The news of SSX being bundled with an online pass does not spring up that big a surprise if the current market trend is to be observed, though what’s interesting is that the one for this game doesn’t sound that bad at all. The restrictions put on access to the online features of this title look like they’re quite limited as compared to those on other modern day offerings.
Game Informer has received a statement from EA which sheds some light upon the details of this online pass. According to the announcement, players will be able to access both the online game modes, Explore and Global Events, of SSX without the need to activate the online pass. But any credits that are earned while in Global Events will not be awarded to them. However, as and when people decide to activate their online passes, they shall be rewarded with all the credits that were earned by them previously.
“In SSX, players without an Online Pass are able to compete and play in both of SSX’s online game modes, Explore and Global Events with no restrictions. In Global Events, the top finishers from each event are awarded with in-game credits. These in-game credits earned during play will not be awarded to the player if they do not have an Online Pass; these credits will be stored so that at any time, if a player redeems an Online Pass code, all the credits that they had previously earned in Global Events will be immediately awarded to them,” EA appears to have told the website.
The earned credits from these events can be used for numerous functions like purchasing additional gear for characters as well as participating in event drops across both Explore and Global Events. We’re guessing, this would also mean that gamers won’t be able to level up their characters, and this could well force them to buy the passes which go for anything around 10 USD these days.
SSX is slated to release for the PS3 and Xbox 360 on February 28, 2012. It is now available for pre-order through various retailers at a price of 59.99 USD (approx. Rs. 2,985).