SSX 3 is probably the best SSX game out there and also the best snowboarding game period. The tricks, though some of them are impossible, are always fun to watch and the graphics are sound and right on. But perfect, well, I think not. Graphics: 9.5/10 The graphics are very nice and all of the players and animations are smooth and lifelike. The backgrounds, the environment and the small details were all taken into account during the making of SSX 3 and every thing looks, pretty much, true to life. Except for all good, there is an evil. Sometimes the graphics will glitch and you will go through something or go somewhere that you did not intend to go or should not be able to go through. For instance, you will no doubt be playing the game and at least once (and probably more) the following will happen. Uh-Oh looks like I am coming up on a giant brick wall or chain link fence you think to yourself, I better turn out of the way. Well to bad the wall is to big to jump over and to wide to go around and even if there was a way to go around you would not want to because you would no doubt fall behind in the race. But wait there’s more you come up to the fence and suddenly, as if by magic, you go straight through it like it was never there. This has happened to me but it happens very infrequently and is not something you should worry or care about in making a decision to buy this game. The snow also looks very nice and will spray powder very realistically and you can even leave snowboard tracks in the snow. So to put it simply, getting past the occasional errors, the graphics are pretty darn good. Sound: 10/10 Wow, this sound is awesome. First of all the sound track is awesome with songs from actual people you have heard of, which I think is a pretty rare thing in games these days, so you get Fatboy Slim, The Black Eyed Peas and N.E.R.D. If you are a grumpy old man who can’t stand to listen to the new-age hip hop imbeciles than good news everyone (Futurama reference) you can create a custom soundtrack so you only have to listen to the songs you like and you can also turn off that annoying yammering DJ in the background who yes, can get a tad annoying but he stays out of the way most of the time. If you don’t like any music at all than you can turn on the natural sounds to relax you while you snowboard. But I like the music. The sound effects are also right on key and sound what they should sound like and make noise when they should make noise. The things that the characters say to each other are fun to listen to but if I was one of those 250-pound brutes like Luther and some little butthead like Mac was telling me that my snowboarding sucks than I would punch him hard in the stomach. If I wasn’t so lazy (another Futurama reference sorry). The voice acting was good for the most part but some of the voices of some of the girls are high and annoying and sound like those radio commercials where two annoying people yammer back and forth about the product they’re selling. Except those annoying voices of some people I won’t say any names cough cough Kaori cough cough are talking about how much the other guy stinks at snowboarding. Gameplay: 9.5/10 The game is broken up into 3 basic sections, which are Race, Freestyle and Freeride. Race is race and if you need me to explain what you do in race mode please visit your local mental hospital first and then get back to me. Next we have Freestyle where you go down the course/mountain and do tricks to rack up as many points as possible. And finally, Freeride is where you choose where you want to go on the mountain and you are then deposited there to do basically whatever you really feel like. It is kind of like GTA except on a snowboard and without weapons, well except your fists. As you go down the hill there are mini challenges that you can participate in. These challenges, although short in length, can be very difficult and have I wide range which goes from get down the mountain without falling to collect the 8 objects along the way down the mountain. There is also a multiplayer mode which is okay except only two people can play at once WTF how come you can’t play four player? The tricks are easy and fun to do especially the Uber tricks and in single player mode you can stop by at the lodge to buy tricks, clothes, toys, posters and much more. Although that stuff is good there is a little bit of bad. For instance it is hard to figure out, sometimes if you can or cannot go to a certain place. If it ends up you can’t go there you will be reset back on track but you may have fallen behind in your race by then. You can also get caught in the virtual world’s loopholes so you can’t move and everybody will pass you. That stuff can be a pain but it happens rarely. Buy, Rent or sell to black market for 50 cents If you even remotely liked the previous SSX games at all or are interested in starting then buy, buy, buy. If you have never ever played before rent and see how you like it but I can almost guarantee to will like it.
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