April 28, 2003 - Serendipitously, "Big" is actually the best way to describe the newest effort from the original team that delivered EA's first genuinely original snowboard (or snowcross) game, SSX3.
Due this fall on PlayStation 2, GameCube and Xbox, EA's original BIG title is entering its third iteration with an emphasis on massive environments and the seamless transition from location to location, slope to slope, challenges, collectibles and more. If you've seen the trailer, the mountain shown in it is actually the digital mountain used in the game, giving the player a landscape perhaps seven to 10 times bigger than the original SSX.
SSX 3 (working title) delivers a slew of new features along with the layered, imaginative courses, smooth animations, and radical landscapes in this third venture. With an emphasis on free-roaming gameplay, EA Canada's SSX3 enables players to snowboard down any slope, and seamlessly jump into competitions, confront Big Challenges, or explore the monstrous mountain in search of hidden collectibles. Trick-happy players will be glad to know EA has expanded its move base with unlimited combos and new, insane stunts.
Along with the new venues, the newly created Big Challenges rewards gamers for completing any of the more than 100 unique challenges (such as grinding billboards, board pressing logs, even hand planting fence line) they come across on the mountain's vast world.
Having spent the last two years working on this third effort, EA Canada visual work is just as impressive as the game's size and scope. The team has created a wealth of water-based colors lying underneath the snow's sparkling surface, including the addition of more reflections, shading techniques and more realistic lighting effects. Musically, SSX 3 will again feature a wide range of likeable, current bands and artists, such as the X-Ecutioners, Felix Da Housecat, Queens of the Stone Age, N.E.R.D., and more.
IGN: Thanks for your time Larry. We have a few quickies for you. What are a few of the most radical things you can do it SSX 3 that you could not do in Tricky?
Larry LaPierre: Lets touch on a couple. You can carry your combos over the ground by using the board press tricks; you can block others attempts to hit you, and you have a whole Big #$%!& mountain to conquer any way you want to...that's good for now.
IGN: How many characters are there in the game?
Larry: There are 10, four new rivals joining six of your favorite returning characters, Mac, Elise, Zoe, Moby, Psymon, and Kaori.
IGN: And how many courses?
Larry: There is one huge world mountain with dozens of unique paths, areas and events all over it
IGN: Can you give us an example of how the course design has evolved?
Larry: The runs have gotten much more specific to what you are being asked to do. If it is a freestyle competition the path has so many parallel lines and a lot quicker "hit" cadence. Race events have a lot more intricate speed lines.
IGN: What have the critics and
fans said about SSX Tricky that you wanted to incorporate into this third iteration?
Larry: The key for us to deliver an experience that leaves no question that it's a full sequel and will hopefully set a new benchmark of what should be expected of any sequel.
IGN: What other recent games have influenced this one, if any?
Larry: Battlefield 1942...just kidding, actually...on second thought, maybe there is a connection. What really struck us about Battlefield 1942 was the seamless ability to play the way we individually wanted without having to load up a special level or special mode. There are also a number of good game mechanics that were first introduced in NBA Street Vol. 2 like "my rules."
IGN: Thanks for your time, Larry. See you at E3.