It has been three and a half years since the release of SSX: Blur, and nine years since SSX: Tricky was shipped. It may have seemed like an eternity to fans of the franchise, because snowboarding games as a whole have disappeared from from this generation’s genre palate. Perhaps that changes with today’s announcement of SSX: Deadly Decents. The name and developer were both leaked prior to the Spike VGAs, but that shouldn’t stop gamers from being excite about what could a return to form for extreme sports games.
Dismissing the cartoony zaniness that has become a staple of the franchise, SSX: Deadly Descents seems to be taking a much harsher and more realistic artistic design plan. At its heart though, Deadly Descents appears to retain the over-the-top speed and and lack of gravity gamers will remember. Flips, tricks, and squirrel-suited gliding sessions at the flick of an analog stick? Keep that and you can make whatever artistic design choices you please, EA Sports.
The world premiere trailer shows a very extreme snowboarder leaping out of a helicopter (with the word “Elise” painted on the side, an Easter Egg for SSX fans) who proceeds to essentially fly down the mountain. Check it out:
Early rumors paint the game as more than just a snowboarding game, featuring, “…helicopter drops and rescues, base-jumping, wingsuit/squirrel-suit flying, skyboarding, para-skiing, ice-climbing and more.” Why EA would want to bring back such a popular franchise and change it so drastically is incomprehensible, but until there’s gameplay to be seen there’s not much to be said.
Why EA ever stopped making SSX games in the first place is a mystery to all. SSX: On Tour, the last game in the franchise the truly followed the series tenets, received very high review scores. Then SSX: Blur was released on the Wii, and that says enough right there. I answered my own question, it seems.
What are your thoughts on the world premiere SSX: Deadly Descents trailer, Ranters? Do you like the idea of making the game spread out beyond just snowboarding? Would you have preferred SSX just fade into the night?
SSX: Deadly Descents is rumored to be released in 2011, though its release platforms are yet to be confirmed. Expect it to come to HD consoles though, judging from the trailer.
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I really, really don’t like the look they’re going for in the trailer. The game allegedly takes place on mountains all over the world – I’m hoping that some of the other locations will have a little more of the neon lit flair I’ve come to expect from SSX.
Still, if the game is half as fun as SSX 3, I’m as good as sold.
Amen to that. I swear, if they try to force a peripheral on the fans this will ruin it. I don’t think they will, but we’ve been wrong before.
I hate to have to keep saying this, but TENNNNNNN-EEEEIGHTY!!!!!! Ah, I give up.
Least they didn’t let Tony Hawk announce this, right? Imagine the kind of rumors that would come from that.