Shaun White Snowboarding: Finally, a Wii Balance Board Game Done Right

Available now for Wii, Xbox 360, PS3, PS2, PSP, and DS (although this review covers the Wii version specifically)

When Wii Fit first came out, my favorite mini-games off the bat were the skiing, long-jump, and snowboarding games.  Developers also immediately saw the potential of a Balance Board skiing/snowboarding marriage, and within a few months a number of skiing games for Wii hit the shelves, the most famous being We Ski.

The only problem was, We Ski wasn’t very good.  The game felt like a gimmick, with Mii-style characters and sub-par gameplay, and it certainly did not do justice to the potential of the Wii Balance Board.  There was a feeling that something better would come along. Enter Shaun White Snowboarding.  With his latest X Games Gold Medal, Ubisoft couldn’t have picked a better sponsor for the game.

Although the game was released for 6 consoles, the one that garnered the most attention was the Wii version, which uses the Balance Board. (Alternatively, you can use the Wii Remote to control your boarder, but what fun is that?) So how does it fare?  Here is the rundown:

Gameplay: First off, this game is really fun to play. The balance board is a very sensitive instrument, so you might want to set the sensitivity settings to LOW.  Doing this allows you to really push your weight around the board: grinding into turns, leaning forward for more speed, and of course spinning around in mid-air.  As a snowboarder myself, I can say that the controls are fairly accurate to what you would do on a real snowboard.

Graphics: Wii titles often get dinged for having lackulster graphics, and this game is no exception. Playing it on 360 or PS3 is a much different experience than playing it on the Wii.  However the graphics are secondary to the interactive nature of the game, and the Wii makes do with the power it has in this regard.

Music & Sound: The soundtrack is decent, pulling mainly rock tracks from Audioslave, Sonic Youth, and The Offspring.  Nothing especially significant here, pretty much what you would expect from a snowboarding game.

Pros: This is Wii playing the way it was meant to be - fun, interactive, and realistic - the kind of game you can whip out for a party and everyone is guaranteed to have a good time.  Wanna-be boarders can get an easy, pain-free intro into snowboarding, and veteran boarders will have fun tuning their skills in the off-season.  The use of the balance board is done well.  The Wii needs more games like this.

Cons: Even when leaning forward on the board with all your weight, it never feels like you go very fast in this game. Also the wipeouts could be better, and the developers decided to allow the rider to go through some hard objects like trees, which only slow you down instead of completely stop you in your tracks!  (Not much for realism there...!)

Overall: B+

Rent or Buy: If you just got Wii Fit with the Balance Board for Christmas and are looking for a good game to use it with, then I would recommend buying this one.  Just don’t get it from Circuit City!

- Stefan

* Attention Friday High-Five Followers: The answer to the following question is the final High-Five Coupon Code for Friday, January 30th. Shaun White has many sponsors, including Oakley and Sony Playstation.  What is the one and only soft drink sponsor that he has?

Good luck!

Posted by on 01/28 at 12:53 PM