ssx-2012
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PSA: SSX free for Gold members on Xbox 360
It's tricky to rock a pun, to rock a pun with SSX. It's tricky. It's tricky, tricky, tricky, tricky. So we didn't. EA Canada's 2012 reboot of the trick-crazy snowboarding series is free right now via Games with Gold. That means Xbox 360 owners with Gold memberships can download the game at no extra cost, and that's for keeps - it doesn't matter if your Gold subscription runs out. SSX will stay free on Games with Gold until the end of the month.
Games with Gold December: Worms, The Raven, SSX
Like its PlayStation Plus counterpart, Xbox Live's Games With Gold service will feature a new roster of free games available to subscribers during December. Xbox One owners will be able to download anthropomorphic annelid strategy game Worms: Battlegrounds throughout the month. Xbox 360 owners can download point and click adventure The Raven: Legacy of a Master Thief from December 1 through December 15. On December 16, The Raven is replaced by EA Sports' physics-defying snowboarding franchise reboot SSX. As usual, these free games are only available to Xbox Live Gold subscribers. Three month subscriptions to the service are available at $25 while 12-month subscriptions can be purchased for $60. [Image: EA]
SSX drops to $40, free update adds two new game modes
EA Sports wants you in a game of SSX, adding two new modes and dropping the price. The free update adds "3-2-1-Go!" and "Freeride" events. 3-2-1-Go! involves race and trick scenarios, with the former won by getting down the mountain fastest and the latter involving high score.Freeride is a single-player mode that allows players to explore at their own pace (finally!). No clocks, score, riders or rules.For those who haven't hit the slopes yet, best of all, the game is now $40 at retail. Which is not a bad deal given GameStop's used charge ($10 online pass is extra).
Amazon Gold Box discounts games all day, starting with SSX
It's time for another all-day Gold Box for games on Amazon, during which the retailer will attempt to shake out any money you didn't blow over at Steam. The sale is headed by an all-day 50 percent discount on Brave games, but also offers limited-time deals on things that aren't necessarily based on Disney films.Things like SSX, for example, which is on sale right now for $35. Find more after the break.
Syndicate reboot 'didn't pay off' for EA; SSX reboot 'very successful'
Clearly a positive review on Joystiq isn't the sales driver we thought it was. Despite having a good time with it ourselves, it would seem EA's Syndicate reboot was not the commercial success the company had hoped for. So says EA Labels president Frank Gibeau."Syndicate was something that we took a risk on. It didn't pay off – it didn't work," Gibeau told CVG. "But in general it doesn't change my appetite for wanting to go look in the library and see what we have and maybe bring back some IPs for the next-generation. That's the nature of the business; some stuff works, some stuff doesn't."EA's other big reboot this year, SSX, apparently fared a bit better. Gibeau called this year's revival "a very successful launch for us," and lauded the game's "online innovation" as a catalyst for bringing the series back. "It's done well and you'll probably see more in the future," Gibeau concluded.
SSX dares you to continue defying reality with latest DLC vid
SSX's Zoe doesn't care that you're comfy with reality – she's got a bone to pick with physics in general, actually. And she's taking that bone to the slopes, as evidenced in the latest DLC trailer for this year's SSX. The DLC arrives next week on May 1.
'Tricky inspired' SSX DLC glides in May 1
New DLC for SSX will have you nostalgic for the mountains you used to fall off of back in the day. Due May 1, the "Mt. Eddie & Classic Characters Bundle Pack" includes a new "ultra-long" course inspired by 2001's SSX Tricky, "filled with huge kickers, ridiculous grinds, a Big Air drop, fireworks, and a whole lot more – the classic SSX experience!"Further cementing the nostalgic feel for the game that came out – oh, god, eleven years ago – the bundle includes seven characters from SSX Tricky and SSX 3. All of the content will also be sold separately, for those of you with selective memories.[Thanks, emirarkman!]
SSX begins UK race atop Mt. Retail
SSX returns after an extended hiatus and goes straight up the leaderboards to take the first place finish in its debut week. According to Chart-Track, there hasn't been a new SSX installment in about five year and the latest is the first time the franchise has every premiered in the top spot. The closest it ever got before was SSX 3 back in 2003, and even then it had half the sales.EA also holds the second place spot with FIFA 12, as the prior week's Vita launch titles begin sliding down the charts. Mario Party 9 debuted in third, but due to not being stocked by retailer Game over the company's current financial condition, it would have likely done better. Check out the UK top ten after the break.
SSX review: The odd couple
Much like one of my favorite games of 2011, Saints Row: The Third, the franchise reboot of SSX kicks off with a leap out of an airplane. And as in Saints Row, the section of Twilight Zone-esque endless sky serves as a tutorial to a variety of gameplay mechanics. When complete, you deploy a damn wingsuit and fly off, presumably to do something else equally awesome.Soon after, you're quickly mastering one of three control variants (or all three), before jumping directly in to the world of mountains and snow and, uh, wingsuits (did I mention there are wingsuits?). I was doing 1080 Switch Tailgrabs in under five minutes!But before I go on, let me first take you back to SSX's original name -- SSX: Deadly Descents. Aside from sounding like a brand of violent deodorant, that subtitle is a nod to the nine major mountain ranges featured in SSX, each with its own "Deadly Descent" (essentially a boss battle, but, ya know, on a snowboard). They are supposed to punctuate a particular gameplay hook for each range of mountains. And they almost ruin the game.%Gallery-148925%
Glide on a mountain breeze in SSX's wingsuit races
If you were a real snowboarder sliding down a mountain, and you hit a jump and started gliding in a wingsuit like you can in SSX ... dude, you'd get so many high fives that day from all the other intensive care patients.
SSX demo available now on Xbox 360, later today on PS3
It's time to return to SSX's pixel peaks and commit death-defying stunts from the comfort of your couch (hot cocoa optional). The demo for EA's SSX reboot is available now on Xbox 360, featuring classic SSX character Zoe Payne in "Race it" and "Trick it" events.The demo also features some online functionality, allowing players to upload ghosts of their best runs in the "Explore mode." It's also possible to unlock Mac Fraser (pictured) by sending the demo to a friend.PS3 owners itching to hit the slopes can join as soon as the PSN updates later today. The full tricky experience will be available February 28 in North America.
SSX demo descends on Xbox 360 and PS3 next week
If you're anxious to carve powder in EA's SSX reboot, you'll get a chance next week. Creative director Todd Batty revealed the news in the latest episode of the SSX Ubercast, a bi-weekly podcast centering on, well, you know.The demo will launch on Xbox 360 worldwide and PS3 in North America on February 21; the PS3 demo will be available a day later in the rest of the world. It will feature one playable character, Zoe -- Mac is unlockable through a referral system that EA has yet to reveal -- and two tutorials, plus two events and skydiving.[Thanks, Jack.] Update: Added more detail via @kfatyas. Thanks!
SSX soundtrack surprisingly doesn't feature The Avalanches
True, SSX's soundtrack may not include any songs by The Avalanches, an appropriately named and incredibly talented Australian breakbeat group, but it does include 36 licensed tracks and 10 original songs produced specifically for the title by Amon Tobin, Camo & Krooked, Raffertie, and The Qemists.There's a complete list of artists featured in the game after the break, but let us save you some time by telling you that yes, it does include Skrillex. Not only is it Skrillex, but it's our favorite song from his first EP: "Scatta," which features sick verses by Foreign Beggars and a drop so heavy that it may cause a few avalanches of its own. A new version of Run-DMC's "It's Tricky" also returns for old time's sake, remixed by soundtrack compatriots Pretty Lights, as well as cuts from DJ Shadow and a Lateef the Truthspeaker joint featuring Hiero-hero Del the Funky Homosapien.
SSX online pass doesn't lock out multiplayer
The online pass for SSX will not lock players out of multiplayer competition. Instead, it is used to lock players out of obtaining in-game credits used to unlock content.EA tells Game Informer that players without the online pass will be able to compete and play in both of SSX's online game modes, "Explore" and "Global Events," but that credits awarded to those without the online pass in Global Events will be inaccessible and banked until they pony up the $10 for the pass.EA concludes, "Economy balance makes it possible to unlock all available content and allows you to participate in all event drops across both Explore and Global Events, with credits earned solely in Explore."%Gallery-135268%
SSX to feature online pass
In today's least surprising headline, it appears that the upcoming SSX will use an online pass. In an SSX video posted by Giant Bomb, an option to acquire an online pass can be seen clearly in one of the game's menus (pictured above). It's not clear exactly which features the pass will unlock. Again, though, it's hardly shocking, given EA's commitment to the concept. Last week, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning was also confirmed to have an online pass. Update: The online pass is tied to in-game credits.
Do a spin kick with classic SSX character Zoe Payne
When she's not busy shredding the slopes and jumping out of planes, SSX veteran Zoe Payne is doing spin kicks and ... probably hanging out at Hot Topic or something?
SSX to change your working definition of 'tagging'
Forget about all that Facebook nonsense. SSX is trying to redefine the way you use the word "tagging" between friends with its geotagging feature, which allows you to set hard-to-reach points as challenges for other folks. That's way better than a photo gallery feature if you ask us.
Pro snowboarder Travis Rice leaves Wyoming for the slopes of SSX
Being the first non-fictional dude in an SSX game is an honor, we imagine, and Wyoming native Travis Rice is the first gentleman to become just that. Above, he describes how he mentally prepares for taking to the real-life slopes, all set to a delightful dubstep wubwub.
EA unable to gain rights to SSX.com
EA, in an attempt to gain ownership of SSX.com ahead of the series' February relaunch, challenged Abstract Holdings International LTD's claim on the address, saying that the URL was registered in "bad faith." A panel at The National Arbitration Forum, however, has determined that EA's argument was insufficient. "The EA allegations of bad faith in part are based upon the lack of due diligence conducted by retailers of domain names like Respondent," the Forum determined. "EA would seem to require that entities like Respondent conduct an international search for relatively obscure trademarks in order to determine whether a name is a registered mark. The Panel is not willing to go so far." In this case, EA's claim of "bad faith" hinged on the fact that SSX.com briefly contained video game-related advertisements. Since these advertisements are now gone, there's nothing inherently malicious or misleading about the site, negating EA's ability to claim any misuse. For now, SSX.com remains the property of Abstract Holdings, although we imagine several zeroes and a few commas written on EA letterhead would change their minds.
SSX gameplay gets tricky in latest trailer
We're told that it's ... somewhat difficult to put together a rhyme that's within a reasonable frame of time. What's even harder? Pulling off the humanly impossible moves featured in the latest trailer for next year's SSX reboot.
