SSX tricky is by far one of the best snowboarding games I have ever played on any Nintendo console. I currently own it for ps2 and it is a blast. I've never been snowboarding in my life but this game makes me feel as if I have many times. It is so realistic and is a definite must for your ps2 collection. The creators of this game did a great job on creating all the characters. The graphics go right down to Eddy's, the disco man, Afro blowing in the wind. The maps and graphics are incredible and the amount of tricks that you can do is endless. And if you're not so much of a "trick" person then you can hop on an alpine board and race the computers or someone from your family.

The character's individual personalities are great. Not only do each have their own sense of style but their own comments and even trade mark tricks all reflect their attitudes and boarding style. Mac is my favorite character. He is a freestyle boarder and this means you're on the map to do tricks. There are other types such as Alpine and that is meant for racing. The alpine boards are much to long to do any decent tricks. And then there is also BX and that is a mix between alpine and freestyle. Mac is my favorite character. It's just his tricks, style and outgoing loud personality that draws me to him. Another good character is Psymon. He is a little more on the wild and reckless side and can pull of some crazy tricks. All of the characters are good but some are better than others and are easier to start off with. I feel Mac or Eddie is a good character to start with.

The maps are awesome. Not only are they loaded with jumps, rails and long ramps but they are perfect for racing. All of the shortcuts and extra paths just make the game so much more interesting. And the placement of the jumps were very well thought out so if you come off a huge jump you still have time to land your nice trick and catch the next jump. The creators did a great job at that. The rails are perfect. It is easy to get on one and very easy to dismount. And pulling off crazy tricks on the rails is always fun. Or if you are a racer type its fun to find all of the rails and extra ramps that lead to shortcuts and secret paths to give you that decent lead against your rivals. Another cool part of this game is your friends. When you play single player you have the option of cutting people off, knocking them down or slamming into them etc etc. But if you don’t harm your competitors those characters will start to befriend you. They will not only leave you alone in the races but knockdown surrounding people to give you a lead. It’s a great part of the game. But if you hit them I can guarantee you that they will hit you back. I tend to just glide past everyone and stay in first. I find it best just to stay neutral with everyone.

The tricks are by far the best element to this game. They are just incredible. Of course you have your 180's, 360's, 1080's, double back flips, triple front flips (or if you are skilled enough you might do 4 or more flips and it says "???" for your trick because it wasn’t programmed into the game) but each character has a few signature moves. I like Psymon's and Mac's tricks the most. Mac's are more laid back and smooth but definitely fun to pull off. Psymon's are wild and reckless and is a definite crowd pleaser. All of Disco Eddy's tricks seem like they were pulled right out of the disco era. Each of the signature tricks reflect the character's attitude. And the huge super tricks are not even that hard to pull off like some of the other games. All you have to do is press 3 or 4 buttons at the most. Most of the other games have you push well over 6 buttons to just pull it off and landing them is a whole separate story. Pulling off the tricks are easy and fast and landing them are even easier. All of the tricks are the best element of this game.

So if you are looking for a new game to add to your endless ps2 collection I highly recommend this one. My parents and I played this game everyday for countless hours. And although you do not start off with all of the great tricks, boards and character outfits it is a lot of fun earning them all. I've had this game for over a year and there isn't one thing that I don’t like about it.

--by Dale Mottram