gamingeek said:I saw this in store today. Full price? £34.99? That's like $70.
Shaun white is half that on Amazon.
But it's half as good.
http://play.tm/review/23838/family-ski-and-snowboard/
Family Ski and Snowboard is still a game looking for an audience. Although perceived to be more 'kiddie' than the likes of Shaun White's Snowboarding it actually offers a much more in-depth experience. At times this edges more towards an adventure game with skiing elements rather than the other way around - testament to the sheer volume and openness of the game.
The genius of Family Ski and Snowboard (and why it should outshine similar games) is that it walks the line of appealing to both young and old (novice and expert) alike. The controls are intuitive enough to be a low barrier to entry, and the game itself can be played at its own pace.
Whether you want to plough through the fetch quests, trim seconds on your downhill time, or simply take a jaunt down some powdery slopes there is plenty here for everyone to enjoy.
85%
I'm still enjoying the game. There's no doubt that there's a ton to do in this game. Racing, tours, fetch-quests, stunts, and just skiing around the the mountains (which is frankly the best part). There are even ninjas in the game, so that pretty much gives it one reason for GOTY right?
My favorite thing of all is I've gotten to make an endless stream of "Lane Bryant" and "racing the K-12" jokes and that's starting to get on my wife's nerves. 
And for those of you who get those jokes, here's to you!
Ninjas?
One thing I read today was that the balance board only steers left and right? You can't speed up and slow down just by leaning? Is that true?
I know the review above says it, but gamecentral also said that it was the best snowboard game this generation.
Gamecentral review
Family Ski & Snowboard (Wii)
Family Ski & Snowboard
Review by Roger Hargreaves – We're a bit late with this review because our original copy got lost in the post.
That seems to be what happened with Atari's advertising too, which has only recently kicked in and booted the game up into the UK Top 40.
And well deserved its position is too, in what continues to be one of the best, and yet least excitedly named, sports series on the Wii.
As it's been less than a year since the first game appeared you won't be surprised to hear that this brings very little that's new to the table, except for the titular snowboards.
The original featured only skiing, which may seem odd but one of the game's big selling points is its unusual control system which uses the remote and nunchuck like ski poles.
And the Balance Board like skies.
If you don't have Wii Fit then you're not missing out on an awful lot as the Balance Board is only used to steer left and right.
The only difference when snowboarding is that you have to turn it round 90 degrees. For some reason you still can't change speed with your feet.
Other than that curiosity though, the controls work very well and could clearly only ever be done on the Wii.
Snowboards have their own set of tricks and moves but they're functionally very similar to those when skiing.
There are new ground tricks for all though and the new resort is filled with half-buried ramps and grind rails.
In a flawed attempt to make the game more accessible most of the mission-giving characters now just hang around at the base of each run, instead of having to be found higher up.
There are still enough secrets to uncover that exploration feels worthwhile and many of the missions are a little more challenging than before.
Even so, if you do own the original there's not really enough to make this essential, even given the now much more stable split screen multiplayer.
If this is your first time skiing with the family though you won't get "board" (sorry) of this in a hurry.
IN SHORT: It's barely any different from its predecessor but it's still the best skiing sim on any console.
PROS: Well designed controls, Balance Board or not. Varied and challenging missions and fun multiplayer.
CONS: Little has changed from the first game and even the snowboards don't feel that different. Bland presentation.
SCORE: 7/10 Out: Now (UK)
gamingeek said:Ninjas?
One thing I read today was that the balance board only steers left and right? You can't speed up and slow down just by leaning? Is that true?
I know the review above says it, but gamecentral also said that it was the best snowboard game this generation.
That's true for the skiing. I believe you can slow yourself on the snowboard by leaning back. I need to go back and try that again though. I haven't snowboarded since the first few days of owning it.
I saw this in store today. Full price? £34.99? That's like $70.
Shaun white is half that on Amazon.