Souless Super Cross
SSX is the fifth installment in the ongoing extreme sport series. Yes, there are actually six games but the developers have decided that the Wii release SSX Blur doesn't count in the main series. The original was a very early PS2 game. The series reached it's zenith with it's sequel, SSX Tricky, and has since been been slowly fumbling with it's identity. This new title for 2012 is a "reboot" of the series which hopes to address new audience's tastes while drawing in long-term fans of the series.
Graphically, the PS3 and 360 versions are near identical. They both run at a healthy 30 fps without any perceptible lag. The colors and detail are also identical. I did a large number of screen swaps and the only way I could differentiate the two versions were when there were button prompts on the screen. Graphically, both versions tie.
For sound, we see the normal split in hardware capabilities. While the 360 features DD5.1 the PS3 version is capable of up to 5.1 PCM. The sound is just slightly crisper and more aggressive in the PS3 version. So soundwise, the PS3 version is the winner.
As far as controller response is concerned, both versions match each other equally. The normally large deadzone of the PS3 controller has been shrunk so both versions behave the same. If anything, the right stick might be a little too sensitive since I found myself jumping instead of performing tricks on a fair number of occasions.
It should be noted that, in North America at least, the PS3 version features an exclusive track not available on the 360 until August. Those outside of this territory are not under the same restriction as the Mt. Fuji track is available on both systems in the EU.
That being said, the PS3 wins the gameplay category simply by virtue of it's additional content. If you're outside of North America, though, it will simply be a matter of which controller you prefer to use. You will get the same experiences on both platforms.
With that out of the way, I can't really recommend this game as a new purchase. There are a number of issues I have with this reboot's philosophy which I feel has further hurt the franchise. I had thought SSX was just beginning to find it's way again with the release of the excellent SSX Blur. Obviously, that was a creative offshoot and the main developers have decided to remove themselves from that tangent of progress.
The main deterrent that undermines in the experience is the focus on more realism. You're still performing outrageous tricks and jumping across great chasms but now all of the colorful cast of characters have been reduced to shallow cardboard cut-outs. Even the design of the outfits, which used to feature brilliant colors, have been toned downed and look like ordinary clothing. The sparkling colors and glints of light on the snow have been sapped of all their brightness replaced with dull blues and greys.
The "Deadly Descent" courses which were originally the main feature of this new game are all complete failures of fun. The main theme for all these events is to put as many unseeable obsticles in a player's way forcing memorization instead of creativity. One moment, you're going quickly down a course filled with trees which you can't see, then you're traveling though nighttime tunnels you can't see, and then jumping over bottomless pits that you can't see. With all the technology at our fingertips, this new SSX team has decided the best gameplay elements to add would be to obscure our vision. It was understandable in the PS1 and N64 days where the hardware wasn't capable of rendering very far but these machines do not have those limits. It's a distinctive turn in level design that didn't exist in all previous entries of the series.
The World Tour mode is basically an advanced tutorial. Completing this mode will unlock all the characters (if you can call them that) along with some important items that may or may not be required for various courses. This mode, though, is the very anti-thesis of fun. The numerous bottomless pits and limited vision courses begin to claw at your patience and the game's "rewind" feature is useless. Rewinding during trick events will halve your score (thereby, undermining it's use) and rewinding during a race doesn't affect the other racers. That's right. While you are rewinding from trying to jump across a bottomless pit you couldn't see the other racers are still racing past you. In the end, you'll end up using the restart feature since rewinding offers no benefits.
Ultimately, it's the realistic elements which have continuously hurt the series since SSX Tricky. I had originally thought they were coming back to the more saccharine, fun atmosphere after the release of SSX Blur. However, less wise decision-makers have prevailed making this game a mere husk of what it could have been. Even though SSX Blur isn't even considered a cannon game it still manages to ski circles around this new "better" reboot. I'd suggest players find an old copy of Blur and ignore this new title completely until someone can talk some sense into EA.
