Shaun White Snowboarding

Does Ubisoft's extreme sports effort thrill or leave us feeling cold?

	Version 360, (PS3, PS2, PSP, DS)	Developer Ubisoft Montreal	Publisher Ubisoft	Genre Sports

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There are pop-up tutorial hints, and vague missions and a narrative that will force you to visit all four of the vast locations of the game, but from the off it feels a little like the developers at Ubisoft Montreal have deserted you on their snowy summits and swiftly left without so much as a pointer. Untidy presentation, a laughably ineffective map and unnecessarily complex menus also mean a front end that is almost useless at telling you where you need to go, where you've been and what you should be doing.

The real failing in Shaun White Snowboarding, however, comes with the horrendously flawed technical aspects. The in-game physics are quite diabolical, and any snowboarder's movement and control feels at the whim of some horrendously implemented physics. The steepness of any hillside seems to bear no relation to the speed you can gather, and infuriatingly clumsy, sluggish controls make any prowess in the air feel more like luck than skill. Snowboarding in reality is a sport made so enjoyable by the wonderful sensation of gliding over fresh powder, so it's a shame Ubisoft has given the experience a sense of riding a shopping trolley over a cattle grid.

The mountainsides are also covered in spots that seem to excel at creating glitches, trapping riders, and at times whole groups of snowboarders, between icy cliffs and what should be spongy soft powder. Taking a break and pausing the game, things do look very pretty at times, and standing at the top of a mountain can be quite impressive, but hit the start button and let things move, and all that glittering wintery beauty starts to snag and stutter just a little too much.

Part of the problem comes with the subject sport itself; snowboarding is of course bound by gravity, and we all know you can't slide uphill unaided. Making the GTA of snowboarding is all well and good, but when you can't sweep back on yourself and pick up a missed item, and continually fly past mission start points without time to stop, the merits of free roaming in this context are often called into question.

Things aren't all bad though, and if you can endure the frustration for the first few hours, and are the kind of person who enjoyed pushing through each and every Tony Hawk game regardless of their individual standing, there is an enjoyable, challenging snowboarding experience to uncover.

The audio effects are noticeably good, even against the generic angst-ridden guitar pop that makes up most of the soundtrack, and the online game is fun, functional, and generally lag-free throughout. However, these good points do little to make up for Ubisoft's product's disappointing failings. Virtual boarders expecting a Skate for the ski resort set best prepare for a let down, as those who insist on making a purchase will have endure a great deal to uncover a game of much worth.

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