SSX On Tour [PS2]

For the past three iterations, EA's SSX series has been an unabashedly in-your-face, twitch-based snowboarding game that pulled heavily from its arcade inspired roots. While the concept worked, every series needs to eventually evolve; with the fourth game, EA is doing just that.

Dubbed SSX On Tour, the newest incarnation looks and feels quite a bit different than previous entries. The biggest change is that SSX is no longer limited to just snowboarding, adding skiing as a way to cut down the slopes.

Riding with the board feels very similar to the earlier games, but the overall arcade feel has been taken down a notch (with the exception of the "Monster Tricks"). No, SSX On Tour isn't a sim, but it does have a more realistic rendering than its predecessors. As a result, you may find yourself focusing a bit more on technique than simply discovering the quickest path to the bottom.

Playing with the skis instead of the board makes subtle changes to the feel of the game. Your timing on tricks is slightly shifted and you now have the ability to ski backwards. This little tidbit alone is enough to throw off first time players, as it is quite easy to end up facing the wrong way after landing a fancy maneuver.

SSX On Tour takes a minimalist approach with its heads-up display design. Rather than overwhelm the player with bright lights and flashing stimuli, the HUD only shows you what you need to know at that moment. It is certainly a departure from the previous look, but it works well as it allows you to focus more on the game than on unnecessary fireworks.

For the menus and intermission segments, the developers opted for a "sketchbook" approach. Every element of the game, aside from the actual courses, is designed to look like something out of a holiday sketchbook that was drawn by your character. It's quirky and a bit retro, yet stylish.

The mountain courses featured are all new, though certain sections will look familiar to veteran players. When designing the new tracks, the developers borrowed some of their favorite segments from the earlier titles. It breeds a familiarity without feeling repetitive.

The world in SSX On Tour is a cohesive whole that streams in as you zoom down the slopes -- it's possible to board from a stunt course to a halfpipe and back again. Once everything is unlocked, players will have the option of starting at the top of the mountain and racing all the way to the bottom. This could take as long as half an hour to complete, according to the developers.

Helping keep the world concept alive are the Shred Challenges that consist of off-track races. Competing in these challenges will raise your status and earn you the respect of other racers. Additionally, players have to deal with other skiers and snowboarders on the mountain when competing in "unofficial" (such as one-one-one) races. Just as in real life, you rarely have the mountain to yourself and dealing with other boarders is just part of the game. Speaking of real life, both time of day and weather will now have an effect on play, instead of being purely cosmetic.

Keeping a good reputation is just as important as winning races. The ultimate goal is to become a famous boarder, or in the words of the developer, a "black-diamond-dominating rock star." To help you on your quest, you can outfit your virtual personality with the latest in licensed boarding gear. Sadly, you can't show off your customized character to friends as there are currently no plans for online play.

EA is making some major changes to the franchise with SSX On Tour, but none of them change the core gameplay that we all love. That said, the developers intend to evolve the play experience and present enough new to keep long time SSX fans hooked. We won't know how all the changes play out until this fall, but the franchise's history suggests a complete wipeout is unlikely.