EA confirmed a follow-up for its long dormant extreme snowboarding franchise SSX tonight at the Spike VGAs. Titled SSX: Deadly Descents, the new game is expected to release in 2011.

Redefining the SSX franchise, SSX: Deadly Descents 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: Deadly Descents the first goal is to survive. The second, in true SSX fashion, is to look good doing it.

Deadly Descents will let players race down "every mountain range," and boasts a less comical tone than its predecessors. The trailer features action movie visuals and an EA Sports tagline.We'll update with more information as it becomes available.UPDATE: Electronic Arts has opened the official site for SSX: Deadly Descents following the debut of the trailer at the Spike VGAs. Developed by EA Canada , the game takes a much more realistic approach to its courses and action, putting players in a team that seeks to be the first to claim near-impossible mountain routes.Reaction to the trailer have been heavily peppered with negative responses to the monotone visual style and gritty tone of the clip. (The game has already been nicknamed " SSX Black Ops" for its stylistic resemblance to Call of Duty.) That said, the idea of attacking incredibly dangerous routes has been a draw for snowboarding games in the past -- Nintendo's 1080 sequel was named "Avalanche" because of how awesome avalanche racing seemed to buyers, even though only the end of the game had this event.) Many will mourn EA's choice to take SSX away from the wild party of its originals' groomed courses and go instead out into the wild, but if done right, this still could be a tight ride in its own ways.Here's the official description of the game: