Published by EA Sports BIG and developed by EA Montreal, SSX Blur for the Nintendo Wii is the latest in the adrenaline-fueled snowboarding series. As with most games on the horizon for the Wii, the main aspect everyone wants to know about is how the game utilizes the revolutionary motion sensing Wii-mote. Following on the model of Madden NFL 07 for the Wii, EA is now applying the same technique for Snowboarding.
Even though there’s still a little while left before it’s released, it’s already clear to see the developers over at EA are attempting to find a use for every little aspect of the Wii-mote's capabilities and unlike many games which have found a use for all its features, SSX is far from being a mini-game compilation.
Grinding snow with the Wii-mote, Woohoo!
With this in mind EA seem to be trying to really capture Nintendo’s dream of re-invented games, in this case modeling the SSX series with the ideal of creating the feeling of actually being in full control of your character and actually creating a real connection between you and your character as you control him/her cruising down the snow-laced mountain, making it intuitive and fun. It also comes complete with what looks like beautifully smoothened and stylized graphics with a new art-style, including slightly Chibi-fied characters with many SSX favorites making a come back.
Looking into the control scheme...while your character is slicing through the snow the Nunchuck is used for all movement, but not the actual joystick. One actually tilts the Nunchuck itself left and right to make turns, the joystick is reserved for adding extra dig into a turn. When it’s time to get into the air, one makes a tilting up gesture with the Nunchuck. This is where the Wii-mote comes into play. While in the air or on the rails, the Wii-mote is used for tricks. Making your character spin is done simply enough by swinging the Wii-mote left and right whilst for flips one swings the Wii-mote up and down, bringing in a deeply physical experience that would be impossible with last generations controllers. As far as we know the controls are essentially the same as when you're attempting ski challenges.
Catching big air will require some Nunchuck skills
Minus the motion sensing part of the Wii’s controller when it comes to the buttons, the Nunchuk’s the Z button is used for boosting while on the snow and grabs while in the air. The C button is for a quick pivot on your skiis or tail press on your board, while the A and B buttons are used to finish tricks and to put your character into the right posture for landing without bailing. The A button is also used to go into Uber Tricks. Aside from controls the Wii-mote is utilized with the internal speaker for non-repetitive sounds, which is a huge plus.
Pages
