Shaun White Snowboarding (Nintendo DS) - Review by Andrew

Introduction

Like skateboarding, snowboarding is incredibly popular amongst teenagers in just about every corner of the world, but why go outside to do it when you can sit at home and play it on your DS? At least, that's what the various game companies want you to do, so for years now they have been churning out titles that allow you to indulge in sports without leaving the comfort of your armchair. Shaun White Snowboarding is available on just about every platform this year but is the DS version worth considering? We took it out on the slopes to find out.

Gameplay

As you'd expect with a snowboarding title the aim of the game is to tackle a handful of courses, both Race and Trick based. The races themselves are simple enough but once you discover that pulling off a perfect jump will give you increased speed, you are likely to breeze though these sections. The Trick Point courses are more challenging, presenting you with a list of criteria and the more you satisfy, the more courses that will open up. The challenges you'll encounter here are generally quite so easy though that after only a handful of attempts you're likely to get the required score and longest jump etc. The developers have also allowed you to select your path down the mountains in an attempt to make the game feel more open ended but, whichever route you select, you are still likely to encounter the same obstacles.

In the multiplayer option up to four player can take part in either Races or Trick Point competitions, although these are exactly the same as they are in the main game but, rather than racing against AI boarders, you'll now face real competitors. The end result though, is a game that only lasts around four or five hours and while it's reasonably entertaining, it's simply too short.

Controls

The d-pad kicks in when you wish to grab your board (mid-air, of course) but other than that it's all touch-screen.

Graphics

To make things look decent for a sports title you need many well-animated characters but unfortunately Shaun White just isn't up to the standard we've come to expect. The 3D engine is just fine with a suitable amount of detail (even though most of the environments are covered in snow) but the various snowboarders simply don't have enough frames of animation to allow them to move smoothly, especially when they are pulling off some of the more difficult tricks. Elsewhere there's also the ability to collect decals around the courses to add to your boards, but as you can only add three at a time you'll have to be selective. These alter your boards' properties but never notably so.

Sound

The soundtrack is very impressive indeed considering this is a DS game and you'll be treated to tracks from the likes of Sweet and Run DMC. Unfortunately despite being crystal clear, they repeat a little too often so even if one of these songs happens to be in your top ten, you'll still be sick of it by the time you complete the game.

Dual screen

Most of the control is stylus driven and while things like the steering work perfectly the same cannot be said of the jumping and tricks. This is mainly due to the fact that you can misjudge a landing through no fault of your own or you can land very badly and still be fine. It's this inconsistency which can get a little irritating and that's before we even mention the incredibly slow speed at which you move through the various courses.

Final comments

While Shaun White Snowboarding is reasonably entertaining it's a complete mystery why the developers have made the actual snowboarding so slow and therefore altogether much less exciting. On the plus side it's very accessible and forgiving meaning that even average gamers will feel a great sense of accomplishment but with only four mountains and easily achievable goals it will all be over in a matter of hours.

Pro: Licensed Soundtrack, Great Use of Stylus Control
Con: Not Much of a Challenge
Final score: 6.7

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