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Shaun White Snowboarding is the first entry in what could be a franchise, if the success of White’s X-Games pals is any indication. There is some serious muscle behind this game. Its publisher and developer are Ubisoft and Ubisoft Montreal (Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six), respectively. The uber-popular publisher has employed proprietary Scimitar engine for the game. Scimitar, for those of you who were out of the loop during the media storm surrounding Assassin’s Creed, is the game engine that the company developed based on its Jade engine which was used to render the visuals in the Prince of Persia series. If Ubisoft Montreal’s engine yields results similar to those of Assassin’s Creed again, gamers can expect amazing visuals and in game animations for Shaun White Snowboarding.
For those unaware, Shaun White was a notable snowboarding competitor at the age fourteen. Having dominated competitions in the US and become a prolific Olympic gold medalist, “The Flying Tomato” (White’s nickname because of his red hair) has broken yet another barrier in the snowboarding X-Games world. He’ll join the ranks of extreme sports legends like Dave Mirra and Tony Hawk with his own videogame hits consoles this fall.
Gamers will be treated to at least 4 tracks: Europe, Park City, Australia, and Japan, most of which will be familiar to fans of White or snowboarding games in general (those stages have been included since Snowboard Kids on N64). Players will presumably have the option of playing as White and other popular powder-enthusiasts. Gamers should also expect plenty of gameplay options as ‘Shaun White’ will include drop in split-screen support for competitive runs, the ability to create paths in the mountain and explore different trails, and customizable avatars in game. Ubisoft is adding as much of White’s personality and style into the game as possible, which is evident in little touches like the ability to throw snowballs and record tricks, runs and bail outs from in-game actions and edit and post them for other shredders to enjoy.
Shaun White Snowboarding aims to take the video-boarding crown for White and correct the mistakes similar games have made. By allowing players the freedom to customize their snowboarding experience Ubisoft will attempt to ride the avalanche of sandbox-esque games and features we have seen since Grand Theft Auto 3.
Shaun White Snowboarding will grind into US stores on all major consoles this November with plenty of fresh powder to keep gamers busy for a while.
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