SSX Blur - First Impression
I'm mildly hooked on SSX Blur for the Wii, which isn't to say that it's all that great, but it's not a bad game either. My experience with SSX is limited primarily to SSX 3, which both Sunny and I have gotten a fair bit of mileage out of on the PS2. In fact, we enjoy SSX 3 so much that our immediate reaction to trying SSX Blur after the first hour or so was to fire up SSX 3 and play that instead. There are many things in terms of production value and accessibility that SSX 3 offers over SSX Blur: for example, SSX 3 is less buggy (Sunny had SSX Blur crash on her--twice!), has an easier to master control scheme (arguably), and seems to me to offer a greater variety of tricks (one of my favourite features of SSX 3 are the grabs that are executed using shoulder buttons, which is something that SSX Blur lacks entirely as far as I can tell.)What SSX Blur offers over SSX 3 includes better graphics--although I wouldn't say by a whole lot, especially since the framerate varies heavily. Fritzkrieg, who is also a fan of SSX 3, was definitely unimpressed with the new art style, so that may be a factor in which game you feel is better visually. SSX Blur also offers novel challenges over SSX 3; in particular, I like the control scheme of SSX Blur in spite of the lack of grabs. Steering with the nunchuk creates a nice feeling of really carving with your board, although I can't say that the Wiimote-based twists and flips interface is much to get excited about, and I've had a really hard time mastering the new uber-tricks system which involves drawing shapes on the screen (some players will undoubtedly find that feature annoying.) Still, the novelty factor hasn't worn off yet, and I find that SSX Blur is different enough from SSX 3 to be worth playing in spite of my overall preference for SSX 3. As for whether or not SSX Blur justifies its $60 price tag, well, I would say that if you're fairly desperate for something to play on the Wii and your SSX needs aren't already covered by one of the other SSX games, then SSX Blur is probably worth checking out. As with so many games, you'd be well advised to rent it first before buying.
In other news, I'm really tempted by a variety of old-school RPG experiences coming out of the Wii Virtual Console, including Beyond Oasis, Dungeon Explorer, and Double Dungeons (although that last one is reported to suck.) I have a really, really deep weakness for 16-bit era RPGs, especially the more exotic sort such as Japanese titles that either never made it to America or were released for relatively obscure platforms such as the TurboGrafix 16. Nintendo's Virtual Console is doing a good job so far of tempting me with nifty games that I've never had access to before, although the steep price point ($6 to $8 to download an emulated game that's more than 15 years old?) remains a heavy deterrent--combined with a general lack of spare time.
One old-school style RPG that I'm very likely to pick up in the near future is the Atlas published Nintendo DS title "Izuna: Legend of the Unemployed Ninja." The title alone is quite amusing, but the game itself is also something of a tile-based RPG Rogue-alike, including randomly generated dungeon content. It's supposed to have a fairly limited appeal (that is, only good for serious RPG fans, which makes it all the more interesting to me.) I'll be sure to keep you updated on whether or not I'm actually able to find this crazy title.
posted by Parappa @ 11:07 AM
1 Comments:
One of the things that, for me, elevates SSX3 beyond being "just another snowboarding/extreme sports game" is the overall feel of the game's universe. The developers seemed to put a lot of work and attention into creating a game experience that pulls you into the world, something to compliment their "open environment" concept (being able to ski the whole mountain from the topmost peak to the base). The characters, while not venturing far from being basic stereotypes, are pretty enjoyable. Their personalities are present in what accessories and costume items you can buy/equip them with, and surprisingly the voice acting adds a lot - particularly the trash talk between players on the race courses. You get the sense of SSX3 having a community in place, that the boarders know each other and hang out at the ski lodge, etc. The music in the game is a soundtrack of licensed songs from various artists presented as being played on a local radio station, hosted by a kind of annoying DJ that is surprisingly less annoying than most real-life DJs, and he's part of the cast (a fictional character). The DJ's rambling further adds to the game's background by mentioning things about the setting and/or characters, usually during transition areas on the mountain, or load screens. It really helps make you feel like you're a part of the game world. Also, the game's navigation is presented as being the user interface of your character's PDA/cell/iPod/whatever. The presentation is slick, stylized, uncluttered, easy to use and appealing to look at - sort of like Designer's Republic meets the Gap. There's an in-game "email" system that handles tutorials, as well as occaisionally displaying messages of encouragement/challenges from fellow boarders (who sends these depends on which character you are, I think). The characters are rendered and consistantly presented in a semi-realistic manner, and this melds nicely with the detailed environments. I think this aids in making the game world more convincing, and allows for the graphic elements (the interface and flashy stuff) to stand out as seperate from the characters and the world - making everything feel a bit less cluttered and more unified overall. The game's load times are short, and made to seem shorter by entertaining you in the process (such as showing your character's behaviour during the ride up the mountain, for example).
So. All in all, this adds up to a lot of elements that show that the developers wanted to create something special for gamers - something a person can spend a lot of time with, and keep coming back to. Most of all, it shows that they wanted to make it as fun and entertaining as possible. A lot of the stuff I mentioned relating to the creation of a game world can be turned off or skipped, if it annoys you. Even the arcade sound effects and music can be shut off, leaving just the sound of your board cutting down the snowy landscape.
My point? It doesn't seem as though SSX Blur does any of these things.
In fact, not many games really attempt this kind of "full-bodied" entertainment, which is a shame. Games like SSX3, Beyond Good & Evil, Shadow of the Colossus, and Dragon Quest VII all put a lot of emphasis on creating magic - a "game experience" in addition to gameplay, story and graphics. I'd like to see more of that, and less "annual release" titles of mediocre quality.
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