SSX On Tour is the fourth game in EA’s snowboarding series and it is arguably the best of the bunch. The level designs are better, the controls are tighter, the sense of speed is better, and the overall presentation is very, very slick. There isn’t any online play, which is disappointing, but what is here is pretty darn good and there is more than enough to keep you busy for days. SSX On Tour is definitely worth picking up.
Gameplay
Unlike some other “x-treme” sports games, SSX is a racer at its core but you also have a huge bag of tricks you can pull off when you’re flying through the air with the greatest of ease. In SSX you earn boost as you perform smaller tricks which you can then use to either pull off bigger and higher point earning tricks or you can use the boost to just get down the mountain faster. You can also jump onto rails and grind them as part of a larger combo of tricks. The controls are fairly intuitive and if you have played a Tony Hawk’s game in the past six years you should be able to pick up SSX just fine. The main difference here is that you pull off tricks with the left stick and can then tweak them and turn them into new tricks by pressing a button or two. This is another one of those games that is easy to learn and tough to master, but it is satisfying and fun all the way through. A bit new addition to SSX On Tour is that you can choose to use a snowboard or skis. Strapping on a pair of skis give you some new tricks, but the controls and overall feel don’t really change.
On Tour Mode
The single player game is made up of a tour mode where you create a character and then try to make your way up from the bunny hill to a snow shredding mega star. Events include races, trick events, and slope style events (a 50/50 race and trick mix) that have been a staple of the SSX games, but On Tour has some new tricks up its sleeves. Other events require you to score a certain number of trick points on a limited number of jumps, get a set amount of airtime before you reach the bottom of the mountain, grind rails for a specific amount of time, and other have you collecting a set number of items. Another great event challenges you to try not to touch the snow at all and you have to try and make it to the bottom by grinding and getting big airs before a timer that counts down your time spent on the snow reaches zero. All of these events make the game really varied and a ton of fun to play. You are constantly opening up new levels and earning new characters and it is just a really enjoyable experience overall.
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