SSX On Tour

Since just about every trail is unlocked from the beginning, you won't get to feel the satisfaction of making your way to a new mountain (one of the best parts of "SSX 3") and exploring it for the first time.

Those who are looking for more Tony Hawk style challenges which are entirely based on skill, might not dig the On Tour vibe with it's easier than pie trickstylings, but those who know that it's all about getting to the bottom first and looking awesome while doing it will really get into this one.

An excellent addition to the SSX franchise. Beautiful scenery, interesting tracks and a lot of different race types. The multiplayer options are not so hot. [Nov 2005]

As addictive as its predecessor thanks to its hypnotic racing, perfect feel and disregard for videogame rules.

The fact that the mountain is alive and teeming with other skiers makes this game that much better because it has a feeling of more realism in comparison to the other games in the series.

It might not bring earth shattering extras to the table but this time SSX on Tour has managed to fix everything we hated about the series in the first place and has ultimately matured enough to be an essential purchase this time around.

A challenging racer that will rock your world, hopefully the next game in the series will add as much substance as this one added in style.

Despite the lack of an online mode, this brand new style works out extremely well for the series and should bring the game a lot more fans.

Despite the lack of multiplayer options, there are plenty of things to do in the single-player tour mode, and its steady progression in difficulty is wholly satisfying.

The game hits its stride late, but when it does, it hits it big. There’s a lot of fun here for the patient gamer.

This is an incredibly slick package, and not just on the surface, either. On Tour tightens up a lot of the underlying course designs and gameplay mechanics, and it quickens the pace without betraying the fundamentals of SSX.

Ace, and yet strangely subdued. We still reckon the series peaked with "Tricky." [GamesMaster]

The game just feels a lot faster than its predecessor. The motion blur really helps to make the game a lot more intense, and the tracks are a lot more realistic.

Despite the step-down in charm, the game underneath it all is splendid.

SSX is missing a couple of key elements that would have put it on the same level as "Amped"; namely online gameplay. But the trade-off is a very good control system that you have to get used to.

Offers enough newness for a purchase, but fans that have been there from the beginning might begin to wonder when the series will take that next step in evolution.

Still, even with the new levels, simpler event progression, and slightly upgraded graphics, this feels too much like my last SSX winter getaway. Next season, I want to go somewhere new and exciting.

It's a great game in the same way its predecessor -- "SSX 3" -- was a great game. It is not, however, a great game in the same way "SSX Tricky" was before that -- that is to say, it won't go on to be one of the greats.

Hurtling down the tundra and concocting ridiculously large combo strings remain irresistible qualities, but the torturous design of the game makes you want to take the next flight off of this mountain. [Nov 2005, p.140]

It's a different game without being a different game. Enjoyable without being extraordinary.

The grinding is good, the tricks are easy enough for a shlub to pull off, and Electronic Arts does a fine job of fleshing everything out with a series of animated pencil line drawings that jackhammer home the game's exceedingly cool style. [Nov p.93]

For every good aspect of the game there seems to be a bad one, and when you balance that out across the board (or ski), it just adds up to a game that tries to evolve a winning formula but falls prey to its own ambition.

EA's desire to reinvent is admirable, but given that this is the fourth outing for a franchise beloved for being different, the move toward the conventional does nothing but hurt it. [Dec 2005, p.114]

You'll definitely enjoy the On Tour mode for a good while, but don't expect to love the entire game like you might have loved the previous titles in the series; it feels more like an odd but amusing experiment for the series that won't be back for the next iteration, which will most likely return to the roots that the series was most successful with.

The issue here perhaps that the SSX franchise was not yet ready for another sequel, and EA’s attempt to further cash in on their past success has resulted in a game that is inferior to its predecessors.

Replete with buckets of sometimes stupid-sounding skills and a new, massive quota of really loud shouty-rock, On Tour is the nearest you'll come to snowboarding without getting a) frostbitten or b) snow-blind. [PSW]

Just doesn't live up to its pedigree which, given the cheaper prices of the older games, are by far better values for those unacquainted with the series.

Even when the game begins to repeat itself, it never ceases to be fun. The initial wonderment may wear off slightly, but the engine is so solid and the gameplay mechanic is so enjoyable that SSX On Tour never drops below stellar status. [Dec 2005, p.102]

Fantastic stuff. It’s the sort of game non-sports fans can pick up and love. Not only is it the best SSX to date, it also features Apply Some Pressure by Maximo Park.

SSX still rules the snowboard scene, but On Tour fails to live up to its predecessors. [Nov 2005, p.95]

It just didn't captivate me like the other SSX games have. Most of the changes to the way the game is played feel like they’re there just to make the game longer, and I really didn’t enjoy the courses that much.

The new look makes "SSX On Tour" worth considering, unless you want that online play. If that's so, you can probably find 2003's "SSX 3" for a steal somewhere out there.

The gameplay is just as good as you remember it to be and the engine still hauls a great deal of ass, but considering it's had two years to stew, this tour feels a little too much like the last one.

Dammit, EA, I want my effing SSX game back. This is NOT the direction the series needed to head in, and I'm sure there had to be some dissenting parties in place up in Vancouver. Maybe next time you'll listen to them.

It would have been nice if staying on a slippery metal pole without falling off was rewarded via points like in the Tony Hawk games but I guess you can't have everything. Enjoy the delights of this delicious winter warmer now.

The overhaul of the Uber-Trick system did nothing to enhance the experience, (quite the opposite) the GUI presentation was bad enough to be called insulting, and there is the distinct possibility that this incarnation may alienate past fans of the franchise.

A big step backwards from "SSX 3." [Dec 2005, p.102]

The overall presentation (although a little strange) works well and the animated menus are especially nifty. However, the redesign of the attribute system and the inclusion of the corny ‘Trick Stick’ that takes all the effort out of the Uber tricks mars the good reputation of an otherwise impeccable series of games.

It’s not that SSX On Tour is a bad game. It’s just that the game attempts to improve upon a gameplay formula that doesn’t necessarily need it.