Article from PS2.ign.:
Originally looked at as a simple upgraded or enhanced version of the first game, the now titled SSX Tricky is shaping up to be a full-scale sequel with a huge list of improvements and new additions.
To help make the changes more plausible, the game\'s storyline, which will be more flushed out in SSX Tricky than the original, puts the player in the world of SSX, one year later. The SSX World Circuit has progressed some, the courses have seen some redesigns, new trick venues have been added, and some new faces have come to the fore.
The two new courses include a venue called "Garibaldi" that\'s located in British Columbia, Canada, and "Alaska", which is set in the Alaskan wilderness. Garibaldi is being described as a big air course with several different routes, which should provide the player with several different play experiences. While the Alaska venue is set to include near vertical sections of snow, offering the boarders some intense "edge-of-your-board" action as they continuously find themselves flying off of huge cliffs.
In addition to the all-new courses, the original tracks have been given a major overhaul and are about 50% different than they were in the original game. Completely new shortcuts have been added, the designs have been changed in some areas and the overall experience on each track should offer the gamer with a completely new, yet familiar, gaming experience. What\'s more, all nine of the World Circuit courses will have a unique Showoff (trick) version that will contain additional background and interactive elements that have been tailored to the trick events.
Two all-new courses will be available -- plus, completely re-designed versions of the old ones.
While Jurgen and Hiro won\'t make the transition over, the other six characters from the original plus six completely new ones will star in SSX Tricky. One of which is Eddie Wachowski, whose specialty is boardercross and gets his inspiration from the world of skateboarding, freestyle motocross and freestyle BMX. We\'ll introduce the other new characters at a later date.
On top of having new faces to look at, both the old and new will have a much more life-like personality through the use of expanded facial animation, more detailed character bios, and newly recorded voices by some fairly well-known people from Hollywood, which will all be named at a later date.
And to expand on this even further, EA Canada plans to implement some heated rivalries between some of the players. Through the use of in-game cutscenes and special voiceovers before, during and after the races, certain riders will have a greater deal of hate for others. And the plan is to have these riders be much more aggressive when up against their particular rivals, which could prove to be very intense.
As far as gameplay is concerned, players can expect enhanced physics both when in air and on snow. The control should even be more refined as the developers promise 60 frames per second for all full screen modes, which by itself will be offer a much more precise play experience than the often choppy original SSX. And for those of you with a wide screen television, SSX Tricky will be completely compatible with your expensive hardware, rich boy.
SSX Tricky also includes some brand new "Uber" tricks that are much more difficult to perform and generally require more lift to be completed, but make up for it by being more rewarding. Most of the uber tricks have the character do moves that take them off of his or her board and are animated extremely well and look pretty damn amazing from what we\'ve seen of them.
Just as was the case with the original, the music in SSX Tricky will be completely intertwined with the gameplay, meaning that you get better beats when you\'re doing good, and less inspiring music when you\'re doing not so well. The game\'s music will include stuff from the original, plus a few new songs and exclusive mixes from turntable stars like Mix Master Mike of the Beastie Boys, Aphrodite, The Plump DJ\'s and others. The sound will also support Dolby Digital 5.1 audio, which should help create an even more lifelike experience than possible previously.
With all of the upgrades being made to the original SSX, which includes new characters and tracks, redesigned courses, new tricks, all-new character voices, enhanced physics, a beefed up framerate, new songs, Dolby Digital 5.1 audio support, and more, there\'s no denying that SSX Tricky should be considered much more than just an upgraded version of the first one. SSX Tricky is shaping up to be a full-blown sequel and looks like it\'ll be a must-have game for PlayStation 2 owners when it\'s released this winter.
