How many snowboarding games can you recall over the last, say, three years or so... I'll give you a second to think it over.

Chances are you said SSX and Amped, maybe you also said the very underrated 1080 Avalanche . If I had asked you this question a few years ago, you probably would have said Cool Boarders, 1080 Snowboarding, ESPN's Winter X Snowboarding games, Big Air Snowboarding, Snowboard Kids, Twisted Edge Snowboarding... the list goes on. Okay, so there's a chance you wouldn't have said a good number of those, but the point is, SSX has dominated the market and the only other game that even attempts to take it down is the more realistic Xbox-exclusive Amped - which is the snowboarding yang to SSX's yin, so it's hard to actually consider them as competitors. Personally, I thought SSX3 was about as close to an arcade snowboarding masterpiece as you could get. It had it all: great interface, amazing gameplay, a good single player, good use of music and even a decent online mode. Sadly I don't quite feel the same way about the latest offering, SSX On Tour.

On Tour features gameplay nearly identical to the last offering, but of course not without some minor adjustments. The main modification to the game is the overall presentation, which is now displayed through a sketchbook style of sorts, full of odd drawings and sketches that clutter up the menus at all times in place of the clean, crisp, feel good menus of SSX3. It's not a bad idea and EA Canada has pulled it off remarkably well, but compared to previous SSX titles it just doesn't seem to fit.

The new look and theme represents a new direction for both the story and music. Apparently every competitor in the SSX tournament now has dreams of becoming what's called a Black Diamond Rockstar, hence the name of the game. The menu also consists of bizarre sketches that show slightly animated sold out stadiums and guitar playing unicorns. The actual storyline is completely absent and you'd never really know that these snowboarders were meant to be rockstars had I not just told you. None of this really matters though, as you aren't playing SSX for that; you're playing it for the boarding. Or maybe the skiing.

The biggest addition to the SSX gameplay is the ability to ride on skies instead of a board now, despite the common understanding that the two cultures, essentially, despise one another - like skateboards and roller blades. You don't see Tony Hawk letting you get all aggressive on some inlines, now do you? Despite the fact that some gamers will be alienated, I welcome the addition and actually enjoyed the skiing aspect quite a bit. Though they basically play the same, the varied animations and overall feel of skiing contrasts the snowboarding enough to make you want to switch between the two styles frequently. Unfortunately you can't do this in the main Tour mode, which is the mode you'll be playing the most...

In this mode you create a boarder or skier by compiling various pieces of a face to form a person and then compete in several official and unofficial events on one mountain, similar to SSX3. Be careful what you pick though, because you cannot have your player both ski and board, despite other characters in the game doing it, which is a huge let down that hurts the game a lot. You'll have to make a completely separate character and play through the Tour with someone else in order play both styles.

However, my main gripe with the Tour mode is that it gives you everything from the start. All the clothing, gear, boards and tricks to buy are right there in the beginning, as is the entire mountain. Unlike SSX3, where you had to compete on one specific peak before moving to the next where you could find new tracks, clothes and the like, you move across the entire mountain constantly and will race on every track there is fairly quickly. Furthermore, almost every race spans two or more different tracks, which is fun, but doing it right in the beginning causes them to get old quickly. Since the mode isn't short, it means you'll be completing events that you've done over and over, or at least it will feel that way, just on harder difficulties as you rank up to Pro and beyond.

Yet another problematic aspect, and though this one is debatable, is the multitude of new event types added to the Tour mode. You'll still find the usual race and trick challenges, but even more common are bizarre events like knocking over kids or other people on the mountain, outrunning the ski patrol, staying off the snow as much as possible (or the opposite), getting a specific amount of height off a jump, etc. The events are still fun and often incredibly difficult later in the game, but they overshadow the traditional and more enjoyable events, which they simply shouldn't do. However, if you don't like them you can easily just not do them and eventually they go away, but if you're a fan of just the races there will be plenty of times when you simply won't have a race event available.

This translates to the Quick Play mode outside of the Tour as well - when you pick a track you select from completed events from the Tour mode, making it sometimes difficult to find just a basic race on the track; if there is one that is, as most races span multiple tracks down the mountain. A point in favour of SSX On Tour is the fact that you can race or free ride down the entire mountain like you could in SSX3, which is still a blast despite the mountain being nowhere near as good as the predecessor. It definitely has more personality, with other non-racers scattered about just riding around (except for on the peak areas), but the tracks themselves don't all vary like the ones from SSX3 - there's no more epic night-time track that takes place in a big city covered in snow, and there certainly isn't a Tokyo Megaplex track. A feeling of great height once at the top of the peak isn't there anymore either, as there are always much bigger snow-capped mountains in the distance.

To match the new direction of the series, all the tracks have names similar to crash junctions in Burnout: names like Half-Banked, On The Rocks, Last Call, Hot Dam, and Son of a Birch. The tracks are definitely cool and packed with variety, but don't have the personality, the same amount of huge air (however there are definitely some HUGE air bits!) and bright colours that SSX is known for. A few great moments of real-time events make it even more exciting, but there just are not that many. Expect plenty of multiple routes, way more than ever before (even some that aren't meant to be a route but can be), and some signature sections that will definitely stick with you... the problem is, you may have trouble telling which bits are on which track, since almost every race event contains a number of the 12 tracks in one run.

The mountain also has no more peak-specific gear shops or giant signs pointing you in a certain direction and DJ Atomika, who gave personality to the tournament and gave the game a feeling of updating in real time, is removed completely with no replacement. Unless you count the astonishingly irritating announcer before each event who you'll be desperate to turn off only to find out that you can't. Worth noting is that for a long while you won't be racing against familiar SSX characters, but random competitors on the Tour who are trying to achieve the same rank as the classic SSX veterans (which include seven returning and three new ones... and yes, for some reason the very first SSX cover boy Moby is now completely gone)

All these complaints aside, it's impossible to deny the addictiveness and pure joy that is the SSX gameplay. It's changed very little from the last version and all the changes that have been made are for the best. For instance, when you do an uber-trick (now known as a monster trick) the game slows down a bit and the sound cuts out so you just hear the air whizzing by, making for a fantastic effect - the camera even rotates around and makes for a very dynamic looking stunt. You can now go off course a lot further than before and usually you can easily get away with it and create a makeshift shortcut without being reset, while the sense of speed is better than ever thanks to some Burnout-like blur effects.

SSX On Tour is certainly worth it if you're looking for more of the same great SSX gameplay; there is a reason snowboarding games are hardly around now... if you're looking for arcade snowboarding fun then the racing events in SSX are as good as it gets. It's just the overall package that disappoints when compared to the wonderful SSX3. Other minor changes have been made from version three and while they don't individually hurt the game much (some better it), you will want to know about them...

Such as the voices: not only are voices during races much less frequent, just about every character's voice is drastically different. Mac sounds very different, Kaori doesn't speak in Japanese anymore and Zoe is no longer voiced by the wonderful Bif Naked, who fitted her character perfectly. Not that the new voices are bad, but fans of the last three games will probably be caught off guard. As I mentioned, the DJ is gone and the choices of gear, tricks and clothing to buy have been reduced by quite a bit. The music no longer changes during shortcuts, however it does fade out when you get huge air and pound back in when you land, which sounds very cool, but it no longer plays a dynamic role like SSX was always known for, particularly in SSX and SSX: Tricky. The same track loops continuously on one course until you reach the next section, however, but this it isn't quite as noticeable.

The biggest departure isn't something like the boost meter being moved to the bottom of the screen or the monster tricks being controlled solely with the right joystick though, instead it's the shocking removal of any sort of online play. Of course, this doesn't affect Cube owners, as they would only have had the split-screen multiplayer anyway, which comes with plenty of options, but EA Canada opted to not even bother improving the online this year and focused more on changing the overall gameplay. Well, they didn't really do that a whole lot and instead put the main focus on the presentation and visual style (including the icons you pick up on the track, which are no longer snowflakes). While the new style is original for sure, I don't feel that they made the right decision. If anything, On Tour is a step backwards for the series and takes it in a totally new direction that I can't say is for the better. As you won't be missing out on online play, those gamers with multiple consoles might want to pick up the Cube version to use Mario, Luigi and Princess Peach in the game, just like you could in NBA Street V3.

I haven't touched on the music yet, which tries to play a big role in the game. Fitting with the rockstar theme, it is rock influenced, with the menus comprised of sections of in-game songs that are basically rhythm guitar loops. Plenty of classic rock tunes from the likes of Dio, Scorpions, Def Leppard and Motorhead are featured, as well as newer rock bands such as Avenged Sevenfold, Louis XIV, Hot Hot Heat, OK Go, Pennywise, Queens of the Stone Age and even some hip hop artists. While the music is good and definitely fits the new theme, style and presentation, it is a far cry from the beat-box and electronic music that made the original SSX famous and plays nowhere near the same unique role it did in that game and its first follow up. Like with any licensed music, it's up to the player if they like it. Overall though, the music and sound is really well done, especially the ambience (when you can hear it) and sense of speed the wind and trees rustling create.

Fans of SSX should definitely check out SSX On Tour. The gameplay remains the same and is just as much fun as it always has been, but don't expect it to exceed SSX3 in terms of the overall package. It does very little to take the series anywhere it hasn't been, despite the drastic changes to the look and feel, which to me just isn't what SSX should be. The third version in the series captured the SSX vibe perfectly; it was clean, clear and gave you a feeling of a snowboarding game. On Tour goes after the teenage grunge crowd, those who combine snowboarding and a rock and roll lifestyle, but at the same time have perhaps alienated much of the original fanbase. The addition of skiing is nice, but doesn't play as huge a role as you might expect and feels more like an extra bonus quietly tossed in that you'll probably forget is there most of the time (unless, of course, your custom character is a skier!) 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.

Reviewed by Christopher Martin for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).