I lost my gaming V-Card at the tender age of 3, when I was spoiled rotten with a new Nintendo 64 and a slew of titles. Since then I've been an avid gamer, constantly itching to get my grubby toddler hands on a new game. And a good four years later, I was ready for my next big gaming purchase: a brand-spanking new PS2 for Christmas, along with a few launch titles, including the then-new SSX. When I popped in the shiny blue-bottomed disc (Anyone else remember how cool the old blue PS2 CD's looked?), I had absolutely no idea that I was about to experience the single most important gaming moment of my life.



SSX, for those who are unfamiliar with the games, is a series of arcade-y snowboard-based racing games featuring a colorful palette of locales, music, characters, tricks, and general "Holy crap, that just happened!" experiences that set it apart from other snowboarding/skateboarding games. It was colorful, fast, challenging, and crazy. Although the original game's sequels SSX Tricky and SSX 3 are much better received and MUCH more popular, SSX 1 was my first, and it will always hold a place in my heart for being the first video game to make my eyes widen and my jaw drop.



After a rather dazzling intro (at least it was for me at the time), I got myself through the menu and onto a simple race on the first course, Snowdream, my mind was instantly blown from the game's graphics. I had never seen a game so damn pretty in my life, and the race hadn't even started yet. Once the timer counted down, my snowboarder was propelled forward along with 5 other racers. It truly felt like a party, with all 6 snowboarders plummeting down the slope all together. As we careened down the powder, I could hear the fans to both sides of me cheering us on, feel the cool night sky above me, and hear the banter of DJ Rahzel talking about the race as we sped on. The music bumped as we banked through the turns, and just up ahead was the very first BIG jump of the race. And that's when it happened.



As the six racers and I flew over the jump, the game makes the music cut out as I'm in the air. Some of the racers are doing flips and spins, some are flying forward just to land as fast as they can, and some fail their attempted maneuvers and end up biting it as they land. And as this is all happening, [i]fireworks are blowing up in my face[/b]. Talk about overload of the senses. My 7-year-old brain was absolutely astounded. I was completely blown away by how any game could process all of this and deliver an experience as downright beautiful as this.

You can watch the very moment HERE.


At this moment, something in my brain "clicked". I had always loved flipping on my N64 as a littler kid, but I hadn't developed a passion for gaming until then. SSX turned me into a gamer. SSX is the reason I'm here on this website right now. Since then, I've always had a soft spot for the series, and with the upcoming release of a sequel for current-gen consoles, I'm even more excited. Although the announced new direction for the series has turned my "extreme excitement" into "cautious optimism", I'd be lying if I said I wasn't still excited for the game. Please, EA. Don't screw it up.