One of my favorite facets ofSSX Trickywas its fusion of audio and gameplay. The game would mute its thumping house/hip-hop soundtrack as you soared off a ramp, leaving only the sound of the air whistling past your rider until the music kicked back in when you landed. It really heightened the awesomeness of nailing some aerial acrobatics.Trickydid that with its own soundtrack, and EA is now working on a proprietary tool called “Harmony” — set to debut in itsSSXreboot, now due out onFebruary 14— that will do the same thing to any music you can feed it.
Both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions ofSSXwill support custom soundtracks, and Harmony will enhance the snowboarding experience by mixing your music in real time as you carve up a mountain. Harmony won’t be exclusive toSSX, either: according to theSSXproducer I recently spoke with, EA is planning on integrating the technology into many of its future titles. It sounds like something that would work pretty well in aNeed for Speedgame, doesn’t it?
