White Christmas

In the past there have been two very different types of snowboarding game - authentic simulations like Amped, and freaky, arcade-style romps like SSX filled with wild stunts and eye-popping visual effects. Shaun White Snowboarding plants its board somewhere between the two, providing realistic controls and environments, but looking to seduce casual players with some crazy tricks and a long, low learning curve.

Trick star

The action takes place over four huge mountains - Japan, Europe, Alaska and Park City, Utah. There are no set courses in Shaun White Snowboarding; instead you're free to roam through each location, finding your own slopes and trick sites as you attempt to complete Shaun's challenges. There are loads of jumps and jibs (grind rails) to happen upon and the environments change as you venture further down the slopes. From open mountain at the peaks, to forest locations and finally, parks at the bottom filled with freestyle half-pipes. Outdoor fans can hike around or, if you're feeling lazy, you can take a helicopter to the mountain summits. The idea of making your own way around really helps to provide an immersive feel and while the visuals aren't mind-blowing, there are some wonderful views to discover as you trudge through the snow.

Like EA's Skate, Shaun White Snowboarding takes a physical, simulation-based approach to the control interface. Simply put, the left stick deals with general movement while right handles grabs, though as you play, you realise it's more complicated than that - trial and error proves the best method to really understanding things. The shoulder buttons add modifiers to give you access to the large range of tricks which include spins, flips, grinds and grabs. It's all very naturalistic so you won't be performing triple somersaults before grinding along the roof of a ski chalet.

Treasure hunt

Although it's possible to play alone, the real fun of the game is the multiplayer experience. Similar to the excellent Burnout Paradise, Shaun White Snowboarding presents a persistent online world where gamers can just turn up, meet other players and challenge one other to quick racing or tricking competitions. You can even start snowball fights with your fellow boarders. It's a really entertaining, highly sociable experience that is really what snowboarding is all about for most people.

Shaun White Snowboarding's most eccentric feature could turn out to be the deal-breaker for some. In order to progress through the career mode you need to locate a set of coins hidden around each mountain. This adds a sort of action adventure/platformer feel, which you may enjoy, or you may feel utterly detracts from the authenticity of the experience. It doesn't sit comfortably with the rest of the game which aims to make you feel like you're really on that mountain with all your mates.

The sensation of speed, or rather the lack of it, is another issue. At first it's rare to feel like you're building up any sort of momentum so you don't get the excitement of plummeting down a hill with only a modicum of control over your character. As you go through Shaun White Snowboarding it's possible to unlock better boards and other equipment but many players crave that sensation of terminal velocity right from the start and will feel robbed when they don't get it.

The White way of doing things

Shaun White Snowboarding is a really interesting, superbly conceived snowboarder with a great multiplayer mode and some marvelous environments. Once you get the hang of things, find your style and start kicking through those challenges and events, you realise this is much more like a snowboarding holiday than a straightforward sim, and that's the whole darn point.

There are idiosyncrasies in here for sure, but Ubisoft didn't just follow the arcade or sim blueprints, it forged its own route and took a few risks - get together with some mates and do the same thing. You'll have a (snow)ball.

GAME's Verdict

• Interesting open-world structure.
• Loads of tricks to learn.
• Excellent online mode.

• Lacks a sensation of speed.
• The coin collecting aspect is controversial.
• Falls between a sim and an arcade experience.

Review by: Keith 'Let It Snow' Stuart
Version Tested: Xbox 360
Review Published: 05.12.08