True... although maybe it should be a game-mode of itself... part of a new
Chill-out mode.. right?... right??
Yeah, originally thought Explore was going to be this.
SSX3-like exploration from top to bottom of the mountain (with varying paths/routes)...except this time with many mountains. That is what I thought SSX 2012 would do.
The biggest problem with SSX 2012 is that it feels like a "score attack" level select with no feeling of a world or hub like SSX3 did.
I would have loved to start at the summit of each peak and take different routes however I please down to the bottom, instead of via a menu level select screen, with guilt added to you if you're not competing for scores.
The other problem is that the levels constantly push you downhill with little control or choices of splitting paths/routes, just downhill in a semi-linear path when it comes down to it. Many narrow spaces with little "big air" opportunities, most levels except 1-3 ranges filled with death pits that punish you for experimenting with different jump angles.
Hell, I've explored some levels from top to bottom and in turn was punished with a terrible score/time because that's the only thing the game knows.
And sure the character design lacks personality (to be more in tune with a more realistic atmosphere of this game), but the biggest problem there is that it doesn't really matter who you use, because for such a community focused game, nobody even knows what character you used. The ghosts go far too fast for anyone to notice as well. There's no way to tell the world/my friends "I'm a Moby guy". With a roster of many returning series staple favorites, it's a shame others can't rep their top SSX pick that they've used over the years since the early 2000s.
This and the lack of true character customization like SSX3 had (not stupid custom characters, but customizing the roster with new shirts, accessories JUST like in SSX3 would have been incredible). And of course with the additional online functionality this gen gives us, give us some kind of way of showing that off, via a "player profile" with most used character(s), let us see the current customized roster character we've set, stats, etc.
Basically, the problem here is that the only "existence" you have is scores/times on a leaderboard, and it's a shame it wasn't extended to examples I made above.
Things like this are what I hope EA Canada recognizes for the next SSX game (I believe this sold pretty solid to warrant another one, this time with no huge mis-steps like On Tour or Blur were...I think we are on the path to a continuous SSX evolution after the devs look over what they did right and wrong with SSX 2012).