We Ski

By Tae Kim
March 03, 2008 16:23 PM PST
Print
Email this!
Share
- Digg
- Yahoo Buzz!
- FaceBook
- StumbleUpon
- del.icio.us

Unless you're willing to import one from Japan, you won't be able to get your hands on a Wii Balance Board for a while. But there's no doubting that when it is released, the intriging peripheral will offer up some unique gameplay experiences. We were recently treated to an in-house demo of a title that looks to take full advantage of Nintendo's weight bearing peripheral-Namco Bandai's upcoming We Ski.

Snow Plow

Take the visual charm and accessibility of Wii Sports and focus it on the sport of skiing-that's basically what We Ski is like. Unlike other titles that have focused on the wintery activity-SSX, for example-We Ski is a no-pressure title that emphasizes having fun over completing objectives. The game offers gamers an open-ended ski resort to romp about in; there are several areas that you can travel to via a system of ski lifts or just by accessing a map. From there, you can sign up to take part in races, slalom and mogul events, or you can just swoosh around at your leisure.

The world and characters are rendered in the cartoony style of Wii Sports; we were impressed by the character creation tools as well, which allowed for a lot of customization. The fact that you can play with your Miis is another plus in the game's favor.

Hit the Slopes

The game itself is intuitive and easy to play; it's one of those quintessential Wii experiences. Much like swinging the Remote to hit a baseball out of the park or punching it forward to tag your opponent in the gut, We Ski's control scheme mimics the actual sport of skiing. Of course, having the Wii Balance Board is key but even without it, the game does a good job of virtually recreating the skiing experience. You grasp the Remote and Nunchuk like you would ski poles and you push them both down to propel yourself forward. You turn by moving your body in the direction you want to go; you can 'pizza slice' your skis by turning the Remote and Nunchuk inward and you an 'french fry' by pointing them straight out. To tuck your poles for max speed, you turn both wrists outward and bring your hands close to your body. We noticed that the turning sensitivity took a little getting used to-there were times when we felt like the controls weren't responding as quickly or as accurately as we would have liked-but it works fairly well once you get the hang of it.

Off Balance

Of course, adding the Balance Board brings out the game's true potential: turning was a simple matter of adjusting your weight accordingly, just like in real skiing. We got to test out the game while standing atop the Balance Board and it definitely upped the fun factor by a significant notch. The game is nothing special with the standard controls but throw in the Balance Board and it all starts to make sense. The downside to all of this is that while the game allows up to four players to hit the slopes together, only one can be on the Balance Board-the others have to settle for using the standard controls.

We were also a little concerned about replayability-during our short demo, we bought into the game's potential but how long would that last? Once the novelty of the Balance Board wore off, would the game still be compelling enough for us to want to grab our virtual poles and head up the mountain? Also, where are the snowboards?

Hot Cocoa

These questions aside, we'll have to wait until we get the game in for final review until we can make a final determination, but for the time being, we're intrigued by We Ski. It has the potential to be a hit with the casual Wii crowd and it might just offer up enough to appeal to the hardcore gamer too; hey, we know it's not the next Metal Gear or Halo but we all have to put down our digital guns and take a breather every now and again, you know? The game will also benefit from the fact that it'll be one of the first games to take advantage of the Balance Board, so the novelty factor will be high.

Like most of you, we don't often get a chance to hit the slopes, but if We Ski pans out, we might not have to.