Gameplay continues the same basic method introduced in SSX, with the main tracks being 'remixed' from the previous games and two new tracks, Garibaldi and Alaska. The important new feature added to the series are the Uber moves. If players are able to fill their boost bar to the maximum, they will be able to perform Uber moves which involve characters taking their feet off their board and doing over the top moves. If a player successfully lands an Uber move, they are given a short amount of time for infinite boost, which can be topped off by performing more Uber moves. Each player can perform five Uber moves, including a personal move if the character is using a board that matches their style. If a player successfully performs six Uber moves, spelling out 'tricky' on the boost bar, they will have infinite boost for the remainder of the level. Also introduced in the game is a rivalry system in the WorldCircuit mode. If the player is friendly with another AI character, they will treat the player favourably. However, if the player ends up annoying other AI characters, generally by attacking them during the race in order to fill the adrenaline bar, they will become hostile towards players in future events.
Modes
There are four modes of gameplay. ;Freeride ;Practice ;World Circuit ;Single Event
Reception
Peter Suclu reviewed the PlayStation 2 version of the game for Next Generation, rating it four stars out of five, and stated that "If you haven't played SSX, this is a must-buy, but if you already own the game, the full-price 'expansion pack' is hardly revolutionary." The PlayStation 2 version received "universal acclaim", and the GameCube and Xbox versions received "favorable" reviews, while the Game Boy Advance version received "average" reviews according to video game review aggregator Metacritic. Most reviews hesitated before calling the game a "true sequel" since it shared a large amount of content with the original SSX. Reviews did compliment the added features, such as "Uber tricks" and "Rivalry" with other boarders. Some reviewers thought that the improvements over the original were so good that SSX Tricky was billed as the bestsnowboarding game to date. The voice acting was highly praised by many reviewers, noting that the use of celebrities such as Lucy Liu helped bring the outrageous characters to life. The music system received much acclaim as it was able to adapt to suit the situation. Each course had specific songs paired with it to match the mood and when riders reached maximum boost or were knocked down, the music reacts. The size of the environments, the detail of the graphics and the trick system also received plenty of recognition from reviewers. In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of 32 out of 40 for the GameCube version, 30 out of 40 for the PS2 version, and three sevens and one eight for the Xbox version. In predicting the sales for the game, PSX Extreme said "It's quite unfortunate if I do say so myself, because a AAA title like SSX Tricky won't be getting the sales it really deserves." IGN called it the 95th best PlayStation 2 game. The staff cited its improvements over its predecessor.
