EA Sports BIG

Game Description: It's you against the mountain. SSX 3 challenges gamers to drop in and conquer a massive, living mountain rife with ego-crushing challenges and gravity-bending thrills. Sporting an all-new open-ended gameplay structure, gamers are free to ride anywhere gravity takes them, seamlessly boarding from one event to the next as they begin their assault on the mountain's three larger-than-life peaks. Gamers will need to overcome everything the mountain throws at them-from fierce lightening storms and breathtaking vertical drops to serpentine slope style courses and earth-swallowing avalanches-on their quest for the ultimate adrenaline rush. The mountain presents gamers with a world of open vistas and fresh powder for out of bounds exploration, filled with trick venues, rail parks, racecourses, and half-pipes with new tricks to master and new competitors to leave in the dust.

SSX 3 is fantastic, despite a few small issues. It can be oddly frustrating at times, yet it has enough merit to make it one of my favorite games this year. It doesn't necessarily refresh the nostalgia I had when it was SSX two releases ago, but it definitely re-introduces the fun lacking in the gaming slump I've experienced lately. With a solid array of courses and the addition of online rivalry, SSX 3 is very rewarding and, more importantly, ultimately fun.

According to the ESRB, this game contains: Comic Mischief, Mild Violence

Toss out any preconceptions you might have of league organized 5-on-5 simulation basketball. The setup for NBA Street is simple. It's 3-on-3 fullcourt basketball. Shots made inside the arch are worth one point. Shots made beyond the arch count for two.

After playing for an hour or so I began to wonder if this was just another caricature video game along the lines of Midway's Ready 2 Rumble.

Game Description: Taking the ball out of the hands of shoe salesman and giving it to characters based on schoolyard greats, NBA Street also plays by street rules. Off-the-backboard passes, nasty dunks, and a special momentum meter—which boosts your abilities as you humiliate the competition—let you know you're not playing arena ball. In fact, some of the courts are modeled after real-life basketball training grounds, such as New York's Rucker Park and the Cage. You'll see them all when you hit the road and take on the local crew. Perform well against them and you'll be able to recruit some special talent (did we say Mike?) to your team. Hold the Court mode will reward you with cool accessories, such as shoes and tattoos, by successfully defending the home court against challenging teams.

According to ESRB, this game contains: Comic Mischief, Mild Animated Violence, Mild Language

What makes a person strap a piece of fiberglass to his feet and careen down a mountainside? Probably the same thing that keeps me seated safely in front of my television playing a game based on that sport. Snowboarding is not for the timid. At its very core, its a sport for the daredevil—anyone willing to go to the edge to show-off his skill or test his mettle. For the rest of us, SSX is the next best thing to being there. It takes a sport already bursting with attitude and bravado and cranks it up a few notches. The result is a game that provides a fun, wild ride and actually does its job in justifying the purchase of Sony's high-priced PlayStation 2.

First off, let me say that SSX isn't exactly the killer-app that everyone makes it out to be. Like Dale, my experience with SSX also saw its highs and lows (and I'm not just talking about the slopes, either). At first, I too was blown away by the visuals, but I didn't initially see what was so great about the gameplay.