Shaun White Snowboarding

Finally! A game with some substance has arrived to make full use of the Wii Fit board. Ironically, the board’s inclusion, however, is almost certainly the reason this game feels so basic. While using the board is fun and it copes well enough with the fast-paced gameplay, it’s undeniably slower to control than using a stick. So the tracks have been widened and the stabilizers added to compensate. Even jumps onto rails have a noticeable ‘tractor beam’ that pulls you on. You can use the Wiimote on its own, but that makes the game way too easy.

Despite the streamlining, it’s not a bad game and is actually rather relaxing (though that’s probably not a good thing for an ‘extreme’ sport). You can coast down a mountain on your pretend snowboard, take in the licensed tunes and chuckle at the internet parodies that flood your virtual inbox, all at your own pace. The cartoony characters are well designed and the cameraman selection is a neat touch, with each one offering a special ability once you fill the respect bar with tricks and pick-ups. In fact, everything here is solid and likeable - it’s just too basic and repetitive to properly challenge the mighty SSX.

Nov 18, 2008