EA has disclosed a few gameplay details for the newly retitled SSX.
SSX: Deadly Descents just got a little less deadly. Creative director Todd Batty has revealed that the game will now be known only as SSX, and says that the remake will stay true to the franchise’s arcade roots. The news comes after a strong fan backlash to the gritty SSX trailer that debuted in December, although Batty says that the ‘Deadly Descents’ subtitle was simply highlighting one new gameplay mode that would be about survival.
“We wanted to make sure we hit the over-the-top arcadey gameplay in all of these different gameplay modes,” said Batty. “We decided to lead with the new Deadly Descent gameplay in that trailer, but all of the classic SSX style will be there, too.”
Survival is one of three gameplay modes in SSX. The other modes are ‘Speed Descent’ and ‘Tricky Descent,’ and while they will offer the kind of over-the-top gameplay fans are used to, SSX will also borrow the refined physics system from EA’s Fight Night Round 4 and will incorporate tools that grant new abilities to the player.
“We want to really invest in the gear, so you can earn a bunch of new gear that gives you new mechanics in the game,” continued Batty. “So ice axes are another piece of gear that let you do things like a wall vault move in Prince of Persia, or say you jump across a chasm, and you almost make it but you slide off the edge, instead of falling to your doom, you can smash those ice axes into the wall, vault yourself up, and keep going. Players will have a lot of gear like this that they can equip to their character, which will change how they tackle a mountain challenge.”
Batty further revealed that SSX will have around 70 real-life mountains and will feature a Google Earth-style interface.
“We’re a little challenged with how many levels we can put on the disc, honestly, but we’re thinking it will be somewhere in the vicinity of 70 mountains,” said Batty. “By comparison, SSX 3 had one. The hub works kind of like Google Earth. You can spin the globe around and pick a mountain range you like then zoom in on that and pick a mountain you like from there, than you get to race down the crazy arcade courses that we’ve built on top of real-life mountains.”
So set your fears aside, SSX fans. The arcade-y SSX experience will remain intact, and it won’t be long before you’re carving up the slopes and getting massive air.
Source: GameInformer
