My left hand doesn't know what my right hand is doing
Just how complicated are things going to get on Wii? It’s one thing having to swing the remote over your head as if it was a lasso in order to throw a cow like a shot putt in Rayman Raving Rabbids or slashing away with the controller the way you would with a sword in Ubisoft’s Red Steel, because that all makes perfect logical sense. But, what happens when you try and translate the physical movements of a complicated sport, such as snowboarding, and translate it to Wii’s innovative control system? Well, in EA’s SSX Blur, it sort of feels like patting your stomach and rubbing your head in a circle at the same time; it’s difficult, feels awkward at first, but if you’ve got the patience, your brain slowly processes the complicated movement and eventually it feels comfortable and natural.
Make no bones about it; SSX Blur control system is complicated. Any casual gamers out there looking for a quick pick and play sport’s title on Wii won’t find it here, but if you’re willing to put in the time and effort to master the new control system it’s a rewarding experience. The interactivity is just something new to get our heads around, that’s all. We’ve been so used to sitting comfortably on our sofas pressing the same buttons (the ones that have been used across a dozen other games of the same genre) that we’ve become set in our gaming patterns.
Many of the hardcore titles on Wii are going to be blood boilingly frustrating for at least another six months until we get to grips with this new experience and whilst playing SSX Blur I had to dig deep to force myself to play it for at least half an hour ; by that point I nearly threw the wii-mote at the cat, but after persevering and getting through the moments when I seriously thought it was the worst game I’ve ever played, the controls suddenly sank into my thick skull and my game experience totally changed. SSX Blur is actually a very innovative and clever game that showcases exactly what can achieved with Wii’s controllers.
Bizarrely, the control system is the best and worst feature of SSX Blur. The format of the game itself follows a similar pattern to previous SSX titles, with dozens of trick competitions and tournaments to compete in and plenty of un-lockable content such as new gear and characters. There are three peaks to test out your skills on as you navigate the steep slopes and pick up half pipe challenges, grab, rail challenges and bog standard races. There’s no real progress from previous titles, unless you include the addition of slalom races, but generally it’s a tried and tested format where you’ll be vying to become ‘the daddy’ of the slopes by competing for points against other snowboarders.
