SSX Tricky

SSX Tricky for PlayStation 2 is an arcade-style snowboarding game developed by EA Canada and published under the EA Sports BIG label. Released in North America in November 2001, it is the second entry in the SSX series and follows the PlayStation 2 launch-era original. Rather than aiming for a simulation of competitive snowboarding, the game turns its mountain courses into high-speed obstacle courses filled with steep drops, oversized jumps, rails, shortcuts, and hazards. Players choose a rider and head into fictionalized resorts where racing first and looking spectacular while doing it are equally important.

A run combines downhill steering, jumping, boosting, and aerial tricks. Riders build momentum and collect boost by staying on course, landing tricks, and battling for position, while a fall or a collision can break the flow and allow opponents to pass. The PlayStation 2 controls let players carve through turns and use the trick controls in the air for spins, flips, grabs, and more elaborate combinations. Successful landings matter: the game rewards scoring but also demands enough control to line up the next ramp, rail, or shortcut at speed.

Its defining addition is the Uber Trick system. Filling the adrenaline meter opens access to deliberately exaggerated maneuvers in which riders contort around, or even separate from, their boards. Landing these moves earns powerful boosts and advances the on-screen TRICKY meter; completing the sequence of Uber Tricks grants continuous boost for the remainder of an event. Each rider has a signature Uber associated with a suitable board, giving the character selection more than a cosmetic role. The system makes big-air opportunities central to both score chasing and competitive racing.

World Circuit provides the main progression route. Players take part in Race events, where they try to beat a field down the mountain, and Showoff events, where the goal is to assemble the highest trick score. Medals and event results unlock further content, including boards, riders, and courses, while rider statistics can improve over the course of play. A rivalry feature also records how competitors are treated during events: repeatedly knocking a rival down can turn that opponent hostile in later races, whereas more cooperative encounters lead to friendlier reactions. This gives the circuit a small but memorable layer of character interaction between its downhill contests.

Outside the circuit, Single Event offers individual Race, Showoff, and Time Challenge sessions, while Freeride and Practice let players learn routes and experiment without the pressure of tournament advancement. The PS2 game includes a roster of returning and new riders, with character-specific presentation and voice performances, and its soundtrack prominently uses Run-DMC's “It's Tricky,” the song that gave the sequel its name. Course design revisits and reworks locations from the first SSX while adding new terrain, so familiar routes can play differently through altered lines, jumps, and scenery.

SSX Tricky arrived before the series expanded further with SSX 3, and it remains an important example of EA Sports BIG's deliberately larger-than-life approach to sports games. Its combination of racing, stunt scoring, animated personalities, and reactive music gave PlayStation 2 players a snowboarding game built around continual motion rather than strict realism. For players exploring the SSX catalog, this sequel preserves the original's core downhill contest while making boost management, signature moves, unlockable progression, and rider rivalries a more prominent part of the ride.