Electronic Arts Montreal's Eric Chartrand, lead designer of SSX Blur for the Wii, was interviewed by Gamasutra while taking a breather from game development. SSX Blur, while a great game sporting a unique control interface to adopt to the Wiimote mechanics, wasn't exactly considered as a stellar game for many gamers out there.

The initial feedback from the newly released Wii game had sprouted many praises and about the same number of complaints, which wrought reviews on the game sporting conclusions from "good game!" to "bad controls!"

Chartrand was confident that  Electronic Arts did a fine job with the game and that the response from the diverse public, from game reviewers to avid gamers, was to be expected. Directly quoting from Gamasutra's interview, Chartrand said:

The reaction to the game was very... how can I say that... interesting. We got very, very good reviews and very, very bad ones. Some said they thought we provided the best of the control scheme currently on the Wii, while others thought it was the worst. I think it is mostly the same for all Wii games: the public, the game industry and the reviewers are not at all aligned with each other. So those kind of extreme reactions are to be expected. All in all, I think we delivered a damn fine game.

But given that SSX Blur shipped to the Wii with five other games that Electronic Arts lined up, it's only some of the very first third-party titles delivered to the console, and the next titles to come should reflect better - if not equal - reception.

Nintendo Australia together with microtransaction king Electronic Arts will be giving away three game titles under EA's line up of Nintendo Wii games. All you need to do to enter this contest is to register as a bonafide Nintendo Members Club...well, member ....and answer the following question: "Which of these games do you want to win and why?"

Off to the games! Up for grabs is a copy of Medal of Honor: Vanguard, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 and SSX Blur, three fantastic titles from Electronic Arts that should be available for the Wii now. Got that? Good.

All you have to do now is select one game, write up a sad, sobbing story about how much you can't afford it (or something) and make sure your address is properly noted on your member's profile.

And then submit your entry, hoping you've just written the saddest short story in world history - compared to a million other sad, sobbing stories also submitted. Or you can just opt to answer the easy way: "Medal of Honor: Vanguard. Because."

 

You've met the characters, you've seen the vids. Heck, you might even already own the game! But for the rest of you who haven't hit the slopes with this title yet, we might as well avalanche you guys with even more SSX Blur content straight from EA Sports BIG (they always snow us in with lots of love anyways).

To usher in SSX Blur's official European release, this batch of screens show more of the stunts you can pull off in this snowboarding title. Flips, cannonballs, 360s (no, not the console), and all that snowy jazz. Check 'em out and start practicing those Wii-motions. The game won't give you frost bite, but there's still the risk of carpal tunnel.

  

More screens behind the "Full Article" link!

SSX Blur hit the stores just yesterday and Electronic Arts celebrated the release fittingly at the Ice Hotel. For those who are still undecided whether to get this title, here's another sneak peek at the gameplay.

Not everybody snowboards (or at least not like the guys on SSX Blur) as this writer can't even stand up straight on ice skates - this Electronic Arts extreme snowboarding title allows players to get some serious air. The wide blue airspace is littered with bonuses and power ups. We see some fast boarding on a course checkered with trees - all the possibilities of wipeout (read: splattering yourself on a tree trunk).

Enjoy the vids!

The other video right after the jump!

 

EA Sports BIG would like to inform everyone that SSX Blur has finally shipped to North American retailers today with a price tag of of US$ 49.99. Enough said? Not really because the cool part is this: Electronic Art's celebration at the Ice Hotel.

It is located in Quebec and like its name implies, the Ice Hotel was completely made out of snow and ice. Its interior is surrounded by four-foot thick snow walls and a variety of ice-carved objects can be found there as well: ice couches, ice slides, ice shot glasses, and ice mattresses.

The event was attended by various journalists, all wearing multiple layers of clothing of course, trying to keep themselves warm. EA, on the other hand, put up a number of Wii kiosks so that guest can get their hands on the snowboarding game.

We would have loved to have been there. Oh well. Maybe in Marioland when Super Mario Galaxy finally comes out. Lastly, SSX Blur will be available in Europe on March 9.

Triple front flip, Switch triple front, Triple back flip...no idea what these are? No, these are not the ways you can flip pancakes, you ninny. These are actually some of the uber moves and tricks you can pull off in EA's upcoming snowsports title, SSX Blur. And as with other board sports, the pipes play a huge part in projecting you high up on the air and sprucing up your flips, backflips, etc.

Fortunately for us, EA has released this gameplay vid which shows us how you can work the half pipe to nail difficult tricks and score mucho points in the game. And not only that, they've also thrown in the Spectacular Slopes gameplay vid to show you how the music-gameplay integration will play out in the game. Given the important role that the music will have in your gameplay, you might wanna check out the in-game soundtrack to find out which tunes you'll be grooving to when the game hits shelves this March. That said, go hit the play button now, you might pick up a thing or two. *winks*

The Spectacular Slopes and Exteme Snowboarding gameplay vids await in the full article!

EA Sports has just released another gameplay trailer for their upcoming sports title, SSX Blur. As y'all probably know already, the game will have some elements that resonate with Def Jam Icon (Xbox360, PS3), specifically the integration of music into gameplay.

But this time, let's shift our focus a bit on the game's control scheme and how the Wiimote and Nunchuk will be used in pulling off combos and wicked air flips and other tricks. Check out some of the game characters like Mac, Kaori, Psymon, Moby, and Elise as they showcase some of the moves you'll be able to make by selecting them as your players. That said, hit the play button and have an oglefest as SSX Blur shows you how it brings snowboarding and skiing to all-new heights. Enjoy!

SSX Blur is one of the most gnarly games out there. One of the reasons is the killer soundtrack that blow your socks off every time you hit a trick. EA Games and Nettwerk Music Group have collaborated to produce the SSX soundtrack which will be released on February 20 this year. The featured songs will include a few compositions of electronics music artist, Junkie XL. He is assisted by Andre Ettema and assistant Sam Estes for the sound design aspects.

There will be 15 tracks here, among them are favorites such as "Dark Territory" and "Blackcomb". For those not too familiar with the soundtrack, or are too busy thinking about how they'll be able to nail the tricks that they missed the music, the music has multiple influences ranging from the 60s till the present. So if you're an SSX Blur fan or a music buff, you may want to check out this release.

  

We've shown you the screens, hooked you up with the gameplay vids, and gave you an idea on how the control schemes work. As its release date nears (February 27), SSX Blur, is looking to live up to the critical acclaim of the snowboarding franchise. Recently, EA Montreal's lead designer, Eric Chartrand sat down and revealed what you could expect from the game and what are the new things it has in store for us all.

He mentions that this is a new take on the game, but lots of inspiration were taken from the best tracks from a few of the tiles in the series. Characters like Mac and Elise and the Happiness track are all in the game, but with a new control scheme, don't be surprised if you feel like you're playing it for the first time. He also pointed out the game's style changes by saying:

The game has been completely Wii-i-fied. As addressed previously, in addition to the characters, the mountain has also been overhauled with new textures and lighting.

When he said that the game "has been completely Wii-i-fied", he isn't only talking about the controls. They also made use of the Wii's internal speaker to produce non-repetitive sounds. Aside from that, the pointer of the remote could also be used as pointing device to select and navigate. Too bad that Nintendo is still cooking up the Wii's online gameplay, so don't expect any online play goodness. There are, however, two types of offline multiplayer modes - a two-player split screen and a turn based "hot seat" for 1-4 players.

As for other details about SSX Blur for the Wii, it will have support for 16:9 and 480p. The engine may have been just a modified version of SSX On Tour, but the framerate has been improved to 60fps in single play. As for their future plans on the SSX series (a PS3 or Xbox 360 version), this is what Mr. Chartrand had to say:

At this time we're just focusing on the release of this game. Once we've wrapped on Blur, we will turn our attention to the future of the franchise.

Huge air, groovy beats, insane speeds, and even more insane tricks - you'll find everything that the SSX series is known for in EA Montreal's SSX Blur, the newest installment in the critically acclaimed snowboarding franchise. Combine all that with the Wiimote's unique features and capabilities - one hand controls you as you tear down the mountain; the other hand unleashes your virtually unlimited array of aerial maneuvers - and you've got yourself one hell of a fun title.

SSX Blur will also feature the return of some of your favorite SSX characters along with two new faces. Check out the character screenshots below to know who's in and who's not. SSX Blur is slated for a February 27 release in the U.S. and a March 30 release date in Europe.

   

More images after the jump!