Storyline: 3/10
SSX Tricky is a sports game, so storyline is basically nonexistent. There is a little bit, but not much. Each character has background (nationality, reason for being involved, association with other characters), but other than that, nothing too much. Basically, the storyline is to race, and compete in trick events to get medals, and rise above the competition.

Graphics: 8/10
The graphics in this game are awesome! Though, not the most detailed graphics on the system, they are still quite breath taking.
The character designs are great, and the course design is awesome. There is no change in graphic detail through out the game. The cut scenes aren't movies, but just animated in-game character sprites. Not the most spectacular, but still good. But the detail in the movement of the characters, especially during the special (Uber) tricks. Each character has special tricks corresponding to their personality, and boarding style. And great detail was taken in the creation of each trick. The scenery and course designs are really beautiful and quite fun to look at as you are flying down the mountain. That is, if you actually have time to pay attention to the scenery between all the sweet tricks you are pulling off during every valuable second of airtime.

Music: 7/10
The soundtrack of the game was quite well done. Though not always the best songs, there are some tracks that are really good, and some that are really electronic and repetitive. The game features Run DMC's song "It's Tricky" as its theme song. Very fitting, and fits well in the game. Though, sometimes the repetition of the song (It plays every time your Boost Meter is filled, and you can perform UberTricks) can get a bit much. Most of the sound track is of the Techno genre, with some Rap tracks. However, the best song in the game, would have to be "Finished Symphony" by Hybrid. A very nice Techno song, that isn't so electronic sounding, and nicely blended with an instrumental score.

Sound: 9/10
The sound effects are very well done. Though, SFX are just a simple part of every game... Though, I always like the satisfying PING sound that is made when ever you manage to smack square into a rail or post. (Though, it's not a good sound when you are on a roll.) However, the SFX is not what I am very concerned about in any game. The sound that I like to pick on, is the Voice Acting in the game. And SSX Tricky has done a GREAT job on voice acting! They really went all out on the voice cast. Hiring some rather well known actors to do voice work for the game. (Billy Zane, David Arquette, Macy Gray, Lucy Liu) They did a very nice job getting people who did voices that fit the characters really well. The voices matched the personalities as well as the nationalities of the characters. And there was a good mix of nationalities and personality styles in the game. (British, Japanese, American, psychotic, redneck, ghetto. That's diverse!) Needless to say, I usually play with the Japanese girl, Kaori, who is voiced by Yuko Nagashima, who is also the Front End (during menu selections) Voice for the Japanese version of the game. I was quite pleased that they had her speaking in Japanese most of the time, rather than only in English like I have heard in many other games.

Gameplay: 9/10
SSX Tricky did a great job with the layout of the game controls. Making it easy enough so you don't wind up working your hands into various shapes that should not be possible, and yet difficult enough so you aren't bored with the simplicity of the trick commands.
The controls are simple. The L and R buttons are your grabs. Different combinations of them lead to different tricks. Up and down on the Direction Pad controls your flip (front or backflip) and left and right on it control your spin. The Left Analog steers you, the Right Analog shoves other riders during a race. X button crouches, and jumps upon release. The Square button "Tweaks" your grabs, and leads to different variations of tricks, to score more points. It is also the core button for UberTricks.
To sum it up, steer to ramp, jump, spin/flip, grab, tweak, land, score loads of points. See? Simple.

Doing tricks fill up your boost meter. When that completely fills, the Uber light will start spinning. This is your queue to whip out your best stuff, and completely show up anyone. Once the light is spinning, hit a jump, press one of the L or R buttons for a grab, and press square to tweak it. You will then perform a REALLY sweet, and half times, Impossible trick that will score you HELLA points. THAT is an UberTrick. However, UberTricks take time to execute... And if you hit the ground before its finished, you lose half your boost meter, and you are back out of UberMode. Above the UberDisk, there are letters that spell out "Tricky". Each time you successfully pull off an UberTrick, one of these letters light up. Light up all of Tricky, and you have Infinite boost for the rest of the course. This means you can speed as much as you want, and pull off as many UberTricks as you can. And, once Tricky is lit, your boost wont go down no matter how many times you crash!

In Tricky, there are 2 primary modes of gameplay: Race and Showoff. Each mode is very simply understood. Race mode has you boarding down the course as fast as you can against 5 other boarders in order to place 3rd or higher to score a medal. You don't really need to perform any tricks in Race, but it's advised that you do. Why? Well, look at this simple equation: Tricks = Boost = Speed
Get it? Tricking fills your boost meter. When you have some stuff in your boost meter, you press square (while on the ground. It tweaks in the air) and you go faster. Going faster means wiping the competition! Though, be careful, because it's easy to wipeout while doing tricks, and that's bad. Also, the higher you are in the air, the more it slows you down. But if you pull off a good trick, you have more than enough boost to make up for that loss. So, there are two strategies: Trick for boost, or stay very low to the ground, stay inside on curves, and go as fast as possible. Both work. I usually prefer the second option, but what ever works best for you.

In Showoff mode, its just you, your board, the mountain, and the judges. Your goal? Show off your best moves, collect as many points as you can, and win the gold!
Its all about tricks. It doesn't matter how fast you go (except to gain more air for tricks). There is no race, and no competitors. There are also more ramps and rails in this mode than there are in race mode. So go, trick, and show them that physics mean squat!

The whole point of earning medals is to improve your character, unlock more courses, unlock new outfits, boards, and other locked characters.

Synopsis: SSX Tricky is a great game, for either one player, or two. Whether you like boarding for speed, or for tricks, this game kicks ass! If you have ever been a fan of the Tony Hawk series, you will definitely like this game!
I recommend it to anyone who likes a good fast paced game, or likes tricking, or anyone who just needs a change from RPGs.

Overall Rating: 8/10 (UBER!!! One of the best Sports games I've ever laid a controller on! Even better than the Tony Hawk series, which until now, was about the only sports game I would touch!)