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SSX On Tour Demo Discussion

olimario

Banned
I got my copy in the mail earlier today and have been switching it in and out with the Shadow of the Colossus demo. I'll start by saying that I do NOT understand the appeal of the SSX series if this game is at all indicative of the other titles in the series.

The graphics ARE great, the game is ridiculously smooth, and the presentation is top notch... but I'm afraid the praises end there.

I just feel like there is so little skill involved in the race mode. There is no element of keeping your balance since I think it's just about impossible to fall and there is no focus on pulling just the right maneuver to hit a shortcut to gain a leg up on your opponent. The whole game feels like you're giving your character general directions in which to go and he does all the work from there on out. And if you choose a direction that clearly isn't a path or a shortcut then NO PROBLEM! It will eventually lead to the finish line.

I know it gets a lot of hate, but I feel 1080:A is closer to snowboarding and more engaging than this will ever be. In 1080 I had to work to keep my balance, hit the shortcuts just perfectly, and meticulously navigate around turns in order to win a race. The characters had weight and momentum and you really felt like you had some sort of control over them. I would replay races dozens of times to correct what I was doing wrong in order to beat my opponent and the feeling when you finally did win was fantastic.

I guess it is all just preference, though. I know I'm in the vast minority yet again.
 
It's a really arcade game.A lot of people love it for this (me included) others prefer something more realistic.
I could add that SSX is one of the rare game that interested even a few friends of mine who don't care about vg.
 
I know it gets a lot of hate, but I feel 1080:A is closer to snowboarding and more engaging than this will ever be.
SSX is not trying to be a realistic snowboarding game. It's an over the top arcade racer (+more). If you actually want realistic snowboarding, Amped 2 beats out 1080.

It's not all about racing and it becomes more challenging as you progress. SSX3 was especially nifty in the fact that it would drop you on a mountain and keep you there. You could start at the top of the mountain and snowboard for like 20-30 minutes down towards the bottom with no loading. The trick system is solid and is tied to your ability to boost, the mountains are exciting to ride, and the mechanics were enjoyable. The game also did a good job mixing music into the action (rather than just playing a song, the music would change depending on how you were doing).

I don't care for realism in snowboarding. In fact, I'm not even much of a fan of snowboarding...but SSX is fun. Didn't like 1080 much at all, and Amped didn't really appeal to me.
 
i only clicked on this thread to post "ITS NO 1080 AVALANCHE" but i see that olimario has beaten parody to the punch again. :(
 
dark10x said:
SSX is not trying to be a realistic snowboarding game. It's an over the top arcade racer (+more). If you actually want realistic snowboarding, Amped 2 beats out 1080.

It's not all about racing and it becomes more challenging as you progress. SSX3 was especially nifty in the fact that it would drop you on a mountain and keep you there. You could start at the top of the mountain and snowboard for like 20-30 minutes down towards the bottom with no loading. The trick system is solid and is tied to your ability to boost, the mountains are exciting to ride, and the mechanics were enjoyable. The game also did a good job mixing music into the action (rather than just playing a song, the music would change depending on how you were doing).

I don't care for realism in snowboarding. In fact, I'm not even much of a fan of snowboarding...but SSX is fun. Didn't like 1080 much at all, and Amped didn't really appeal to me.


I guess I just don't like the lack of satisfaction. Ever since Mario Bros. I've loved games in which you had to practice to get better until eventually you're good enough to A) beat the game and B) keep beating your high score.

I should add that I love Shadow of the Colossus for that reason. YOu keep plugging away trying to figure out how to take down the colossus and once you figure out how you practice until you can execute the takedown. It's really a lot of fun and very satisfying.
 
dark10x said:
SSX is not trying to be a realistic snowboarding game. It's an over the top arcade racer (+more). If you actually want realistic snowboarding, Amped 2 beats out 1080.

It's not all about racing and it becomes more challenging as you progress. SSX3 was especially nifty in the fact that it would drop you on a mountain and keep you there. You could start at the top of the mountain and snowboard for like 20-30 minutes down towards the bottom with no loading. The trick system is solid and is tied to your ability to boost, the mountains are exciting to ride, and the mechanics were enjoyable. The game also did a good job mixing music into the action (rather than just playing a song, the music would change depending on how you were doing).

I don't care for realism in snowboarding. In fact, I'm not even much of a fan of snowboarding...but SSX is fun. Didn't like 1080 much at all, and Amped didn't really appeal to me.

SSX is just more fun than it's competition. Amped is better than I thought (the second at least) and 1080 is a joke of a game. I love when we have these threads describing how it's realistic or all about the racing though. They are chucktacular.
 
olimario said:
I guess I just don't like the lack of satisfaction. Ever since Mario Bros. I've loved games in which you had to practice to get better until eventually you're good enough to A) beat the game and B) keep beating your high score.

I should add that I love Shadow of the Colossus for that reason. YOu keep plugging away trying to figure out how to take down the colossus and once you figure out how you practice until you can execute the takedown. It's really a lot of fun and very satisfying.
I also love those types of games, and SSX "can" become challenging in that way...but the main focus of the game is more on having fun and relaxing. The atmosphere in SSX3 was actually REALLY awesome and just throwing in the game and going down the mountain was fun in and of itself. It was sometimes nice to switch over to the "mountain audio" option instead of the music and just go.

I do not know what is in that demo, however. I don't think you should be judging things like challenge from a demo...
 
Musashi Wins! said:
SSX is just more fun than it's competition. Amped is better than I thought (the second at least) and 1080 is a joke of a game. I love when we have these threads describing how it's realistic or all about the racing though. They are chucktacular.

I sure didn't have much fun with it. Like I said a couple posts up there's just no satisfaction with a game like SSX. I like the feeling that I've accomplished something when I play a game. Heck, I like the feeling that I have more than just a little control over what's happening in a game.

Dark-
Did you order the demo? If not, do you want it?
 
olimario said:
I sure didn't have much fun with it. Like I said a couple posts up there's just no satisfaction with a game like SSX. I like the feeling that I've accomplished something when I play a game. Heck, I like the feeling that I have more than just a little control over what's happening in a game.

Dark-
Did you order the demo? If not, do you want it?

I've accomplished plenty in SSX games before...you're making it sound like there's no challenge in SSX games whatsoever. Or are you talking about this limited demo? Maybe you're looking for challenge at the wrong places?
 
Nah, I'm good. Thanks for the offer, though. :P

I do kinda wonder what you're seeing, though. There was plenty of challenge in the previous games if you went with the right events. I never was a massive fan of the races, but I loved trick mode. Chaining together long combos using rails and such was fun and often difficult (you don't "lock onto" rails like Tony Hawk or Jet Set Radio).

...but hey...If it's not for you, it's not for you. Like I said, it's always been more of a "chillout" game for me (especially SSX3).
 
dark10x said:
...but hey...If it's not for you, it's not for you. Like I said, it's always been more of a "chillout" game for me (especially SSX3).

In SSX3 I really liked searching for the little icon things in the levels. I could replay sections over and over without feeling bored or frustrated.
 
I got mine just today - I figure 3 days isn't too long to bump this up, right?

So the only thing that I can't stand is how the spin/flip controls are EXCLUSIVELY d-pad. I just don't understand this. I can spin on the analog stick in SSX3...why not here?

That said, I don't think the skis play different enough from the boards to be a really interesting addition but I'll take it anyway. It still plays like SSX. Which = purchase.
 
daegan said:
I got mine just today - I figure 3 days isn't too long to bump this up, right?

So the only thing that I can't stand is how the spin/flip controls are EXCLUSIVELY d-pad. I just don't understand this. I can spin on the analog stick in SSX3...why not here?

i hope it's becuase it's a demo. IIRC, you had to switch to "pro" controls in SSX3 to change it to the analog stick


the game seems fine to me, although im not sure if i'd pay full price for this. my biggest complaint is that it isn't 60 FPS. real bummer.

trick system seems like the same to me, although ive only played it for like 10 minutes. once you fill up your 'trick' meter, you move and hold the right analog stick instead of pushing the grab buttons to do your special move.


oh, and olimario is an idiot. dont listen to him. not like you couldnt figure that out yourself
 
Wario64 said:
the game seems fine to me, although im not sure if i'd pay full price for this. my biggest complaint is that it isn't 60 FPS. real bummer.
That kills the game right there. SSX with no SSX smoothness, is not SSX.

SSX3 demo was also 30FPS, and the final was 60, hopefully its the same this time around.
 
Marconelly said:
That kills the game right there. SSX with no SSX smoothness, is not SSX.

SSX3 demo was also 30FPS, and the final was 60, hopefully its the same this time around.

hmm, that gives me some hope. seriously, the 30 FPS really sucks, especially after playing the previous SSX games in 60 FPS. it annoyed me every time SSX3 chugged below 60 FPS near the bottom of the mountain.

skiing doesnt seem too different from snowboarding. maybe some subtle differences but it feels the same to me. the in game menus are presented very well too. music doesnt seem as dynamic as SSX3. the music fades out when you get big air though.
 
Seriously, I'd rather play Gran Turismo at 30FPS than SSX game. If there ever was a game that just gets killed when it's not running at 60FPS, that's it right there, and SSX3 demo / SSX3 final is all the proof you need.
 
drohne said:
i only clicked on this thread to post "ITS NO 1080 AVALANCHE" but i see that olimario has beaten parody to the punch again. :(

haha, I was gonna post the exact same thing, only YOU beat me to the punch. Fuckit.

I should also add that I don't feel Kirby's Air Ride is a realistic approximation of the sport of star racing, but then again, I didn't put 60 hours into it either.
 
daegan said:
So the only thing that I can't stand is how the spin/flip controls are EXCLUSIVELY d-pad. I just don't understand this. I can spin on the analog stick in SSX3...why not here?
This is the reason I won't be buying the game. I could use the d-pad exclusively, yes, but it just feels stiff and stale in comparison to the older SSX games, so screw it.

The demo sucks, I was totally unimpressed and I'm a huge SSX fan. It lost all its charm! It's like that kid in high school that was mildly popular but still fun to hang around with until he decided he wanted to be a part of the cool crowd and tried way too hard to fit in with them. It's such a crying shame.
 
kenta said:
This is the reason I won't be buying the game. I could use the d-pad exclusively, yes, but it just feels stiff and stale in comparison to the older SSX games, so screw it.

Uh, SSX3 had the spin/flip stuff on the dpad by default, too, but you could change it in the options to have everything on the stick.
 
Vlad said:
Uh, SSX3 had the spin/flip stuff on the dpad by default, too, but you could change it in the options to have everything on the stick.

yep. like i said, you had to change the controls to "pro" in order to use the analog stick for spins and stuff

ssx4 isn't bad, it just doesn't seem to offer anything new, at least from what i gathered from the demo
 
Bleh. My only SSX game has been SSX3, but I found this demo to be downright "meh".

I'm guessing a large part of it is having to use the cruddy default controls, but the game didn't even look as good as 3, either.
 
Vlad said:
Uh, SSX3 had the spin/flip stuff on the dpad by default, too, but you could change it in the options to have everything on the stick.
Hello, welcome to the second half of that quote. I know I can use the d-pad and that's what I did after a few runs, but it feels stiff and stale compared to the analog sticks. In previous SSX games I actually preferred the d-pad over the analog stick, but it feels like they gimped this one.

Not to mention the course just felt downright weird.
 
My only SSX game has been SSX3, but I found this demo to be downright "meh".

Finished playing it tonight and I agree, the track was just really, really blah. Did I miss something or were there like no shortcuts or huge air opportunities? And skiing added almost nothing to the experience.

Though I must admit I was seriously disappointed with the SSX 3 demo, and ended up loving the full game. So I'm keeping the faith.
 
I just got my demo in the mail today and what I'm most impressed with are the menus. They are fantastic :lol The gameplay and graphics are good but nothing special in my opinion.
 
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