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

Does it play liked Amped for anyone that has both?

I've read on other forums of people that own it saying it doesn't support the Xbox custom soundtrack feature. It does have an edit playlist feature but only for the songs on the disc. At least that is what these owners are saying.

From another forum:

i'm sort of trying to decide whether i should get the ps2 or xbox version.

ps2 advantages:
controller - i'm used to the dual shoulder buttons
online (but i don't have it for the ps2)

xbox advantages:
better graphics
no memory cards

I'm in the same dilemma.

Control>all at least for me, and should be for you :p. Hence the reason I'm not gonna get it for the GC since it doesn't have the 4 shoulder buttons. You most likely already own a PS2 memory card if you own the system so that really shouldn't factor into a decision since you can leave it in it's port all the time. Can't comment on the online since I'm to cheap to buy the online adapter,at least until Champions of Norrath gets released then I might...

The tricks in this game are a bit too easy -- of course I played Tricky every day for the past year, so I'm biased.

Excellent so far. My only gripe is that the player model is very small and when you do 2-player they are very hard to see! And I have a 43" TV!


Also, this DOES NOT HAVE DTS! Stop saying it does.

It's "THX Certified" but DTS != THX. Also, it has in game Dolby Digital, which also is != DTS. Unless I'm missing something...

>Also, this DOES NOT HAVE DTS! Stop saying it does.

On the PS2 if you go into the sound settings there is a DTS selection - so why do you say it does not have DTS? My receiver lights up with 5.1 and the DTS logo when I turn it on as well.

Amazing game - VERY addictive.

My reciever lights up, too. I have it DTS selected in the sound settings menu and will get absolutely no sound if my receiver isn't turned on when I play. This game definitely DOES have DTS sound.

And it also has the DTS logo on the back of the case (for the PS2 anyway).

Xbox only has DD 5.1 then. :)

Yep. The IGN insider comparison said the XBox sounded the best with 5.1 and the GC's DPLII came in last.

This game is TEH SHIT!!!

that is all..

Picked the PS2 version up this morning at TRU. After playing for a bit I remembered why I disliked Tricky. With the default controller config you have to use the D-pad for spins and flips and for pre-winding them while holding down the jump button. My problem is that my brain functions seem to shut down once I let go of the jump button and I totally forget to spin and jump heh. I also forget to pre-wind the spins and jumps as well. I guess I need to get use to the Pro config instead. Only problem with that one is you can't move while holding down the jump button.

With all that said, there was a huge grin on my face when I started doing combo tricks accidentally with uber tricks and such. Animation is silky smooth and I'm quite anal about that sort of thing. I did notice slow down here and there but not enough to annoy me which is surprising.

What was the gist of the IGN Insider head-to-head? Xbox or PS2, which is better overall?

Is the X-Box verison online?

agreed!

No. Neither is any other EA game.

Man, the size of this game is a little overwhelming at first. And the racers you compete against are actually GOOD! Plus there's so much more variety than SSX Tricky, which really wasn't hurting for variety too badly in the first place. Kudos to the SSX team for not resting on their laurels.

Although I would've liked to have Brody again. But I'm settling for the Indy character (the new guy with the fedora). You can even get a "rope" accessory to go around his torso... but you can't equip the fedora and the rope at the same time. :(

I'm having trouble finding out how to select DTS sound... can anyone help me out?

In the options, select sound and I think push right until DTS is the option highlighted. You can get to the options from the main menu. Brody may be hidden in the game, there are tons of unlockable/buyable characters in there.

Brody is hidden. I haven't bought any of the hidden characters yet.. I've been too busy playing with my girl Zoe. I've already completed most of peak 1, I think the only thhing I have to do is finish some more BIG challenges and do the Peak 1 Race (HARD!!).. of course I've only gotten 2 Gold medals, but I'm starting to think you may need to juice up before being able to get them (espically in the Big Air event).

Loving this game.. glad I bought it.

Though one thing is for sure.. I've been playing Nintendo games for so long, and going back to this I must say "LOAD TIMES ARE CRAP!!"

got this game on friday and put some serious time into it this weekend. i have the peak 3 pass now.

peak 3 is tough...

this game is great. a nice addition to the SSX library. they have done a wonderful job improving uppon already impressive games. :thumbsup: to EA Big.

I like playing dress-up with the characters. :D

Damn, looks like I'll have to choose PS2 over Xbox once again when it comes to a multisystem game. I wanna build my xbox collection! Heh.

The three games I'm gonna pick up this week are all PS2.

Jak II or SSX Tricky
Smackdown 5~! Here comes the pain..
ESPN NBA Basketball (gotta get it for PS2 because my friend doesnt have Xbox, and we'lll play it online).

Well, effigy, you might not want the online play to be the deciding factor. It's only one-on-one racing with computer controlled racers rounding out the field. I think it's kinda lame that you only are racing against (and talking to) one stranger in a 10 minute race downhill; you'd think it would have been easy enough to make it four or six racers. If your friend is also online with a PS2 and SSX 3, then certainly it's worth it, but otherwise I don't know.

Going back to my question before : What was IGN's take on the head-to-head comparison?

Don't forget the 480p factor with the Xbox version (a big deal if you have a tv that can use it).

Did anyone else notice slowdowns for the PS2 version? I'm not quite sure if the other versions have slowdown, but I'm wondering if the Xbox version has any slowdowns? Hopefully if it doesn't, I can exchange for an xbox version... -.-

I've played both the PS2 and Xbox version of Tricky. The button layout is better on the PS2, but the PS2's analog stick is crap, plus it's in an awkard spot on the controller. I found switching between steering and winding on the Xbox MUCH easier. Now on Tricky for the Xbox I think they re-arranged all the tricks so it used a 3 button system instead of 4, using L, R, and Y, with X for tweaks. Now in SSX 3 they switched it up a bit.. now it's using a full 4 button grab system like the PS2 version. R, X, Y, and B are your grabs and L is for your tweaks. If you've played the Xbox Tricky it'll take a minute to rearrange, but I've found the controls to be excellent either way. I would give the PS2 version a slight advantage for the 4 shoulder buttons, but that's not saying the Xbox version is hard to control (because it's still great).

BTW, I am also in love with the rail tricks!! AWESOME!!

There is slowdown in all versions. Not sure how bad it is in the Xbox or GC version though, I would assume the framerate is possibly slightly better in them. The slowdown I have noticed in the PS2 is tolerable though.

I noticed a bit of slowdown in the Xbox version on the 2nd race of peak one, where there happened to be a lot of stuff in the background. Should be no reason for it on the Xbox.

I really haven't noticed any slowdowns on the PS2 version... and I'm on Peak 3. Maybe there are and I'm just oblivious to it.


Does anyone know if there is a reward for doing all the BIG Challenges? I've completed 31 out of 40 on Peak 1, which is good enough for the Gold Medal, but it hasn't unlocked anything that I'm aware of. I'm gonna be really pissed if I finish all 40 and nothing happens. The same goes for those little "snowflakes" that are scattered all over the place. I have a Gold Medal with those things too... and nothing to show for it.

On the "Cheat Characters" screen, there's a character that opens up if you manage to 100% the mountain.