SSX: On Tour offers just about enough to make it a valid purchase
Although I never gave into the craze that was the SSX franchise, on any platform, I was convinced by On Tour, for a number of reasons. I had though, before it's time, been occupied with Nintendo's 1080 Avalanche, which was severly under-rated. In comparison to that, SSX On Tour, is a new kind of snowboarding experience, both a good experience and bad.
From starting up SSX On Tour, you're to complete out a few menus customizing your own character to take you through the main campaign of the game, named the Tour. After doing so, you're launched into a race to the finish against Elise, where you'll be given a portion of the mountain to either ski or snowboard to the finish. After you'll be free to do whatever you may please. Quick Play offers every mission available, and location to 'free ride' down the mountain, which is essential for practicing (being a first timer myself), but leaves 20 minute mountain run, feeling shadow somewhat in the main game (There will be hardly any surprises).
For Quick Play, you can choose any of your custom characters from any profiles you have, or choose to play as other characters you'll face against and unlock in tour mode, but seems slightly pointless unless you're into playing against another friend via two controller multiplayer, or can't be bothered to upgrade your own character. Though, there are some secret characters to unlock by other means, and three are already available just for playing one match in tour mode; Mario, Luigi and Peach.
A new addition to the series, or any of the snowboarding titles this gen, is the ability to use skis. While they do offer some difference in gameplay, it isn't much and it almost feels like a shallow addition which could've been fleshed out more to utilize some gameplay difference and hence forth given some thought to strategy on the mountain. Since there isn't the ability to swap between board and ski in Tour mode, you're left without any hope of finding out the best way to accomplish certain goals, especially as in Quck Play mode, on free ride or an event, there seems to be different traffic (of other skiers and snowboarders) and weather environments.
The gameplay itself, both with a snowboard, or skis, is very solid and can accomodate a sense of freedom, and a quite smooth course along the mountain, or otherwise a rough, intense and fast ride. The mountain itself is very well crafted and is amazingly thought out to every detail to make you feel like you really are on some high slope down to the end, through different towns, forests, and rocky terrains. Though, in it's extremity and confinement to such a narrow track, it somehow feels restricted, and unreaslistic.
You'll often wipeout when you shouldn't have, and sometimes bump into an invisible barrior on a specific slope, but it seems to be random, and can test your skill ruthlessly, as you try to take on the challenges of the tour, and poor design from developers on some parts. The controls are slightly dissapointing in that you can't switch and choose certain actions for certain buttons or analog sticks etc... The D-pad is assigned spinning tricks, and can be quite awkward to pull off at times when trying to go for those high point tricks.
The graphics are great, in the GC version, I have NOT ever experienced any slow down, or rough edges or any issue in fact with the graphics. The whole mountain streams along without any pause, loading or anything noticable to show that it's loading whatever comes along next. The speed is emphasised in screen blurs and is quite an effective special effect, along with all the lights and fireworks going on around you. The lighting is very good, and the levels look great at night time (especially Nintendo Village). On a HD-TV, I noticed that changing the camera aspect can greatly change quality, from good to great and even better, and you can decide for yourselves what you are suited to. Using Letterbox though, on a HD-TV looked like the game was running in high definition.
The sound is very well put together and all the rock and heavy rock supports the new style of the game (in that all the menus and icons, and little things you see on your way are like the doodlings of some hyper-active punk-rock snow junkie). There doesn't seem to be enough variation in the music, and it really depends on your own tastes whether it would appeal to you or not.
All in all, SSX On Tour offers a hefty main campaign, with hundreds of ways to rise in the ranks of the snowboarders and skiers, but without online functionality, the main character building game feels a bit run short of it's potential.
You'll love On Tour, then sometimes you'll hate it, but always can admire it for what it is, and at least EA have offered up a game different from it's competition, but taking on a mountain wasn't nearly as exciting as I thought it would be...I think I'll get back to the avalanches on 1080 now.
Scale (1-10 of recommendation)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >8< 9 10
Got it for a bargain, you should too!