SSX (2012 video game)

SSX is a snowboarding video game in the SSX series of video games from Electronic Arts. First revealed at the Spike Video Game Awards in 2010 under the working title SSX: Deadly Descents, the game's trailer appeared to show a much darker direction to the series than previous entries, though later footage revealed a return to a lighter tone. SSX includes the use of real locations, rather than the fictional courses of past games. An SSX demo launched on February 21, 2012 on Xbox Live and a day later on PlayStation Network.
==Gameplay==
In SSX, players take on the role of a member of a team seeking to snowboard down a variety of real-world mountains, such as in the Himalayas and the Antarctic. Gameplay includes helicopter drops, avalanches, and the use of wingsuits.
The mapping and level design for SSX will be different from previous entries in the franchise, featuring more open world gameplay and fewer barriers or invisible walls. EA Canada used geotagging data borrowed from NASA to generate 28 mountains from about nine existing mountain ranges around the world. This data was only used as the basis for the level design, and the developers created their own terrain on top of it. Players will be able to use helicopters to travel to various locations on the individual mountains. The game features mountains from the Canadian Rockies, Alaska, Patagonia, Antarctica, the Alps, Africa, the Himalayas, Siberia, Japan, and New Zealand.
Footage released on June 5, 2011 showed pre-alpha gameplay. Appearing in this and subsequent footage were helicopters, objectives, a new turquoise user interface, much more extensive maps (with increased graphical innovations such as improved shadowing and snow-spray), the return of the "combo" system allowing the build-up of trick points, commentary, dialogue, races, trick point competitions and graffiti.
While all mountains are available in regions outside of North America at release, Mt. Fuji will be exclusive content only on the PlayStation 3 in North America, and a pre-order exclusive in the United Kingdom.
The game includes an online pass, but EA will take an approach similar to Homefront. While access to online multiplayer will not be restricted, players will not receive any credits for their online performances on Global Events without the online pass.
==Characters==
Original SSX character Elise Riggs was the first to be revealed, on May 27, 2011 via a comic strip along with a short gameplay video. Mackenzie "Mac" Fraser, Kaori Nishidake, Moby Jones, Psymon Stark, Zoe Payne, Griff Simmons, and Eddie Wachowski (pre-order bonus from GameStop) will also appear in the game. New characters include Tane Mumea, Alex Moreau, and Ty Thorsen. On November 8th, it was announced on Conan O'Brien that Travis Rice would be a playable character in the game. On May 27, 2011, EA Sports released a comic strip on the character Elise, and has continued to release more comics on returning characters based on time or the amount of likes the EA Sports SSX page earns on social networking website Facebook.
==Mountains==
*Africa - Kilimanjaro, Mawenzi and Mount Meru
*Alaska - Denali (Mount McKinley), Mount Foraker and Silverthrone
*Alps - Grand Golliat, Mount Blanc and Vorassay
*Antarctica - Mount Craddock, Mount Slaughter and Vinson Massif
*Himalayas - Chomo Lonzo, Lhotse, Makalu and the iconic Mount Everest
*Japan - Mount Fuji (currently exclusive for PlayStation 3)
*New Zealand - Aoraki (Mount Cook), Mount Tasman and Mount Wakefield
*Patagonia - Cerro Pollone, Cerro Torre and Fitz Roy
*Rockies - Extinguisher Tower, Mount Robson and Whitehorn Mountain
*Siberia - Boris, Kara-Oiuk and Mount Belukha East
===Runs===
*Whitehorn Mountain (EVENT)
**JT2
**Curnoe's Moustache
*Extinguisher Tower (BACKCOUNTRY)
**Wrecking Crew
**The Dagger
**Broken Tooth
*Mount Robson (DEADLY DESCENT)(TREES)
**Intrepid
*Boris (EVENT)
**Vapor Trail
**The Big Show
**Diamond Back
*Kara-Oiuk (BACKCOUNTRY)
**Critical Mass
**Don't Make Me
*Mount Belukha East (DEADLY DESCENT)(ICE)
**Punch Up
*Cerro Pollone (EVENT)
**Blackbox
**Majestic
**Salient
**Weirdsville
*Cerro Torre (BACKCOUNTRY)
**Last Call
**Vengeance
**Code Blue
*Fitz Roy (DEADLY DESCENT)(GRAVITY)
**Broken Elbow
*Makalu (EVENT)
**Serenity
**Trickypedia
**Fast Forward
*Lhotse (EVENT)
**Death Zone
*Chomo Lonzo (BACKCOUNTRY)
**Fall from Grace
**The Monster
**Bear Claw
*Mount Everest (DEADLY DESCENT)(THIN AIR)
**Burnout
*Silverthrone (EVENT)
**Unsanctioned
**Pan
**Old School
*Mount Foraker (BACKCOUNTRY)
**The Dilemma
**Invincible
**Lock Jaw (SSX 3's Happiness)
*Denali (DEADLY DESCENT)(AVALANCHE)
**Emergency Exit
*Vinson Massif (EVENT)
**Off the Grid
**Evil Genius
**Rolling Thunder
*Mount Craddock (BACKCOUNTRY)
**Long Horn
**Headshot
**Root Down
*Mount Slaughter (DEADLY DESCENT)(COLD)
**Dreadnought
*Meru (EVENT)
**Corkscrew
**Red Light
*Mawenzi (BACKCOUNTRY)
**Hush
**Incoming
*Kilimanjaro (DEADLY DESCENT)(DARKNESS)
**Snake Bite
*Vorassay (EVENT)
**The Hammer
**Beyond the Fall
**Broken Pass
*Grand Golliat (BACKCOUNTRY)
**One Step Ahead
**Hard Currency
**Sentinel
*Mont Blanc (DEADLY DESCENT)(ROCKS)
**One Way Ticket
*Mount Wakefield (EVENT)
**Mornin' Tiger
**Bulldog
**Zombies with Jetpacks
**Last to Hit
*Mount Tasman (BACKCOUNTRY)
**Jack-Knife
**Thunderbird
**Buckeye
*Aoraki (DEADLY DESCENT)(WHITEOUT)
**Route Zero
*Mount Fuji (EVENT)
**Home Run
**99 Assassins
**Area Zero
==Soundtrack==
The soundtrack will feature a large amount of tracks spanning different genres. During IGN's live demo, one of the developers revealed that they may include Run-D.M.C.'s "It's Tricky" remixed by Pretty Lights from SSX Tricky to "make the fans happy." "Kusha Las Payas" by Spanish girl group Las Ketchup will be featured in the game, but only for Spain. The game introduces a new remixing technology known as "Harmony" that can dynamically remix any song during gameplay, including custom soundtracks. On Tuesday, February 7, 2012 EA Sports revealed the full soundtrack on their Facebook page. They later commented that Flux Pavillion - I Can't Stop was accidentally excluded from the list.
===Songs===
*Run-D.M.C. - "It's Tricky" (Pretty Lights Remix)
*Pretty Lights - "Hot Like Dimes"
*Las Ketchup - "Kusha Las Payas" (Spain only)
*The Qemists - "Lifeline"
*The Naked and Famous - "Young Blood"
*Noisia - "Could This Be"
*DJ Shadow - "I Gotta Rokk" (Irn Mnky Swagger Mix)
*Camo & Krooked - "Portal"
*Flux Pavilion - "I Can't Stop"
*Two Door Cinema Club - "Something Good Can Work" (The Twelves Remix)
*Handsome Furs - "Damage"
*Theophilus London - "I Stand Alone (Ocelot Remix)"
*Nero - "Scorpions"
*The Herbaliser - "What You Asked For"
*Foster the People - "Houdini"
*Felguk feat. Example - "Plastic Smile"
*Skrillex feat. Foreign Beggars & Bare Noize - "Scatta"
*Dels feat. Joe Goddard and Roots Manuva - "Capsize"
*The Qemists - "Stompbox (Spor Remix)"
*Konrad Old Money - "Big Error"
*Wretch 32 - "Traktor"
*Turbowolf - "A Rose for The Crows"
*TRS-80 - "Mirage"
*Raffertie - "Twitch (It Grows and Grows)"
*The Qemists - "Deadly Rocks"
*The Qemists - "People's Air"
*The Qemists - "People's Gravity"
*The Qemists feat. Kellermensch - "Bones"
*Camo & Krooked - "Final Destination"
*Camo & Krooked - "Heat"
*Camo & Krooked - "The Grid"
*Camo & Krooked - "Breezeblock"
*Amon Tobin - "Clear Skys"
*Raffertie - "Altitude"
*Raffertie - "Siberia"
*Raffertie - "Snowfall"
*Digitalism - "Blitz"
*Hyper - "Accelerate"
*The Big Pink - "Stay Gold"
*The Hives - "1000 Answers"
*The Prototypes - "Your Future"
*Kid Digital feat. Profit - "Done With That"
*Noisia - "Machine Gun"
*Styrofoam Ones - "Better"
*Zion I And The Grouch - "Drop It On The 1"
*J Boogie's Dubtronic Science feat. Alma the Dreamer, Cait La Dee and Raashan Ahmed - "Magik" (Egyptian Lover Remix)
*Lateef the Truthspeaker feat. Del the Funky Homosapien and The Grouch - "Oakland"
==Reception==
SSX received generally positive reviews by a majority of critics, with a Metacritic score of 82 and 81 for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions respectively, signifying "generally favorable reviews". IGN gave SSX a score of 9/10 in their review, stating "SSX is the video game this generation has been missing." Reviews praised the new entry for the motivation behind its development; Eurogamer stated that "few series have enjoyed such an assured and enjoyable update in the current generation of consoles", noting it was far from being "a weary evolution", while IGN remarked that "this is what happens when you don't just put the game out every year". However, Edge gave the game a 5/10, stating that SSX "has found a worthy infrastructure to establish an online community, but this same approach has found the brand veering away from some of the fun...of yesteryear, leaving its more seductive silly side out in the cold."
==Downloadable Content==
On April 3, 2012, EA released two more characters to the SSX franchise, Eddie Watchowski and Travis Rice, which were previously only available with pre-orders of the game, and limited Facebook app codes, respectively.
On May 1, 2012, EA released content entitled "Mount Eddie & Classic Characters Pack" to Xbox Live and PlayStation Network. The DLC contains seven characters from SSX Tricky and SSX 3, three songs from the previous games, and a new mountain. The mountain, named "Mount Eddie", contains several elements reminiscent of the previous games, including large jumps, halfpipes, fireworks, billboards, and an overall colorful environment.
==Links==
*Official SSX Site
*World's First SSX-only social network from the Isle of Man
*"SSX Xbox 360".
*"Gamers Xtreme "SSX" Review".
*"SSX Review".
Category:2012 video games
Category:Most Wanted Games