It’s fun to do extreme sports. It could be the only reason why snowboarding Olympic gold medallist, Shaun White, risks his neck dare devilling down ice slopes. It’s not exactly something anyone would casually jump into, but hey, who cares when video games can now simulate the experience. Last holiday season, Shaun White made his gaming debut on the Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii. The high definition versions felt choppy and unfocused, while the Wii edition provided a more exhilarating pace, a clearer design concept and tighter controls.

Ubisoft are no dummies, noticing the success on the Wii and deciding to focus on an exclusive sequel. So here I am, ready once more to get on the balance board for a first look at Shaun White Snowboarding: World Tour.

As the new subtitle suggests, you’ll be travelling over the world to compete in snowboarding events. The airport terminal is your hub where challenges can be selected from different countries. They are broken into several categories such as racing and trick attack, which provides diversity for your snowboarding crew.

Speaking of crew, old faces will return as well as some new ones. Each member has new ways to ride and perform tricks, as well as ample clothing customisations to unlock as you complete challenges. Things will start off modest, but as you chase competitions across the globe, bigger and better events will become available. With enough persistence your powder grinding team will reach the world stage, competing against some of the very best.

Hitting the slopes

There are plenty of challenges. A whopping 75 to be correct, that are spread over eight mountain slopes across countries such as France, Canada, and Japan. Complementing the challenges are additional set objectives, which add that extra test of skill for those snowboarding enthusiasts. These include basics like hitting a number of tricks to the more difficult such as maintaining perfect landings.

If talk of challenges, objectives and events is doing your head in then relax, because you will able to cruise down slopes in your own leisure in the Free Ride mode.

At any point during the game, up to three friends can be a part of your crew providing a seamless co-operative experience. If having buddies help isn’t your cup of tea, perhaps destroying them is; with World Stage including competitive modes to end the question of who’s the better living room snowboarder. While only local multiplayer is included, a new feature this time around will be the online leaderboards, which will really show who’s kicking ass worldwide.

 School's in session

Ubisoft clearly are taking the ‘if it ain’t broke’ approach, with colourful, cartoon visuals reminiscent of the first Shaun White instalment on the Wii. The controls remain unchanged from the first game as well. That is definitely a bonus, as the balance board is perfect in providing a more intuitive way to blast downhill on the virtual slopes.

Jumping up and down on a balance board may not exactly replicate extreme sports, but Shaun White Snowboarding: World Tour is showing a lot of promise. It’s the closest you’ll get to boarding in the comfort of your own home, with no broken bones (hopefully). Expect to hit the slopes when this title hits later this fall.