Eddie (SSX Tricky)

Ever since Resaurus evaporated, there’s been a definite hole in the market of videogame action figures. Other companies – most notably McFarlane Toys, Palisades Marketing, and Koto – have offered up some sterling efforts but have not thrown their full weight behind videogame properties. Enter Joyride Studios. Joyride looks to pick-up where Resaurus left off and concentrate fully on digital properties

and its first offerings show a huge amount of promise. One of those first figures is Eddie from SSX Tricky.

Quite simply, if you’re a big SSX Tricky fan you absolutely need Eddie. I know you probably want to know more than that so read on…

Installed on his base, Eddie stands a solid 11 ½” tall. Out of the

package I couldn’t figure out how he attached to the blue ice base. There is a subtle slot the board fits into to achieve that “launching into the air” look. Eddie is attached to the board by two big pegs that fit into his big rubbery feet. Once on display, Eddie is very hard to knock over.

Sculpting is well done, snagging Eddie’s likeness and attitude at the same time – the ever-important afro is present in all its glory and the rumples of his clothes add another level of detail. Good sculpting without a decent paint job can severely bring down a figure's score, but that’s not the case with Eddie. The guy is a virtual rainbow from his rainbow, green boots, blue pants, yellow shirt spotted with orange and red circles covering a purple long-sleeve shirt, right up to his red gloves and gold-rimmed sunglasses. There’s no oversplash present and the colors are sharp and bright. Pair that with the base and your eyes can’t help but be drawn to him.

As you might be able to tell, articulation is on the slim side. Eddie has 6 points of articulation – 5 really, since his neck movement is hampered by his huge ‘fro. The other points are seam joints and located at the shoulders, wrists and waist. His waist opens the most possibilities to some noticeably different poses. His right arm can be positioned to hold the tip of his board or the edge, and his left can angle down or angle up. Some like to have a lot of “action” poses for their action figures but because Eddie is decidedly more display piece than fully poseable action figure. This isn’t a bad thing (far from it); it’s just how it is.

At this point is should go without saying that playability is bottom of the barrel. His legs are sculpted in such a way that he’s always bent over like a monkey. Although this opens the doors for play with other monkey figures, he’s pretty much useless in terms of play value. Eddie is also in proportion to Elise (sort of) so displaying the two together is a good option, but putting them into exciting racing competitions isn’t an option – forget about playing in the snow with them. Also, the small shades can be lost quite easily. The arms fit snuggly and nearly seamlessly above each ear (similar to Koto’s FFX Auron figure) but if you feel compelled to remove them for some reason be careful where you put them. As is my habit, I let my son take Eddie for a spin – having played the game he recognized Eddie immediately and took him swooshing around the room. He had fun, but the market Eddie is aimed at (it says Ages 8+ on the package) probably won’t find much playability unless they use their imagination. GASP!

Also, of note is the packaging. The card opens to reveal some more information on the game courtesy of GamePro magazine. And there’s a collector’s card included as well. Turning the card over reveals some handy cheat codes. These probably add to the overall cost of producing Eddie, but I for one appreciate these touches (even if they border on glorified ads for GamePro – there’s also an offer of two free issues of the magazine), even though the first thing to get tossed is the packaging.
Anyway, my second paragraph need only be repeated here. Quite simply, if you’re a big SSX Tricky fan you absolutely need Eddie. And even if you're not, he's worth a look because he's so eye-catching.

- Omni
(September 8, 2002)