Review: A snowy way to pump up your adrenaline levels

The game puts a premium on a fantastic array of trick moves and outlandish freestyle combos.

There are a lot of moves to learn and you will need to acquaint yourself with just about every part of the controller but the learning curve is well-balanced and more a pleasure than a pain.

Doing tricks helps to boost your adrenaline meter and, when it peaks, the character can undertake outrageous "Uber tricks" to earn even more points. Eventually, you get to perform "super tricks" like breakdancing along your snowboard as you drop 500 metres off the side of a mountain.

You can boost your adrenaline meter by knocking down opponents. This upsets them and can cause problems when you are role-playing in the world circuit section of the game - they have a nasty habit of seeking revenge.

On the world circuit, you have the chance to improve your character's skills as you win more races. You can win new boards for your characters and unlock new characters to add to the initial pairing of Eddie and Elise.

The two-player option is great, too, using a vertical split-screen to capture events in a way many multi-player games don't manage.

SSX Tricky turns in a visual extravaganza. The characters are crisp and cartoon-like and the courses are slickly rendered complete with various obstacles, warning signs, grandstands and ramps.

The graphics are bettered only by the sound options. The Beastie Boys'

Mixmaster Mike handles the mixing duties and a host of celebrity voice-overs from the likes of Macy Gray and Billy Zane.

Alongside the game, there is interesting DVD content to watch, including clips on the making of the game and a jukebox of the music.

The game is challenging and fun and should appeal to gamers everywhere, whether they like boarding or not.

If only achieving snowboarding excellence was this easy coming down real mountains.

*Price: £44.99.

*Contact: www.ea.com *Feel good factor: 9 out of 10.