox

SSX Tricky is a snowboarding race/trick game, a brilliant sequel to SSX. This game is just amazing. It combines the great elements of a racing game with those of a trick game, with two helpings of attitude and a touch of healthy rivalry.

There are two modes to the main part of the game: Showoff, where you perform tricks solo over the course of the track, and Race, where you…well…race against other boarders. When you do Showoff, the courses becomes littered with ramps and rails, giving you plenty of opportunities to trick out like crazy. During Race, you race the course three times (quarter-finals, semi-finals, and finals) against computer opponents – various other characters you can play. Each character has friends and enemies on the course, and you can make people less friendly towards you by shoving and knocking them down. But then, at least they’re out of your way for now :)

You have twelve (fictitious) characters to choose from for your snowboarding pleasure, each of them with more personality than a bad blind date. With an all-star cast doing voices - such as David Arquette, Billy Zane, Patricia Vasquez and Lucy Liu – and some of great writing talent, the attitude comes off brilliantly. The artists did great jobs on the look and movement of them, giving their vocal personality a great visual compliment. I can’t say enough about the character design. It brings a great flavor to the game.

But the game wouldn’t be much if it relied completely on its character designers. The course designers did a wonderful job if creating rich-detailed courses that will push you to the limits. Just like Cracker Jacks, each track has secret surprises – shortcuts, big air, rails, all the things that’ll make the extreme snowboarder in you squeal out in joy.

If you’ve played the first SSX, you’ll recognize names and faces in Tricky, but there’s plenty of new surprises to keep you on your toes. You might recognize some of the courses…at first. Give it a try on one of the newer consoles – you might just be blown away.

The game comes with DVD content – how the game was made, talking with the cast, standard “Making of…” fare, along with a jukebox containing every song from the game. There’s some great tunes on this game, and I was glad to see it available, not only to listen, but to know who the artist and what the song is so I know what to look out for in stores. Sure, it’s a marketing ploy, but it’s also great music.

There’s a lot more to write about, but if this piqued your interest in the game, stop reading and rent it. It’s a fun game, with plenty of attitude from the characters and fun, challenging courses.