04-13-2007, 06:28 PM
SSX Blur
For the Nintendo Wii
Rated E for Everyone
Hey there SSX super fans, this is DJ Alex, giving you the entire scoop on the action up on the slopes! DJ Alex talking to ya from Alex51011’s Reviews! Let’s hit the slope!
Hey everyone! I know I haven’t done a review for sometime but I’m living up to my promise to you guys and here’s a review of SSX Blur!
This game will have you shredding the slopes as you work your way up to being the number one boarder on the hills!
In SSX there really isn’t much of a story and they didn’t really try to implement one, as well they didn’t have to. So I decide it would be smart to simply review the ‘mode’ that you play in.
SSX has a main mode which you have to play a bunch of different events on 3 different hills. But to unlock these hills you first have to compete, and win a series of tournaments to unlock the various mountains. Now to top it all off there’s a leader board. With the leader board you gain points for how well you do in the individual competitions and tournaments.
The leader board game is incredibly annoying as, say you want to quit an event because you have to go. Well if you do be ready to get bumped down on the leader board. As you will still get the points and you will be awarded a position for the event you just did. Plus the other characters will get points; putting you even farther away from your goal.
Now there are quite a few courses and challenges for you to do on each of the three mountains. There are things like slalom, free style, race, slope style, half pipe, ext… Each one offers a new challenge. Some are better then others, but I’ll go into detail with that a little later.
Frankly like I stated a few paragraphs up there isn’t really a story, it’s simply a gameplay mode; a mode that is very fun and puts its point across/ I think that if they actually had made a story it could possibly have hindered the experience, and we don’t want that!
SSX has some very nice visuals, they used a cartoon like design that looks very nice and I think fits well with the game. The characters look slightly exaggerated with their body form but it suits it and gives the game its own style.
They also have beautiful environments, when looking into the distance you can see great distances that look great all covered in snow. Speaking of snow, when your character is snowboarding and enters deep snow you can see his trail as he goes along. It looks magnificent just like when you crash. When you do crash you’ll get covered in snow but your character will brush it off.
Now the game at times will be going incredibly fast as you whiz be the competition, yet the game still holds up and really makes you feel like your speeding down the hill. On the flipside there’s times when everything slows down while doing ubertricks. Frankly it looks wonderful.
I think EA really put there time and effort into making this game look great, and it really pay’s off. You will find that the game looks superb and you will love every second of animation that the game throws at you.
This game packs some awesome gameplay and presents it to you with elegance. Like I promised you earlier, I’m going to delve deeper into the challenges in this section of my review.
First off there’s the good old simple racing. Racing is pretty much all about getting down to the bottom of the hill quicker then your opponents, while pulling off tricks to raise your adrenaline for some well deserved speed boosts that will help you get ahead of the competition. This mode is done well and can be very challenging but each one of the courses will have shortcuts for you to plow your way through.
Then there’s Slopestyle, Slopestyle is basically a freestyle event were you try and find the best possible line to take for your abilities and pull off the most tricks before you reach the bottom. In Slopestyle there is no pre-destined course for you to take, you simply go right down the hill and take whatever route you think is the best for you. This event is probably my favorite as you simply find your favorite line and do it. Tons of fun and will keep you entertained.
The Half-Pipe event is exactly what it states. You go down into a Half-Pipe and are requested to get as many points as you can before the time is up. There’s not much more to it, although you do have to cross a finish line before the time limit runs out as well. It’s fun, but can get frustrating when you loose momentum and are trying to get up the side of the Half-Pipe.
Big Air is literally, big air. You have to get a certain amount of points in a short distance but you have the assistance of large jumps which is why it’s called Big Air. This one is alright but frankly it ends quickly and you really just need to practice it a couple times and then you can get it down packed; easily getting the highest score that you can get.
Slalom, Slalom, Slalom; my least favorite and most challenging event. Basically you have to go around the flags that are set up on the course in a certain time. Get the best time you win. Sounds simple enough, right? Wrong. Slalom is incredibly difficult and to make matters worse you usually have to complete a Slalom event in tournaments to unlock other hills. It sucks and sometimes you’ll feel like you just can’t turn your character well enough. Although it has nothing to do with the new control setup it just doesn’t seem to work well enough.
Then there’s Freeride which isn’t an event and is simply a chance for you to practice on the hill of your choice. When it comes down to it the gameplay events are incredibly fun; with the exception of Slalom. You’ll be spending a lot of time on these events as they are incredibly difficult but satisfying none the less.
SSX Blur controls incredibly well. You use the nunchuk attachment to steer by simply tilting it side to side and manipulating the analog stick. This feels great and is just what this series needed. Basically the nunchuk is used for most of the things on the ground. While the Wii-Remote controls your in air tricks.
Everything from flicking the Wii-Remote up to do a back flip, from throwing a snowball by holding B and quickly flicking the Wii-Remote feels great! After playing the game I don’t think I would ever want to use a normal controller to play SSX again and makes me wonder, how did they do it again?
One problem though is the Ubertricks. They don’t always work when trying to pull them off, it’s a slight flaw that should have been tweaked a little. But that’s now to say that you can’t do Ubertricks what so ever. There still doable, it just takes some serious practices.
SSX’s music is basically techno which speeds up and gets more intense depending on how well you do and how fast you’re going. The music may not be outstanding but it fits perfectly with the game. When you crash it’ll stop and as you start going again the music will start back up, which is a really cool effect.
Also the game has some great sound effects, when carving in the snow you’ll hear a satisfying crunching noise. Also you can hear your points go up which sounds very nice as well. Most of the sound effects are splendidly done.
If you’re looking to get a great game and are one of the hardcore gamers then I suggest getting this game. Be warned if you’re only a casual gamer you won’t enjoy this as it’s very difficult. But again if you’re hardcore you’ll enjoy this A LOT.
This game is also pretty long and should keep you entertained for quite a while. Also with a multiplayer aspect you’ll probably be playing this game over, and over again. For the amount of hours in this game, well I played it for quite a while and would say that you could easily rack up perhaps 10-20 hours of normal gameplay.
Story-8/10
-The game really doesn’t have a story but the main mode is fun.
Visuals-8.5/10
-The visuals may not be astonishing but they fit perfectly with the games design.
Gameplay-9/10
-Is for the most part great, some things are flawed though.
Controls-9/10
-Most things work, but there is some trouble with Ubers.
Audio-8.5/10
-Songs fit well with the game and the sound effects are great.
Value and Replay Value-8.5/10
-Some replay value, and is worth your money if you’re a hardcore gamer.
Overall-8.8/10
(Not an Average)
I hoped you guys enjoyed another one of my reviews and hope you look forward to my next review of ‘The Godfather: Blackhand Edition’
-Alex51011
