Peripheral makers have often attempted to re-create real-world equipment for use in video games. For example, flight simulation often yields high-tech sticks and throttle quadrants. The realm of skate and snow-boarding games has always been a slippery slope due to the difficulty in reproducing the balance of the actual activity. Thrustmaster has attempted just this with their T-Freestyle NW board for use on the Nintendo Wii Balance Board.

The T-Freestyle NW peripheral is made out of maple wood and actually looks like a real board – trust be told, I think it is a modded board. It is fairly weighty and feels very solid when being stood upon or moving it around. Thrustmaster has engineered a system of plastic stops on the board to prevent accidental falling while in use, which works most of the time. Too extreme of a movement can still lead to falling, so you have been forewarned. The board clips onto the Balance Board fairly easily, with to clamps on the fore and aft of the unit.

To test out the T-Freestyle NW, I chose to initially ride in my socks. Yeah – this was a bad idea as the board is slippery and you will undoubtedly find yourself on your backside in no time flat. If you insist on wearing only socks, please stick some grip tape to the board, that will help you quite a bit.

Several sessions of Skate It and Shaun White Snowboarding: Road Trip later, I can wholeheartedly recommend the T-Freestyle for your favorite ‘board titles. Whether skating or surfing, you will be glad you have the peripheral. It enhances realism while also giving you a wider foot base to stand on and won’t break your bank account to purchase.

The Thrustmaster T-Freestyle NW board for the Nintendo Wii retails $29.99 and is available now.

*DISCLOSURE: Thrustmaster provided us with a board for use in this review.