'SSX' update adds two new modes for free, including real-time multiplayer

SSX title update adds "3-2-1-Go!" real-time multiplayer and "Freeride" single-player modes.

EA's extreme snowboarding game SSX received a new title update via Xbox Live and PlayStation Network today, adding two new game modes: real-time, multiplayer races known as "3-2-1-Go! Events" and single-player exploration option, "Freeride."

SSX's new 3-2-1-Go! Events are different from the asynchronous multiplayer challenges found in the game's Global Events. Up to five players can compete in online heats, either in a sprint to the finish line or in a trick-based contest in which the snowboarder with the highest score at the end of a timed race will emerge the victor.

Freeride, EA says, lets players "endlessly explore every inch of the massive mountains of SSX at your own pace and with your own style." The new single-player mode features no rules, no ghosts, no clock, and no score — just laid back, yet still extreme, snowboarding.

Electronic Arts says it has also dropped the retail price of SSX to $39.99 in North America.

The new SSX title update is available now on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.