Family Ski & Snowboard review

If, like some of us, you think that going on skiing trips is about as far removed from the idea of a holiday as a spell behind bars, Family Ski & Snowboard could be a comfortable middle ground. You can dress your avatar or Mii in a wealth of hats, gloves, ski suits and outfits without actually having to spend half an hour struggling into a fluorescent ski suit.

You can leisurely explore the resort and make friends instantly without your girlfriend running off with Marco the Ski Instructor. And, best of all, you can hurtle down mountains, leap off ramps or half-pipes, glide across rails and bomb down slaloms on skis or a snowboard without ending your holiday prematurely in a full body cast.

Family Ski and Snowboard, like its predecessor (We Ski), may replicate much of the ski resort experience (picking different slopes for different skills, riding ski lifts and mingling with other skiers) but don’t expect it to square up to the likes of Shaun White’s Snowboarding.

That said, using both the Wiimote and the Balance Board to control your skier or ‘boarder feels natural and intuitive (although occasionally the controls aren’t as responsive as we’d like), and it’s as fluffy and casual as we now expect from the Wii. The non-player characters waffle on, offering tedious missions and the mountains aren’t as vast as you’d hope. But there’s something entertaining about wafting through this.

Feb 20, 2009