At last, someone had the sense of release an SSX title on a handheld. EA make some wicked games and SSX Tricky is always in my top five games of all times so I was ecstatic to see SSX Out Of Bounds appear on the Nokia N-Gage. First glance at the packaging revealed everything I wished for in another SSX title, Single Player, Multiplayer, Bluetooth compatible, online options via N-Gage Arena and so much more. I couldn’t believe that all these options could fit onto a tiny N-Gage card but yup, they do and they deliver a fantastic little game.

Anyone familiar with the SSX series of games already knows what they’re about. You take control of one from a choice of characters who snowboards their way to victory around various courses. Your characters are funky, fresh and fun, my own particular favourite being Elise. On this N-Gage outing, you have a ton of characters to choose from and you then proceed to build up their stats and their equipment by hopefully winning as many races as possible. Whilst doing this, you have the opportunity to pull of some of the most amazing tricks you can and build up your Tricky meter allowing you to throw some funky shapes on the snowboard circuit.

The graphics on this title are brilliant for a handheld. They’re clear and crisp and you can see exactly what moves your characters are doing and what the other contenders are up to around you. Always handy when you want to knock them over and boost up the tricky meter. The courses are beautifully shown on the small screen and they are very long and there has certainly been no scrimping on style or substance graphics wise. Your choice of equipment is pretty varied for a handheld game and this allows you to look good whilst you’re travelling down the numerous slopes over all the different peaks and areas.

The sound on this title is also pretty good. At times it can be a little repetative but to be honest a lot of the sounds on the SSX series can be sort of annoying after a while anyway. Theres no need to have your sound on anyway should that suit you better as you can see everything you need to know right there on the screen. Perfect for the deaf gamer as well as for those who like to just get into the thick of the action and not rely on tons of dialogue.

This series is a firm favourite with male and female gamers alike and there’s no reason that SSX Out Of Bounds can’t be a big game for female gamers also. You have plenty of female chacracters to pick from and they’re not weaker than the males. It’s entirely up to you how you play this game but it certainly puts the males and females on an equal footing which is a welcome change.

Overall I highly recommend this title to anyone with an N-Gage. It is fantastic. Highly detailed and with plenty of depth, it will keep you occupied for hours. You can easily play this game in its entirity on Conquer The Mountain and then want to proceed onto shadow racing or single events. If you have friends with this title then all four of you can race against each other via bluetooth which is defintely going to add to the games overall lifespan. If you’re a norma no friends then why not log into the N-Gage arena and play with someone elsewhere in the world because lets face it, sometimes it’s more fun to know you’re beating a real person rather than the AI. A brilliant release from EA and I’m hoping they’ll port it out onto some other handhelds also. Well done Nokia for securing this one, it’s a must have for any N-Gage owner.