Hot dawg, Shaun White is back and ready to hit the slopes in the latest sports release in the series from the team over at Ubisoft. Having never played the previous Shaun White Snowboarding, I was impressed with the level of details that went it to this title. Also having had the chance to talk with the Ubisoft team, I was impressed with the level of input and feedback provided directly from Shaun himself.
Firing up the system and strapping on the Wiimote and balance board I was ready to begin my departure into indoor snowboard land. Starting as the 100 ranked boarder is a tough thing – but we all have to start somewhere. Based on the real life experiences of Shaun, you’ll find yourself hanging out in the terminal of an international airport – yeah the life of a pro Snowboarder (airports and suitcases)… a few fun things happen right here – even before you leave for your first race. You’ll find a Wendy’s and a Red Bull vending machine (no interactions) and an interactive Video Game Arcade. This will allow those players with Motion Plus to completely customize aerial tricks for in game characters.
Similar to real life, event destinations and races are based on a weekly schedule offering up three different races, in one of 8 locations, each time you head to a new event. You will also find the other Playable Charecters wandering around the airport, napping on the lounge seats or playing pranks on one another. Your Trophies and awards will alos start to pile up the waiting area. Be sure to check the departure boards for your next race… and don’t forget to take along a Buddy for a little extra help in your race.
Races are fairly straight forward like Snowboarding IRL; fastest down the hill, most tricks on the pipe, etc… wins, top three players place and get awards and you then find another race – no surprises there. But where things get interesting is the tricks – if you can think of it, you can probably try to do it, a fakie with a double twist, a toe grab with a 360, Rail slides with a toe grab. Try them all and see what you can come up with (see motion plus comment above). Each successful trick adds to your buddies boost powers, to assist in much needed wins… more wins = higher rankings and more courses and characters to play – even unlock and play as Shaun.
I personally loved the soundtrack to this game; 25 fully licensed, face-paced and upbeat tunes, hand picked by Shaun himself. Board designs and clothing as well as a number of the in game rewards were also closely worked on with Shaun during development – lending a realistic edge to the entire gaming experience.
Where I found things lacking were in the Game controls itself – the board seemed a little unresponsive from time to time, and playing with just the wiimote made it to easy. I also found that your racing buddies were easily forgotten and rarely used.
Pros:
- Great music and sound effects (can I get the sound track on CD plz?)
- 8 interesting locations and 25 unique courses
- WiiMotion Plus support for trick customization
- Realistic character, outfit and board design
- In game sponsors did not detract or overwhelm the game
Cons:
- Easier to play with Wiimote than Wii ballance board
- Racing Buddies not overly useful
- WiiMotion needed for trick customizations
Feed Your Console gives Shaun White Snowboarding: World Stage: 8 out of 10.
Developer(s) Ubisoft Montreal
* Special thanks to Ubisoft for supplying Shaun White Snowboarding: World Stage.
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