SSX Blur - hands-on

Features
By published

Carve a path through this snowy Wii exclusive

After taking a breather for the past couple of years, it looks like the snowboarding champ is about to make a comeback. SSX Blur will reintroduce everything you already loved about the series, but it'll do so with a substantial Wii twist. The linkable tricks, flips and grinds that constantly propel you forward will now rely on Wii Remote gestures and button presses instead of traditional controls. The biggest moves of them all, the Uber Tricks, will actually have you tracing on-screen patterns to bust them out.

You can't just start the slipping and sliding with the fanciest set, though. You've got to build up to the Uber moves, and that's where the Groove Meter comes into play. Blur places a heavy emphasis on music and rhythm, so the more cool tricks you land, the more intricate the tunes become.

When you start a race, for example, there's only one layer of music going. As you race and gain points, more instruments will filter in and start to charge your meter (it's the whacky-looking thing to the right). Once in the air, hit A and follow the pattern to start the slo-mo, spin-crazy Uber Trick. The first we saw has you moving both arms in tandem to create a heart-shaped design. It looks silly, but when playing it does create a sense of accomplishment when you pull it off. Landing one of these bad boys with all six music layers running would probably be an Xbox Live achievement... if Blur weren't a Wii exclusive, that is.

Brett Elston
Brett Elston

A fomer Executive Editor at GamesRadar, Brett also contributed content to many other Future gaming publications including Nintendo Power, PC Gamer and Official Xbox Magazine. Brett has worked at Capcom in several senior roles, is an experienced podcaster, and now works as a Senior Manager of Content Communications at PlayStation SIE.