Sometime in 2004, a young man walked into a video game store in Collinsville, Illinois, to spend his birthday money. Foolishly he didn’t know what he wanted, all he knew was that he wanted something. After a bit of browsing he decided on a snowboarding game called "SSX 3," and little did he know that would be the best video game purchase of his life. My story is just one of many, and players know that "SSX 3" is not only arguably the best "SSX" game, but without a doubt one of the greatest sports titles of all time. From the characters, to the riders, to the soundtracks, to the tricks and even it’s customizability, "SSX 3" stands tall as what a video game should be: fun.
The first "SSX," or "Snowboard Supercross," came out in 2000. It featured eight characters and a selection of courses. Players could choose between free ride, race and a tricks competition on courses they had unlocked. The courses took place around the world, from the Tokyo Megaplex to Merqury City. When "SSX Tricky" came out in 2001 it was almost the same game, but with one big update called an uber trick. Players could take one of their feet off the board and play around with it, making an already larger than life game even crazier. Then in 2003 came "SSX 3," and the developers threw everything they could at it. Instead of a list of levels, all runs are connected and take place on one huge mountain. The mountain had three peaks, and each one was crazier than the last. Players could start at the top of peak three and ride to the bottom of peak one in one continuous run, leading to a roughly 15 minute ride without load times or anything to break it up. Additionally, there was now a second level of uber tricks with uber and super uber tricks, which were crazier than before. No more were there just two different types of competition, now there was race, slopestyle, big air and free ride, as well as backcountry and peak bosses to keep things interesting.
The first thing that hits you when you boot up the game is it’s immediate sense of atmosphere. When you start the game you are dropped from the top of peak one’s backcountry, or an undeveloped piece of riding heaven with wide open, untamed slopes. As the game progresses into insanity, these chill rides down a peaceful peak with relaxed music remind the player how crazy this game actually can get. Soon players will be flying through city streets, jumping over buildings, flying over huge crevasses in the ice and outrunning massive avalanches that take out parts of the course you are riding on. All this while racing others in a huge event doused in futurism, neonand fireworks. To further the atmosphere, the music hits all the right notes. For freeriding, the game chooses relaxed chill music, while during events, it cranks the fast rock for races, and electronic music for freestyle events to help bring out creativity.
Another huge addition was the level of customizability added to the game. No longer do players have to choose between a couple of outfits and then just choose the best board. No, this time all the boards are equal, and the best board is the one you think looks coolest. Additionally the player can customize whatever his character wears, from hairstyle and hats, to bat wings, pants and devils horns. All tricks were customizable too, allowing for some exotic tricks to simply be remapped over the current tricks, if that is what the player pleased. Even further, all of the attributes were purchased using the money won in the game - meaning that players could advance their character however they pleased.
The gameplay excelled as well. Controls were smooth and responsive, and the button mapping was intuitive. The simple formula of trick, boost, race was perfected. It is deep enough to constantly keep players on their toes anywhere on the slopes, and easy enough for new beginners to easily comprehend. Steering on ice and snow felt just responsive enough, and the air you would get was so large you would swear you were on the moon. Crashing or falling never felt like it was the fault of the game, instead it was your own fault for getting too greedy with tricks or lines.
"SSX 3" was well received by critics, and currently holds a 93 metascore on metacritic. It expanded in every way on "SSX Tricky," and represented the absolute pinnacle of the series. It had enough depth to keep players constantly coming back for more, and was easy enough for first time players to pick up. For that little boy in a game store in 2004, it was an absolute 11/10.
