SSX Blur - Third Play: Happiness

When I had last written about SSX Blur, I was knee deep in yellow snow. It was not pretty. My effort to complete the second tournament was hinged on my ability to navigate a slalom run. My frustration was high and my opinion of SSX Blur low.

Though given that there were no other games in my Wii rotation at the time, I was compelled to keep trying. Within a few more tries of my last play rating, I found the line I wrote about and completed two well-boarded runs through the slalom which led me to the second leg of the tournament and to Happiness.

The second event was a slopestyle event on a run called Happiness. This run lived up to its name and provided the fun that I was having before my slalom madness brought me down. Happiness is a very open, snow and ice filled run through trees and rocks. It is a pristine and natural landscape with little to no human interference. There are no rails, fireworks, banners, or large blow up dinosaurs like I had seen in previous runs on the first peak. As I completed this tournament and unlocked the second peak I found that Happiness represents a theme of more natural runs that comprise the second peak. I was having fun again.

Though I still find the trick system a little tricky for lack of a better word, I still really enjoy the carving controls of tilting the nunchuck side to side. I have also found that tilting back can lead to slowing down to a snowplow. These controls as I carved my way through the more open and more natural runs of the second peak really immerse me in a cool play experience. The music, visuals, design and control feel reward me for keeping a smooth run going. When I can weave and jump and pull some tricks while avoiding trees and spills, the music plays uninterrupted, my character Elise starts singing as the world flies by, and the trick meter and my score rises. These are moments of gaming happiness. These are the rewards of a challenging game that allow it to rise above its imperfections.

I have completed most of the second peak’s events and many of its challenges. I have also been trying to do free runs down both the first and second peaks to collect the icons that will open up new uber tricks to try. Most recently, I have become curious to see what peak three has to offer and so I’ve been trying to complete the three event tournament that will unlock it. Of course my nemesis, the slalom event is the second of the three. So far I have made it past the slalom a couple times (after failing many more) only to fail the half-pipe event that follows. Though I get frustrated still sometimes, it is not as grating if I put it down and come back later. I guess certain games like SSX Blur can’t be all things to all my gamer moods and tastes. If I could achieve more of those flow like moments I described above where the game and my skill meet in harmony, then it would certainly stay in my game rotation more. It’s the potential to offer some fun driven by the challenge to achieve its rewarding gaming state of flow. That is is enough to merit its place in my Wii library.