SBK: Snowboard Kids

As with most extreme sports, the explosion in snowboarding's popularity is less about strapping yourself to a plank of wood and hurtling down a steep slope and more concerned with fashion and culture.

Quite right too. The morning after my first day spent on a board was the most painful of my life – as well as being black and blue, none of my limbs seemed to work. After making my excuses, I was wheeled around a mall to do some extreme sports shopping instead.

It's the balance between snowboarding and snowboarding culture that is the over-riding characteristic of SBK: Snowboard Kids.

On one level, it's your typical snow-bound freestyle trickster-come-racer. Setting off down various county-themed circuits, you have to compete against three other boarders, with position and trick points the barriers you need to overcome to unlock new tracks and difficulty levels.

So far, so radical. An extra layer, however, is provided by combat. For as you zoom down the slope, you'll come across various item pick-ups. Some are boosts, others enable you to inflict heinous, undodgable attacks, such as being squashed under a huge weight or falling asleep.

Each of the kids also has their own special attacks. Ranging from unfeasibly aggressive ninja throwing stars to ice needles, they're made available by building up your SBK meter by doing tricks.

Some of these tricks can be simple reverses or twists. But each track also has a couple of proper jumps, so you can pull big air and really rack up those points to boost your meter. Indeed, if you've managed to do enough tricks before hitting the big jumps, you'll get the option to complete bonus tricks by hitting the right areas of the DS' touchscreen.

It sounds complicated, but the system actually works well because it forces you to either focus on combat or tricks, since using your special attacks depletes your SBK meter, giving the game a classic trade-off element.

Less welcome, however, is the lack of polish. Graphically and audio-wise, SBK: Snowboard Kids is pretty good. Some of the levels are excellent, and the control for boarding and tricks feels just right. But beyond these there are problems.

Perhaps the most obvious failing is the artificial intelligence of the other racers. Combined with what is an overly powerful combat system, often you'll find yourself wiped out after leading for most of a race, as all three opponents suddenly decide to whack you.

Another issue is the learning curve. SBK: Snowboard Kids is one of the toughest games to get good at because you're having to learn the racing, combat and trick elements all at the same time. And you need to be good at all of them before you start to make progress.

The peculiar way the game's lap system works doesn't help matters. Most races involve three laps: when you get to the bottom of the course, you have to guide your boarder through a tiny gate, before being rematerialised at the top of the course for the next lap. But the gate is really tiny. You'll end up missing it regularly – especially on the first course, because it's at an angle to the finishing line. Miss it, and to make it through you have to bunnyhop oh so slowly back. It takes forever, and happens too frequently to be anything other than a serious frustration.

It's also strange that there aren't any practice or tutorial areas. Instead, you're only offered whatever stage you're playing in via three modes: World Tour Challenge, Slalom or Boss Battles.

Even the shop is mean – it takes hours to earn enough points to buy the cheapest items.

All-in-all, this is game that with a bit of extra love and thought could have been great. If you're up for challenge and enjoy snowboarding games, it's worthy of consideration. But for everyone else, SBK: Snowboard Kids is just too hardcore.

Go out and buy the t-shirt instead.