Run Dmc Tricky

SSX Tricky (GameCube) Review

Perfect powder

As you curl around a banked corner, the lip of a large ramp of snow appears in the distance and your mind begins to race at the possibilities for gnarliness that lie ahead. Slamming the boost and tucking your body forward, you scorch towards the precisely constructed mound, pre-winding your hands, arms and shoulders for maximum rotation upon lift off. As you get closer the brilliant white becomes horizontally streaked and blurred with red. The edge of the ramp screams ‘Jump!' And you obey. For a moment you are dancing in an ocean of blue nothingness, accompanied only by your board and the faint whistling of the wind.

This is SSX Tricky .

Released on November 30th in 2001 for the GameCube and other home systems of the time, this pseudo-sequel to the PlayStation 2 exclusive original is based on the snowboarding discipline known as Boardercross, created by Steve Rechtschaffner, the executive producer of the SSX series. With its roots in Motocross, Boardercross features multiple competitors on one course battling to the finish line, whereas competitive snowboarding traditionally focuses on time trials. Courses are also more elaborate, with gaps to cross and sharper turns to navigate; consequently these races are often high speed and full contact.

However, SSX Tricky is definitely an arcade orientated experience. While the DNA of the real life sport is present, its genes are woven with trick multipliers, speed boosts, wild personalities and wilder courses. Track design truly is unlike any other snowboarding title that came before. Multiple routes can be taken down the hill; some are short-cuts vital for first place finishes, some are more scenic and filled with big air opportunities for the trick focused Show Off Mode. Both racing and trick focused modes are simple affairs at their core. You're respectively challenged with either beating all competitors over three increasingly difficult races on the same track, or reaching a set number of points before reaching the finish.

Building upon this base is the inclusion of power-ups. In Show Off these consist of score multiplying Snow Flakes cunningly placed along risky but high scoring areas, coming in flavours or 2x, 3x and 5x multipliers. Grabbing these requires full mastery of the rider and board, as well as being intimately familiar with the courses. Understanding when and where big score opportunities will be coming up is crucial, as is settling into the very definite rhythm of each track. Misjudge a landing and you'll cripple your speed, potentially shutting off access to an area just up ahead that demands you approach it at full pelt. Consequently, you'll be forced to take an alternative route and must rapidly change your path down the slope, realigning yourself to the beats of this new heading.

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