Having seen the impressive tech behind SSX firsthand during a studio tour to EA Canada, I can tell you that the new direction the new game is taking is fascinating. They’ve used Google Map topography data to make their maps, integrated half pipes into the various slopes in natural ways and added cool features such as the wing suit. Here’s what EA has to say about the upcoming game:

“Redefining the SSX franchise, SSX will pit riders versus both mountain and man. Players will explore the story of a team who seek to be the first to descend the faces of the most treacherous mountain ranges on the planet. The team will travel the world to face the worst that Mother Nature can throw at them. From the peaks of the Himalayas, where the air is so thin that riders have to descend through the death zone at breakneck speeds to keep from blacking out, to the solid ice ranges of Antarctica, where a sunlit line is the only survival option when temperatures drop 50 degrees centigrade in the shade. And the mountain isn’t the only danger players will face. In SSX the first goal is to survive. The second, in true SSX fashion, is to look good doing it.”

SSX has a January 2012 release window. Check out the new trailer below and the screenshots on the game page.