Shaun White Snowboarding Road Trip Review

BY Nabeel Akhtar | POSTED: 05 December 2008

It sucks you in and keeps going and going!



The premise behind the game is very simple. You are going on a road trip with your friends to different locations around the world to compete on different slopes. Every run has a mix of several different competitive styles mostly made up of rail jams, racing with slaloms, slope style and big air moves.

Ubisoft appears to place great emphasis on the simplicity to get into the game and get going. Of particular note is the very first run you are asked to make, the game basically tells you go to this button, pick this person and make them your primary character, choose the next character make them your camera-man (or woman), pick this choice, choose this run and do this in here, all along the way for the first few moments of the game to help you get the basics.



Gameplay Mechanics are kept simple for the Wiimote. A to speed up, B to slowdown,  flick the controller up to hop or jump off the edge of a ramp, hold A or B or both and flick in a direction to perform a trick. If you simply jump and tilt in a direction it performs a rotation in that direction, tilting while going down a slope will make you turn in that direction. Pressing 1 changes the track while pressing 2 brings up the menu to pause the game. The directional pad activates the special power boost that the camera person provides. It’s good to see more and more titles beginning to utilize the Balance Board and what better way to see it in action than a snowboarding game. Using it is again is as simple as placing it sideways, increase pressure towards the screen to speed up, back to slow down, weave side to side to change direction and a simple hop with both feet still on the board to perform a jump, you still have to hang on to a Wiimote to perform some tricks however, while all basic movement is done on the board.

The main menu presents your standard set of choices, single player, multiplayer which we’ll get to in just a minute, your options and credits.

In single player ‘campaign mode’ you’re given the choice of which country you would like to compete in, and following that which slopes you are going to run. Each challenge has a set of objectives that much be accomplished to earn a reputation point in the location you are competing, this unlocks more challenges with slightly more difficult objectives. If they cannot be done by your current set of characters, play on, unlock some more and see if they can be better used to accomplish the tasks or via their power boosts. This isn’t as deep or as complex as a Tony Hawks or a BMX game is, hardcore fans of the genre will find it lackluster, however for the more casual gamer and since this system is more and more common among the mainstream, the game contains enough to keep you entertained.

As for the single player menu itself, in the top right corner is your van where you pick your crew, the globe which brings you back to the previous menu and your laptop (also accessible from your van) to check up on emails including spam, in the game only folks not to your actual Wii, and see what your friends are upto or offers you receive. From time to time you will get phone calls from your crew who will update you on why they are not available for certain events and such.

Visually, the game is very good looking for the genre and the system. Yes it is comparable to the PS2 as far as graphics are concerned but the overall presentation and art style suits the levels and comical setting of the story. On a standard definition TV this game is fun to watch, but Ubisoft definitely delivers from watching the visual thrill of going down a slope at high speeds.



Onto the multiplayer now… It’s sad to see that this game isn’t playable over a Wi-Fi connection at all. This is definitely one of those games anyone would go online to play. Take note Ubisoft, perhaps in the next iteration add some online features, such as “at least” 2 player online competitive or co-op, a simple leaderboard style system to compare scores, not a whole lot of things but enough to entitle players to some bragging rights. Multiplayer for the most part is strictly offline, splitscreen upto four players or in Hotseat mode to switch players on and off using a single Wiimote or Balance Board. There is also “splitscreen” co-op mode where you and a partner work together to travel the world and unlock new items and bonuses and characters which are usable in any of the modes of the game.

The game is put together quite well. It has none of the things that make it complex, yet all of the things that make it simple, playable and enjoyable. It’s safe to say it’s among those that quickly becomes addicting the more you play it, which leads to getting better at it, which in turn leads to performing better moves. All in all, it’s a great game. The single player can be blitzed through pretty fast, mix things up with multiplayer and Shaun White Snowboarding Road Trip is sure to be one of the more interesting party games.