Genre: Sports
Developer: Electronic Arts Canada
Publisher: Electronic Arts

SSX takes supreme textures to another level: slicing through the various icy half-pipe sections with the colorful red and blue chevrons painted on them makes this game look like it's running on the PlayStation 3, so excellent is the artwork. The falling snow effect is likewise impressive, and the game's various player models are likewise colorful and interesting to look at, painting a nice contrast with the powder-white snow. The menus are oddly dim somehow, and the bubbly user interface is perhaps a bit noisy. But where it counts, SSX is one pretty game.

The instruction book indicates that the game's soundtrack is licensed, but it's nowhere near as interesting to listen to as, let's say, "Road Rash" on 3DO or "Tony Hawk's Pro Skater" on the original PlayStation; instead, it's this strange sort of muted techno, with one song running unremarkably right into the next. But that's ok, because the title's sound effects are positively incredible: each adjustment of the player's snowboard produces extraordinarily life-like, believable scuffing noises familiar to anyone who lives in a wintry climate.

SSX plays a bit like the aforementioned "Tony Hawk" titles, but going down steep, sometimes maze-like snow boarding slopes. Holding the "X" button for a time produces a proportionately-appropriate height jump, whereafter airborne tricks can be made with the analog stick or various trigger buttons in combination. There are even rails and fences which can be grinded upon. Holding up and down on the analog stick while steering left and right allows the player to slow down, speed up, and change directions either slowly or rapidly, all in an instantly second-nature kind of way.

The funnest part about SSX is its laid back career progression system. Races can be replayed repeatedly, and there is a progression system where the player can level up stats for any one, or even all of, the various selectable characters. Tracks, new snowboards, and new racer outfits are also unlocked as the player moves through the content. The tracks are also extremely nuanced, although the later ones become a bit too crazy and start to lose the game's essence. All-in-all, SSX is a meaty game and which shows off the brand new PlayStation 2's abilities.