Nintendo’s “Wii Fit” gives gamers a chance to turn the Wii Balance Board sideways and treat it like a snowboard, but it’s publisher Ubisoft that is backing the first game that makes such a feature its focus.

I was given a demo of the Wii version of “Shaun White Snowboarding” at a Ubisoft event in San Francisco, one of the first games I’ve seen controlled by the Balance Board.

If a player used the Wii Balance Board, they stand on the board as they would a snowboard and then lean toward the TV to go faster, lean back to brake, and tip their weight to their toes and heels to turn and carve. From what I saw, tricks could be activated with a spring of the legs, and bigger tricks could be triggered with a hula dance shake of the body.

Read more…

Since the last entry, I…

*Finished “Grand Theft Auto IV.” Very good last mission that I finished on my first try (thank goodness). I’ll have more to say about my end-of-game thoughts in another post. But I am wondering why no mission took me to Liberty City’s version of the Empire State Building. Bummer. Still, the game was quite good: the best-made “GTA,” in my opinion, but only my second favorite. I’m still a “San Andreas” man.

*Worked out to “Wii Fit” and wondered if a program like this can really do much for a fit guy like me. Still, I’m a big fan of Wii games adding channels to the system. It lets me access parts of the games without having the disc in the system. It’s a splendid way to keep a shelf of software relevant.

*Thought I finished “The World Ends With You” only to discover that the game is structured a little like “Odin Sphere,” if you know what I mean. I’m into the second play-through and not finding one of the new main characters that fun.

*Finally inserted “Wii Play” into my machine and played the first game: target shooting. I hear that the tank mode is the best, so I will play more.

*Used the Wii Balance Board to play “We Ski,” but there’s an embargo on impressions until later this week. I do need to say that skiing indoors, on the Board, with remote and nunchuk in hands, is something I would think I’m too old for. Then again, a few years ago I would have said the same about standing in front of the TV playing a plastic toy guitar. The last couple of years of video games have made children of many of us.

Next: I am flying to San Francisco for a week of gaming showcases. My travel games are: “TWEWY,” “R-Type Command,” and “Secret Agent Clank.” “Crisis Core” is not in the stack. I don’t think I’m going back to that one.