Preview: Snowboard Riot

1:41 PM on 11.25.2008   |   Hamza CTZ Aziz

11 comments

If you’re like me, then you’ll probably find most extreme sports to be, well, boring. I’m in no way saying that the people that perform in these sports are talentless, as it takes a lot of skill to do what they do. It just doesn’t interest me.

So I wasn’t looking too forward to trying out Snowboard Riot at Hudson’s offices last week. That is, until I found out you can blow people up in this game. Shred on over the jump for my preview of Snowboard Riot.

The best way to describe Snowboard Riot is that it’s a grown up version of Snowboard Kids. Players will race against each other and pick up weapons along the way to use against opponents to get to the finish line the fastest. As you’re racing down the courses, you can pick up one defensive and one offensive weapon, such as shields and missiles. Players can also use the board to defend against incoming attacks. If you're not interested in a weapon-based snowboard racing game, there will be a weaponless race mode and a time trial race mode, where it's just the player alone, racing for the best time. 

There are four courses in total to race on, with a teleportation pad waiting at the end of each track. Players need to hit the teleportation pad to get back to the start of the course for the next lap until the final lap. The courses will have alternative routes and dangers, such as cliffs that players can fall off of.

The game will offer two-player split-screen local play and will support four players online. There are only four characters to pick from, two guys and two gals, and their gear can be customized. The gear is provided by Oakley and will give players performance boosts, such as being able to jump better or ride faster.

The controls are very simple, and it thankfully won’t be a wagglefest. The only time players have to waggle is when they want to use turbo, which makes the player go super fast. The turbo boost also acts as a weapon, as players can hurt anyone that gets in the way. Players will need to perform tricks at jumps to fill up their turbo meter. If you are looking for some motion controls, however, Snowboard Riot will work with the Balance Board.

Overall, I was surprised by how much fun I actually had with the game. It’s definitely a game to play with friends for some mindless fun. I’d recommend getting the game so long as the price isn’t over 800 Wii Points.

Snowboard Riot is being developed and published by Hudson Entertainment for WiiWare. The price and release date have yet to be determined.