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Snowboarding games are in short supply. SSX, Cool Boarders, 1080 Snowboarding and the upcoming Stoked are just a few that come to mind. Until now. Time to check out Ubisoft's licensed snowboard game, Shaun White Snowboarding.
Shaun White Snowboading for the PlayStation 3 (and Xbox360) takes snowboarding and gives it EA's Skate treatment--a more realistic approach to an action sports game. Some gamers may actually like that, but for me, giving extreme sports a real-world feel in a videogame almost takes the 'extreme' out of the sport. You won't find gravity defying stunts with huge air. Instead, you will be confined to the limitations of realistic physics.
Realism can only take a game so far. For example, the game's graphics are beautiful. The Scimitar engine (the Assassin's Creed engine) brings the massive open-world mountains to life, and it all looks great. I may never know what it looks like down a snowy mountain, but this game succeeds at conveying the feel. Ubisoft Montreal worked closely with Shaun White to capture the look and feel of boarding down the slope, and it seems like their collaboration paid off. If the rest of the game could have been as great as it looks, Shaun White Snowboarding would be a winner. Unfortunately, it's not the case here.
The controls actually aren't bad, which was one of the major complaints I kept hearing. It took a bit of getting used to but nothing beyond the learning curve of any other game. Use the right trigger to jump and control with the analog sticks and left trigger. I just wish the game would give me more air, so that I could pull off meaner tricks.
The NPCs wander around the base of the mountain at the end of a run, and you could swear that they are blind. They walk aimlessly into walls, completely oblivious to their surroundings, and many times will get stuck in a corner and continue running in place forever. They also like to bump into each other while running. Unfortunately, they don't learn from the first time, because they will get back up and run right into each other again, sometimes repeating the process over and over for a full minute before continuing on their ways.
Aside from dumb-as-brick NPCs, you get some funny collision issues. Why is it that when I am boarding down a mountain at full speed and slam directly into a wall or tree, I am merely bumped over to the side a bit. But when I am on my feet and walk slowly into a Porta-Potty, I am thrown a few feet back and completely off balance?
Some of those annoyances also come in the form of collision detection. It just looks bad when you bump into a helicopter that is about three feet away from you, or when running into said helicopter's door and forgetting to press X to "interact". The result? Your character gets bumped backwards.
When you remind yourself to actually play the game and follow the mundane task of coin collecting to win over the cool points with Shaun White and his posse, you will quickly remember why you veered off the beaten path. You are given a radar, but the thing is useless for helping you on your scavenger hunts. Racing down the mountain and throwing snowballs at other snowboarders may be a lot more fun than the actual story, but the problem here is that if you actually want to advance, you have to play through the story.
The PS3 and Xbox360 versions were about an open-world with the freedom to explore the levels. It works that way down the mountain, but once you reach the bottom of the slope, there isn't much to do besides walk to a ski lift or helicopter to make your way back to the top.
It may sound like I just hate the game at this point, but I really don't. The problem is not so much in the concept as it is in the execution. Why would I want to collect coins just to make Shaun White like me? Why let me explore the base of the mountain if there is really nothing to do down there? Why are the NPCs running around bumping into everything?
If you are looking for a snowboarding action game and have a Wii and the Balance Board, do yourself a favor and pick up that version. The quick, to-the-point action of the Wii version actually makes for a game that is overall more fun to play.
Fun Factor: Well, to be fair, boarding down the mountain isn't that bad. It gets boring pretty quickly because some of these things feel like they take ten minutes (I never timed it, but it felt like forever) to ride down. Aside from that, playing through the story and going on a hunt for a bunch of coins for a chance to show a snowboarding legend how awesome I am (and learn a few new tricks) just isn't my idea of fun.
Difficulty: Meeting certain challenges can become frustrating, and you will probably end up saying, "Screw it" and go back to riding for fun rather than following the game's story mode.
On the Negative Side: The physics try to be realistic, and the gameplay skimps on the fun.
Bang for your Buck: I was not able to make myself enjoy this version all that much. As I said before, if you really want to have a good time with Shaun White Snowboarding and the option is available, go with the Wii.
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