Damn you EA Big! *drips Visine in his bloodshot eyes* This game is awesome. It feels like GTA with a snowboard (cliche, I know, but that's what it feels like). There is so much to do that it's a bit overwhelming at first, but taking it a step at a time makes it more manageable for my brain to comprehend. Superpipe is an amazing addition. Still haven't mastered the uber tricks yet since they take a little longer to pull off timing wise. I'm playing with Psymon.

I agree. Being able to go anywhere, whenever you want is awesome. I enjoy just boarding down the mountain finding all of the BIG Challenges. I have only completed a couple though so far. This game is really huge. You can easily become lost and find yourself in a brand new area. Superpipe is also awesome. Plus the new ability to do hand plants on anything rail like is pretty sweet too. I haven't really figured out the rail ubers yet but I will. More later...

Can owners offer more insight into the play mechanic of starting different events by going wherever you want? Let's say I just want to work my way through the races like in Tricky. What happens if I ski past that point on the mountain that starts the race?

FS

There are big signs that tell you where you need to go to enter events. The cool thing is that there is stuff to do just exploring these "interim" areas as well! Rails and money points etc. If you miss something you want to do, just whip out your PDA/phone (pause menu) and warp to a point. It's pretty easy to navigate although I have entered events I didn't intend to just because I missed a turn. But that adds to the exploratory (sp?) nature of the game. You never know what's next.

I haven't figured out how to actually enter a BIG challenge. I'm supposed to race Mac in the back country but can't seem to find him. Haven't tried the handplants yet either. A long weekend would be nice right about now!

Flash,
When you are boarding around, you will come across events that you can ski up to or signs that will direct you to various events. You then have the option to ski past them and free ride or join in. if you miss an event, each mountain peak has a few lodges that you can go to and take a lift to various events. it will basically drop you at the begining of the free run and you ski down till you get to it again. Each peak has various track runs that you can go down like a real ski mountain and you pick which one you would like to get dropped off at with the lift. In the lodge, they give you a list of events and big challenges tht you are able to go to at that moment. SO, after all of that, you can always get anywhere you want really easy just by getting to a lodge. I think you can push start to transport anywhere too but I'm not too sure. Ive never wanted to do that because free boarding is so much fun in itself. Plus, while your free riding, you also get money for doing tricks and finding various gems so you can buy skill points and items. Great game all around.

[QUOTE I haven't figured out how to actually enter a BIG challenge. I'm supposed to race Mac in the back country but can't seem to find him. Haven't tried the handplants yet either. A long weekend would be nice right about now! [/B][/QUOTE]

While your boarding around in freeride, you will see green beams of light. ski into them and you will enter a BIG challenge. also, when you go to a lodge after Mac comes up to you, a new event will be available for you to warp to.

I saw the Playstation 2 version of this game at my local EB and noticed a THX logo on the back cover and under it (in small text) "certified game". Is this a first or has THX been certifying games for some time now? What next? THX Certified game systems?

OK, you convinced me, I picked it up at lunch!

FS

I have a PS2 and a Game Cube and can't decide which system to get this game for. I've heard that the Game Cube has better visuals, but I'm already familiar with the PS2 control scheme from previous SSX games. Does anybody here prefer the Game Cube control scheme that has played the previous games on PS2?

Also, I've got a PS2 with the notorious disc read error problem. It seems to do DVD-ROM games fine, though. Has anyone had disc read problems with their PS2 versions of SSX3? Thanks!

Don't have the game yet(Sunday is so far off). Most likely the PS2 version is gonna control better between the two mostly because of the 4 shoulder buttons instead of 2 on the GC controller.

You should call Sony up and tell them you are getting Disc Read Errors, 95% chance they will fix it for free. Just deny using in third party devices and answer yes when they ask if you tried diagnostic mode. I sent my first one in and received it back within 4 days completely fixed for free.

I've heard before of people having somewhat more difficulty with the GC controller than the PS2, as the controls seem to almost be designed more with a PS2 in mind (I guess that makes sense as it was one of the initial release games for PS2). I think the button setup on the PS2 is perfect, but I've never played the GC version so I can't really comment on that (other than what I've heard :D)

I bought this yesterday and played about an hour. I like it.

The controls seem more responsive than previous SSX games.

I do wish it had a clearer "Enter a race, win and unlock the next race" structure available.

You can play it like that if you don't like riding around looking for events. Just go to your PDA and warp to a particular event. It'll still drop you to freeride, but you'll be right in front of the event you chose and just have to board up to it.

Thanks for explaining the BIG challenge thingy. The manual didn't explain this very well and I didn't have the patience to read the FAQ's in my virtual PDA.

So does Super UBER do anything besides giving you unlimited boost for a while? I haven't noticed the UBER tricks being different in super UBER mode.

I noticed it as well. When the game comes up, the THX thing comes on. I thought it was strange. 1st time Ive seen it.

Yep, this is the very first THX certified game. It sounds great too (on the XBox version that I have).

Quick question. How the heck do I get back to the Lodge to upgrade my character after I've already done some races or showoffs? It just takes me back to the transport menu, where I can do more races, showoffs, or freeride. But I have no clue how to get to the lodge. I have to quit the game and restart it for it to bring me to the part of the mountain where I can board into the lodge. Do I just go into freeride and ride around till I find it? I feel like an idiot.

Yeah...the sound WAS great (lousy neighbors/cops).

No, All you have to do is go into your transporter and select Freeride and then look for the "color" stations.

Select Freeride and pick one of the choices that mentions 'lodge' in the description. You then have to ski to the lodge, which should be a short distance away, to enter.

OK, I love the game, love the music, the free roaming stuff isn't as confusing as I thought it would be, and I love just being able to ski down the whole mountain!

FS

[QUOTE][i] OK, I love the game, love the music, the free roaming stuff isn't as confusing as I thought it would be, and I love just being able to ski down the whole mountain!

I agree to the fullest. This is the first game in a while that I have played so much that I almost have a blister on my thumb. I don't know about the rest of you but the BIG Challenges range from easy to very hard. If you want a good challenge go to metro city on free ride and try the challenge where you have to ride between the gates. There is 36 gates and it took me over an hour to complete it. Try it. Plus I too love being able to just ski down the whole mountain on freeride.

BOOYAH!!!

This game is pretty sweet. But I do have a few nitpicks about it. I own all three SSX games and the overall enviroment in this game is, by far, more massive than the other other two combined. Not that it's a bad thing, but if you want to pick it up and play a quick game, it ain't happening. There's a race in the very beginning that takes 10 minutes minimum. I can't imagine what it's gonna be like when I get further into the game. This also seems like more of a "career" type game with thousands of rewards and extras to unlock. You really have to invest some time into it. I also am definitely not a fan of the menu system. When I want to go to the lodge or enter a race or do anything, you actually have to ride to it and follow the signs on the trails. It's cool at first since it adds to the whole "your actually on a mountain" theme, but it starts to be a pain in the ass, especially if you miss a turn.

Another thing is the courses themselves. Very tough to find the fastest path down the mountain. I know people say it's awesome how you can go anywhere. But you really can't. I've been penalized more times for going "Off Limits" in one day playing this game than I have ever been in the previous two. It's just not clear where the "Off Limits" is. Yeah, there are no boundry markers, but there should be. In the other two, you knew when you were straying off course, but in this one, you don't.

That being said, the gameplay is UNBELIEVABLE. I'm already on Peak 2 and it's incredible. Trees start falling down in front of you, the wind blows and it affects your control. It's chaos. Very awesome effects. The amount of tricks is endless and you can customize which ones you want your character to use. It puts "Tricky" to shame. Plus, with the addition of the handplants, anytime you're on a half-pipe, it just gets insane. They added the "recover" feature so when you start to wipe out, you can correct it. Graphics and sound are great. I was playing it in DTS yesterday. It was pretty awesome. I love the THX logo when the game starts. The soundtrack rocks. I also like how you can purchase your updates, instead of them being rewarded as you finish levels. Makes it much easier to update other characters, rather than having to finish the game all over again with a different person. I'm pretty experienced with the SSX games and this one still is pretty difficult to play, so I'm not sure how someone new to the game would feel about it. There's no tutorial section like the other ones had. Some of the BIG challenges require you to do certain tricks, like a "Indy 360", but they don't tell you what buttons you need to push. The only reason I knew was from playing the previous games. It just takes some getting used to, especially with the addition of the right analog controller controlling leaning forward and backward. And the ability to do tricks on the rails, and the handplants, and the multiple "uber" levels", etc, etc.. But it's an awesome game.

can you load custsom soundtracks in the Xbox version?

No, I don't believe you can.

To clear up the whole "how do I find the lodge thing" and the "I missed a turn thing"... As is said above, to upgrade and do other things, just whip out your PDA phone thingy and free-ride to one of the lodges (different colors). It will put you right in front of one so you just have to steer into it. Now if you miss the turn, just hit pause and there should be a new option called "Session". This tracks the current area you are in and lets you respawn at a set number of points. So if you miss a jump or a turn you wanted to make during freeride, just go to Session and select a point a little ways back. Voila! No more frustration in having to board all the way to a point just to see where that rail or turn leads to....

I made it to peak 2 as well with Psymon and dang is it intense. As far as pick up and play value, if you want to play for a few minutes, just do a super-pipe (that's what the girls call me... heh heh ;) ) or a short slopestyle course. They only take a few minutes max. The DTS soundtrack is awesome (yes even on PS2) with great channel separation especially when the VTOL plane flies over you during a run. I need to get online and upload my stats to the EA leaderboard to see how I stand with the other hoser out there.

I agree that this game is AMAZING. The sound: I love being able to chose ambiance OR music, and of course I love the DTS. Not everyone likes that type of music, so this is a cool option. The picture: I LOVE being able to chose anamorphic! I hope to see a LOT more of this. The gameplay: I'll just second what was said up above--Very "BIG," tons of things to do, unbelieveable courses. I played for 2 hours last night and never even tried a race. Too many competitions to enter and free-riding to do. Looks like a great deal of play value and many late nights ahead...

Says so on the box. :-)

Sam