Given the fact that everyone on the planet owns Wii Fit - according to the sales charts - it’s about time that someone released a game that was actually worth using with the balance board. After all, those Wii Fit mini-games can only be entertaining for so long…
So, cue Ubisoft. Yes, Ubisoft. That would be the company behind the hundred and one (thousand) Imagine, Petz, Dogz, Catz and Babiez (oh, dear Lord) titles for the DS and even worse monstrosities for the Wii. And you know what? Their Montreal development team has done a damned good job here.
The first thing you should know about Shaun White Snowboarding: Road Trip is that it isn’t a port of the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions. This is a brand new experience developed solely for the Wii and for that, I am eternally thankful. You see this approach actually WORKS and I’m not just talking about the control system. The interface works well; the graphics are as smooth as butter and there aren’t any massively long load times to be endured. This is how Wii games should be made.
You have two options when it comes to the control setup. If you somehow don’t own the balance board, you can tilt the Wii remote to control proceedings, using the A button to tuck in and speed up and the B button to edge your board and carve sharper lines through the snow. Surprisingly, this works a hell of a lot better than a good ninety five percent of the games which use a similar tilt-based steering system on the Wii, and is to be applauded. However, if you do own the balance board, then you’re in for a treat. Road Trip asks you to turn the board so that you’re side-on to your TV, and tasks you with leaning forwards to dig the right edge of your board in to make a right hand turn, and leaning back to do the opposite. In other words, you act in the same way that you would if you were swooshing down the slopes. Tricks can be pulled off by hitting jumps and leaning into a spin or roll, and can be modified by using the A or B buttons on the Wii remote. Tucking for speed is controlled by putting more pressure on your lead foot, and carving is carried out by a press of the B button. If you’re near a ledge or something that can be grinded along, you jump up onto it automatically, which relieves the potential frustration of missing things that you really shouldn’t have been missing. This. Works. Brilliantly.
As a single-player experience, the game is more than capable of providing hours of playing time as you chase around the world after the elusive Shaun White, taking on bigger and more impressive peaks and vistas along your way. If you have a friend to hand, they can also join you on the tour in co-op mode, although it was a tad disappointing to find that this isn’t a case of “drop in, drop out” - so any real addicts will find themselves having to complete the game in both modes. It isn’t a game-killer, but it would have been nice to allow a friend to just crash in on my single player progress, and then carry on again when they were no longer around.
And make no mistake; Road Trip is a game that you’ll want to play with friends. The controls are very, very easy to pick up - especially if you’ve got the balance board going on - and that makes this just as much a party game as the likes of Carnival, EA Playground or Wii Sports. And once that party is over, you’ll likely carry on playing the single player mode to see if you can’t pick up higher scores or grab the harder-to-reach pickups that are dotted around the levels. That isn’t to say that this is the longest or deepest game that you’ll play this year - it isn’t - but it’s certainly a great deal of fun when you start chaining tricks together or really feeling like you’re in complete control of your fate as you’re hurtling between slalom gates at top speed. There are times that you’ll get completely in to the zone and feel as if you are actually snowboarding - as ridiculous as that sounds - and that’s enough to keep you coming back for more once you’ve watched the end credits roll.
I was ready for a let-down. The press releases talked the talk, but I expected the game to fall on its face as it was trying to walk the walk as so many other Wii titles have in recent months. But, I’m happy to report that with Shaun White Snowboarding: Road Trip, that isn’t the case. There’s room for a lengthier sequel with more party options and a modified co-op system, but not only is this one of the smoothest looking Wii games to be released so far, it also provides a hefty amount of fun for your money.
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December 19, 2008 at 9:30 am
[...] on from the news that 40% of the 295,000 Shaun White Snowboarding (Wii review) sales have been for the ...