There hasn’t been an SSX game for the consoles this generation (unless you count SSX Blur for the Wii), but after trying the Pure demo on XBLM today, this is the closest game I’ve played in terms of gameplay.
Tom also said as much on Fidgit today, and I didn’t really believe it, but I have to admit, the game plays very similar to SSX, even though you’re driving around in an ATV instead of snowboarding. You still crouch and jump right before the top of the jump, and then do tricks in the air and try to maximize your air time and tricks so you get more boost.
Very entertaining demo. I’d still prefer the real SSX series to make it’s way to this generation of consoles though. Hopefully based on SSX 3, which I thought was the apex of the series.
One thing it’s missing from SSX is a more organic feel to the tricks. I seem to recall stringing together things like board grabs, flips, and spins on the fly. SSX had a sort of gratifying Tony Hawk-lite vibe.
But Pure is all button presses and stick directions leading to canned animations. It looks pretty over-the-top, but it doesn’t feel the least bit interactive. :( This has been a problem with vehicle based trick games as long as I can remember, all the way back to, gosh, I guess Motocross Madness.
Also, I have to admit that it feels a bit limited only having ATVs. Maybe the customization stuff, which isn’t in the demo, will mix it up a little. But I’m really looking forward the vehicle variety in Motorstorm: Pacific Rift. That and Midnight Club LA are the racing games I’m really psyched about.
SSX is the only game I play where I move the controller around in the air like a moron. I catch myself lowering the controller and bowing my head as I finish a trick and I’m just about to land. That might have just been due to the sense of height and air though.
I’ve had Pure pre-ordered ever since I first read the SSX comparison in a recent preview in Edge magazine. That whole series is pure genius but I’d put SSX Tricky at the top of the mountain.
Motocross Madness was such a blast. I bought Microsoft’s tilt-sensing PC gamepad and raced against friends online. So much fun. Those bone-crunching crashes were a riot. I never had a problem with the feel of the stunts in that game, but I agree that the stunts in SSX are the most fun of the racing/tricking subgenre. Landing an insane trick in SSX is just so satisfying.
That’s why the Wii version was such a dud for me… I got pretty good at the basic trick controls but I never once managed an uber trick. Drawing a star on the screen? Seriously? It turned me off to the whole game.
I’m gonna go download the Pure demo now. I’m looking forward to it.
Yeah, most of the editions had really gamey stuff where the optimal trick was to keep holding in one direction and performing the same trick over and over, but for the average player it was a lot of fun stringing together a variety of stuff.
I thought SSX 3 was the best for me. SSX Tour lost a lot of the good things 3 had and made pretty much everywhere but main track out of bounds. It made exploring unfun.
I will definitely try anything that is being favorably compared to SSX though.
I tried the demo last night and it seems like the game steers my ATV for me. It was pretty damn hard to wreck and it felt like I wasn’t doing much at all.
I absolutely loved this demo, and for someone who has a hard time enjoying any game lately that is saying a lot-I just had a ton of fun with it and will be getting it.
For someone wanting a little bit more trick action until this is released, what’s the best bet, SSX3? Amped?
People are divided on their favorites. I loved the original, it was the one good title in the PS2 launch. I personally didn’t like SSX Tricky as much, but it’s a lot of people’s favorite. Personally it’s my least favorite because they completely ruined my favorite course from SSX, Elysium Alps. On the other hand, they made some improvements to other courses. But I still prefer the courses in the original overall. But my favorite in the series is SSX 3, which gives you the option of going down the whole mountain from top to bottom, encountering several courses and interstitial areas along the way. The sense of vertigo and speed in SSX 3 was unmatched even in earlier games from the series.
And finally there’s the crappy SSX game, I even forget what it’s called now. I made the mistake of buying it from a bargain bin a few months ago, and just couldn’t stomach the art style, music, and just the visual clutter on all the courses. It’s like someone with a spray can went crazy and sprayed the whole mountain with ugly graffiti, so every course looks terrible.
And I’m not sure where SSX Blur fits in all this, the one released for the Wii. It got negative reviews from everyone but IGN, so I steered clear.
I personally don’t like the Amped games, but Amped 3 is the closest in terms of gameplay to SSX, and Pure, but I’d still recommend SSX 3 over it.
Thanks Rock, if I can find SSX3 for cheap I will pick it up, if not I will just wait for Pure. I am really, really surprised how much I enjoy it. Maybe the fact that it is kind of simplistic appeals to me? I am in the worst gaming slump of my life and just have no interest in most games, especially racers, but I just have a ton of fun with this.
You can get Amped 3 for ~$15 or less, and it’s well worth it. A lot of varied mountains to ride on and a lot of different challenges (although some are a bit too silly/easy). Great story/presentation too if you go for that stuff.
It’s… perfectly good. The tricks take a bit of getting used to, but that engenders a certain amount of satisfaction once you’ve mastered them. The customization in the game stems from building your ATVs from an array of unlockable parts - it’s sort of the Tiger Woods RPG equipment system (“enchanted +2 sand wedge”) meets Gran Turismo.
Like SSX, it’s very over-the-top, as anyone who’s seen a trailer or played the demo already knows. Enormous jumps, often ending in brutal crashes that leave the ragdoll drivers no worse for the wear.
The AI is no pushover once you’ve gotten through the kindergarten levels, and there’s generally a good bit of tense jockeying for position at the end of each event.
My lasting impression though is of wanting the game to just turn into SSX Tricky. PURE is a fun game, to be sure, but it’s awfully easy to put down - in no small part because it reminds me so strongly of SSX.
Its not looking good for Pure 2. September’s Game Informer said:
Sleuthy website Superannuation has the resume of a former artist from Disney’s Black Rock Studios, and in it the artist lists Pure 2 - which he says has now been cancelled.
What didn’t you like about it US? It didn’t have the deepest trick system in the world, but I thought it was a quality racer that also looked quite good.
You know, I might not be able to give you any sort of satisfactory answer to that. I find myself comparing every game of this ilk to SSX Tricky and find them all wanting.
