Back in the days of yesteryear, when the original PlayStation and Nintendo 64 were battling it out, snowboarding games were everywhere. It seemed that every company had to put at least one out, including veteran developer Capcom among other big names. Most of these titles were less than spectacular but despite that sequel after sequel was produced year after year. When the PlayStation and Nintendo 64 were near extinction, the PlayStation 2 launched and with it what would become the most successful, popular and quite possibly the best snowboarding game ever; SSX..

A year later, SSX Tricky, also known as SSX 1.5 or SSX 2, was released on all three major platforms. While it was well received and definitely a standout title, gamers were left longing for something more and something different. SSX 3 promised to do this, by giving us an abundance of new tracks and basically revamping everything except the great gameplay we're all used to by now.

Unlike the past SSX games, the third instalment takes place on one mountain. While we're not exactly sure where this mountain is, we do know that it has been designed specifically for the next SSX competition, by adding racetracks, half-pipes, big air courses, and more. There are essentially three modes of play from the start, which you can select from the game's toned down yet great looking menus; Exhibition, Conquer The Mountain and Multiplayer. Right now let's focus on the meat and potatoes, as they say, Conquer the Mountain.

You start off by selecting your character, either one of the six returning characters or four of the new guys. The roster is as follows: returning are Mac, Zoe, SSX1 and 2 coverboy Moby, Elise, and the ever-adorable Kaori. New this year is the boy wonder Griff, big guy Nate, the new covergirl Allegra and Mr. Comical relief, Viggo. Noticeably absent from the previous titles are all the crazy characters such as Eddie, Luther and anybody else who just didn't really seem to fit on the tracks. Though these characters are still visibly in the game, as you can purchase "skins" for your character to race with, you cannot change their outfits and they race just like your original character; it's just a new outfit for them, essentially.

After selecting your boarding you're introduced to the game via a very good and well done intro video, voiced by the DJ of the mountain, Atomika. Yes, I did say DJ; SSX 3 comes built in with its own radio of sorts, called EA Radio BIG. Atomika introduces you to the tracks, or there's even a voiceover from the band members themselves in some cases; he also talks about things happening on the SSX Mountain, including weather, events and rider bios. Of course, if you don't like this new addition you can simply turn it off. SSX 3 features a large soundtrack from multiple styles of music, including rock, techno and rap. Many of the tracks have been remixed for the game, and in some cases it actually kills the song. Tracks last a whole track, no matter what the length. The tracks are remixed to loops without you noticing and they even change pace with your riding, as in the previous titles. Getting huge air causes the music to fade out until you land, while crashing and doing poorly will cause the vocals to cut out. Shortcuts initiate a calmer, more relaxed melody that still has the same feel as the rest of the song.

The mountain is divided into three sections, Peak 1, Peak 2, and, you guessed it, Peak 3. The first peak is obviously the easiest, while Peak 3 is the highest in difficulty and also the most severe in weather. Each Peak has a huge assortment of things to do, which include multiple race tracks, Half-Pipe challenges, Big Air challenges and even Tony Hawk style "BIG Challenges" where you have to collect something on the mountain, hit certain spots with tricks, go through a certain amount of hoops and more. Also included on each Peak is a lodge, where you can save your game, purchase new equipment (such as boards, gear and clothing), look at stats, view or purchase rewards, and lots more. Though it's not required to go here if you want to save your game, the only other way to do so is to quit Conquer the Mountain mode (known as CtM from here on), and come back in if you wish to continue.

Once finishing a certain amount of things on Peak 1, be it races or Freestyle events, you can a pass to Peak 2. However, before you get the pass you must first finish a race or freestyle down the entire first Peak. This takes you through multiple races and back areas with zero loading time. Beat your opponent's time and win. It is here where things pick up; on your way down courses you can feel wind pushing against you and hints of the beginning of a severe storm; a sign of things to come if you will. After you beat the Peak Challenge here, which includes riding from the top of Peak 2 to the bottom of Peak 1, you gain access to the big daddy: Peak 3. Unfortunately, this Peak only includes one real race, titled Gravitude. Don't be upset by that though, this is where things get heavy. Avalanches, heavy weather, snow in your face and even snow cracking and falling right out from under you. The final task here is to race down from the top of Peak 3, all the way to the bottom of Peak 1, an adventure that will take you over a half-hour.

The course design this year is excellent and it will take many runs through to find all of the ways to go. Big Air and Half-Pipe mode are good fun to see just how big a score or combo you can get before reaching the finish whilst Freestyle runs have you go down some of the race courses, but instead of aiming for first you aim for the highest score. The most unusual game type for this installment, however, is the BIG Challenges, which will take you a while to complete. If this weren't enough, there are also little goals to complete but they can be done anywhere at any time. They include thing such as clearing a certain height of air, grinding for a given amount of time, holding lip tricks and doing huge combos.

Once finishing CtM mode, you can purchase all the unlockables you want and new gear but only for that character. Starting a new CtM with a different character will start you over completely from scratch. To help the mountain feel real, like a living, breathing environment, you are given an MComm. This device lets anybody on the mountain send you messages, including the voice of the mountain, DJ Atomika. However, the messages and indeed the DJ do get repetitive after a while. The MComm menu also allows you to transport anywhere on the mountain, assuming you've unlocked those areas. Once on a track you can even transport to a session on that track, basically placing you on varying points along the course. If you don't like the idea of transporting, it is possible to ride the back areas of the mountain until you reach your destination and while this may take longer, it makes the experience feel more real and the mountain more alive.

Gameplay has been tweaked slightly for the third installment. Now you have the ability to do liptricks and anything grindable, and even manual. Combos are now here in full-force but aren't quite the kind you'd expect from Tony Hawk's. You get points for landing moves while still in a combo, but not a lot. Once you actually land the combo you get the big amount you've been storing up and adding to in that combo. Just like with other extreme sport games a multiplier is used, the difference from most combo systems is that you can actually come out of a combo and ride normal for about 2 or 3 seconds before doing your next move. A small timer appears while out of a move and if you start another move before the timer runs out your combo will continue. This system is used, most likely, due to the difficulty in keeping manuals going for long amounts of time. The Uber trick system has also changed slightly. The trick's equal boost gameplay is still there but the big Ubers require some work. Written above your boost meter is "SUPER UBER". Once you reach Uber mode, you can do Ubers just like before but the first four times they will be small, not very spectacular tricks. Every Uber you land fills in a letter, starting with UBER; once that is full, you can do the big Uber tricks (which are changeable via the lodge, where you purchase new Uber moves). Filling SUPER UBER allows you to have infinite boost for a long period of time.

As amazing as SSX 3 is, it is not without its problems; unfortunately many of these are the exact same ones from the previous SSX titles. Getting stuck in corners, hanging upside down on rails but still grinding them and other small hassles are still present. Going out of bounds is more frequent this time around and sometimes the shortcuts even lead you right out of bounds, causing an instant respawn and destroying any combo you had in the process. New to the series is the inclusion of online play, but only for the PS2 version unfortunately, so the rest of us miss out, which is a real shame and so a minus point to this version. You can get your multiplayer thrills split screen, but it's obviously not half as convenient or easy playing full screen against someone else who is comfortably sat in their living room whilst you sit comfortably in yours.

Graphically, this is the best-looking SSX so far, as it should be. The snow looks great and interacts with you when you land moves, slide in it, or just ride along. Weather effects are stronger than ever; you can feel the force of the wind and snow hitting you in the face as you fly down the course. You can feel the rumbling of the snow beneath your board as it gets ready to completely drop out and form an avalanche too. Other course items look good, including trees that are sometimes struck by lightning and fall in your path. If this weren't enough, the backgrounds look absolutely gorgeous. As you get higher up the peak you'll notice your view of the mountains in the far distance becomes even clearer; the backgrounds are just beautiful. Characters also look much better this time around and all have new looks and even hairstyles, which are changeable if you don't like them, as every character has a large assortment of gear, hair styles, and other wacky items to buy and put on your rider if you wish.

A true sequel to SSX, SSX 3 delivers everywhere we expected it to and more; a huge mountain, good characters, over 1000 unlockables including posters, art gallery, cards, and even toys, fun multiplayer and a long lasting, replayable game. SSX 3 is an outstanding title, the best SSX yet... and, dare I say, the best snowboarding game yet.

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