So, most of us have taken a break from the game after our first stretch and come back to it at least once. Is there anything you initially took for granted but really appreciated in subsequent playthroughs? Off the top of my head:

• The Alps are cool. I thought I was gonna hate them during development, but I realized over time that Grand Golliat really raises the skill ceiling and Vorassay is actually wicked fun to race.

• I really like combos being tied to Tricky. I wasn't sure about it initially, but I've been playing a lot of racing games over the last six months as well as the old SSXes and coming back to 2012, racing feels so fresh. Makes it a little more complex than what Tricky was doing, but it doesn't feel cheap like 3. It's kinda funny that all of the focus on tricking seems to really have benefited racing more. Guess it has to do with that SSX balance.

• You know when you go a long time without getting any air or rails and you start to hear this rumble and then it turns into this violin noise or sometimes a plane taking off and it just gets louder and louder until WHOOOOOSH and then it's totally quiet except for the wind and stuff? That's so cool. I like how it doesn't come easy, either.

• (DLC, but) Mt. Eddie isn't just a 2012 track with Tricky dressings. I mean, I would've been cool if it was, but it's a lot more than that. There are so many structural throwbacks, like those ledges at the very beginning of the track that are very Elysium or Alaska, or the ridiculous rail section in the middle that plays like TM, or the numerous hidden shortcuts that spit you out over the top of the track. Plus, the whole thing is sharper and more object-based. It's been the most fun track in the game to explore, for sure.

_________________

I really love the remix tool that works with custom playlists. When they announced that I was skeptical that it would work, but it does, and very well too! A friend of mine always restarts right as he falls in a hole because the sound it makes as your music dies out creeps him out XD

I also love the scenery. It makes it easy to forget that you're racing on deadly mountains that are almost guaranteed to kill you at least once.

I love the fast-paced nature of the races and just how smooth everything is. I went back to SSX3 because I was getting frustrated with falling into holes all the time, and even though 3 is great I couldn't play it; I was too slow. If there's a future SSX game, I hope they keep the 300+ km/h speeds! It's insanely fun to go fast.

I actually like the remixing of the music too.
Like on the Xbox version of SSX, you would grind a rail long enough until the music starts skipping,
then while you're still grinding, the music would get higher pitched and go faster.
Like.....that one trailer of SSX in Africa.
I find it really funny. I wish it worked for the ps3.

It doesn't work for you on PS3, Ruchie? It's always worked great for me. But yeah, the custom remixing blows my mind. Like, how????

_________________

I just got the game in December (although I did play SSX 3 all the time since I was 6) and the month I've had with it has been amazing. At first run I thought I'd hate the Alps just because of how bad I did during its part of the tour but going to Explore, the Alps are amazing. I'm also the same way with Africa. Sure I do neglect it, but when I do ride there it's actually really fun. (I still hate Patagonia though.)

_________________
Like a hurricane of GNARLY!

Oh it works, just not the way it does on Xbox.
I know I sound weird...you might not understand the way I say it.