GAMING: SSX Deadly Descents

Snowboarding  isn't something we South Africans know much about, but the SSX games are as popular here as anywhere.

GAME: SSX Deadly Descents (PS3)

AGE: 3+

PRICE: R500

That's because the SSX game uses the snowboard as a vehicle for a fun button-masher; it's most certainly not a simulator.

In Deadly Descents, there's the most rudimentary of plots - your SSX Tour team is trying to keep up with the renegade Griff, who is setting new records for speed and tricks on descents of 28 mountains in nine ranges across the world.

Developers EA Canada used Nasa satellite footage to recreate the ranges, though the slopes owe more to the developers' imagination than real topography. The inside of Kilimanjaro, for instance, is filled with snow and lava.

Most of the mountains offer three different challenges: a straight timed race, a trick run and "survival", in which the slope is challenged as many times as possible to get a winning distance. Survival runs depend on your protective clothing, batteries in headlamps and the number of "rewinds" you have available to reset after plunging off a cliff face. A new addition is a wingsuit, which allows you to "fly" off some of the biggest ramps.

There are three modes: a storyline, where you must complete certain times or achieve trick scores to advance; an exploration mode where you can challenge any of the ranges, regardless of your progress in story mode; and a multiplayer option to compete against online opponents or friends.

Deadly Descents is addictive. Though the tricks you're able to perform are reality- and death-defying, its easy to suspend belief for the sheer fun of the game. The two modes open to single players are more than enough to keep you occupied for hundreds of hours, and there are enough real differences between the skills of your team to make it worthwhile to explore all the options.

THE GOOD

The changes in button layout make it easier to toss your character all over slopes, but there's a classic layout if you're old-school. It's well-balanced: easy to get good enough to gain enjoyment, but a challenge to get so good that you top the scores. SSX: Deadly Descents is one of the best of the year so far.

THE BAD

It hangs occasionally, but this is a rare glitch.

RATING: 8.9