DadCentric Review: Namco Bandai's "We Ski and Snowboard" for Wii

Recently we purchased a Wii. We did so after hours of debate - should we get a game system, which one has the most titles, which one is cheapest, which one would be best for the kid, which one is the most fun to play when the kids are asleep and we're drunk, etc. The Wii was the logical choice, and one fine day Beth came home with one tucked under her arm - she'd found the last remaining console at some video game store at the mall, and snatched up with the vigor of a golden ticket hunter who'd spied the 7-11's  last Wonka bar. Then began the long process of trying out games to see which ones Lucas would enjoy (important) and be able to actually play (equally so - he's five, and still working on the whole hand-eye thing). I received a copy of Namco Bandai's "We Ski and Snowboard" for review, and on the whole, I - we - like it.

"We Ski and Snowboard" is pretty broad in scope; it allows players to either strap on lame skis or do what the cool people do and ride a board. (You'll detect a hint of bias: I was a pretty decent skier, spent three years in Alaska where it was a way of life, what with the 6+ month long ski seasons and all, and switched to snowboarding when I moved to California. Snowboarding is infinitely more fun. Moving on.) In both ski and snowboard modes, players can either compete in events (racing, terrain park, halfpipe, aerials, etc.) or freeride in both traditional resort and heli-style backcountry settings.

Brass tacks for the grownups: the game is a hell of a lot of fun, both in ski and snowboard modes. Yes, you can use the Balance Board (in real life, on a skate-, surf-, or snowboard I'm a goofyfoot and the game allows you to switch feet if needed, and ride fakie if you so choose) and the game's much better with it. The controls are easy to learn, and I found that I enjoyed the freeriding as much if not more than the cmpetition settings.

Kids might find it a bit difficult to master, especially if they haven't been on skis or a snowboard. Lucas fared much better on the skis, even though he's a pretty good real-life skateboarder (for a 5-year-old). You use the control stick to "look" around and change viewing perspectives, and you need to do this when you fall (something that happened quite a bit with him, and actually, he thought it was pretty hilarious, watching himself go headfirst down a hundred foot deep crevace, so Namco Bandai? You might want to think about marketing a We Ski and Snowboard: Getting Carted Off The Mountain With Severe Neck Trauma By The LifeFlight Game to the kids. They'll think it's a hoot.) Once he got the hang of it, he was eager to keep playing, and then asked me when he could go "real snowboarding", which, yay, another several hundred dollars. Until that time comes, "We Ski and Snowboard" is a great replacement, and best of all, your kid probably won't end up with broken limbs playing it.

(A while back, we did a little giveaway: congrats to reader Devon Adams, who'll be receiving a copy of the game along with a cool beanie.)