Snowboarding

I have a bit of a soft spot for games that involve snowboarding. Years ago, I firmly believed that PCs were the only viable platform for gaming. This changed when someone pushed a controller in my hands and forced me to play an incredibly fun Snowboarding game, of which I have unfortunately forgotten the name. Still, it changed my perception and attitude towards consoles and snowboarding games in particular.

Now, nearly a decade later, I still like playing PC games but have widened my gaming horizon to include every major console on the market and have a large number of snowboarding games in my collection. Stumbling across Shaun White Snowboarding: World Stage at GamesCom was an unexpected bonus and worthy of my undivided attention.

Exclusively for Wii

Shaun White Snowboarding: World Stage is made exclusively for the Wii, or rather the Wii seems to have been created just for this game! Like any proper Wii game, it has been specifically created with both fun and intuitive controls in mind. The game is played using the balance board as a real-world version of the in-game snowboard. The nunchuck has a role as well: it is used to initiate tricks and simulate grabbing on to your board. Although the Wii only supports one balance board, it is possible to play in tandem, using just the nunchuck to ride the slopes. For a full multiplayer boarding experience, however, you will need to go online where you can play with your friends.

Most of the activities that you can do are standard fare for a snowboarding game. You can race against other players, do a bit of freestyling or jump into the halfpipe. But World Stage doesn't stop there; it actually has something of a storyline!

The player is part of a band of traveling boarders seeking thrills all over the world. People who do this professionally in real life, spend way more time on airports than they would like to. The game's lobby, from where you travel to snowboarding events, is a lobby in an airport. You are joined there with some colorful buddies with whom your character can form close friendships. The scenes in the airport vary from people just chilling out to seeing them messing around and having mischievous fun.

The game's locations are not limited to white slopes on high mountains. Players can ride through more urban, snow-covered cities such as Tokyo and Paris, with dramatic finishes under famous landmarks like the Eiffel tower.

Friend power

During the game, you will unlock different wardrobes that allow you to tailor your looks to your own personal taste. None of these will make you jump higher or board faster though. The developers felt that the way your board handles shouldn't change too drastically or too often; once you have the hang of it, you got the hang of it.

But don't let that cramp your style! This is where your boarding buddies come into play. The airport scenes let you choose a friend that will accompany you in a supporting role. Your friend will give you 'friend power', which varies per character and includes boosts to your speed, available time and higher jumps.

The game wasn't named after Olympic gold medalist Shaun White just because he spends a great amount of time on airports. Shaun was brought on as an advisor for the development team. His input is felt throughout the entire game, ranging from the available locations to the music of the game: each of the 40 tracks that are in the game come straight from Shaun's very own MP3 player. More importantly, Shaun was asked to make sure that your moves on the balance board and tricks with the nunchuck's are as authentic as possible.

Next best thing

Trying my hand at Shaun White Snowboarding: World Stage was great fun. I especially liked that you can play the game casually, or spice it up to such an extent that it is the next best thing after hitting the white powdery slopes yourselves.