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Shaun White Snowboarding

• By Eric Engel
• August 15, 2008 11:48 AM PST
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An arcade-style action sports sim hellbent on giving SSX, as well as Amped and other textbook snoozers, the cold shoulder.

Considering the frequency with which he swears he's mistaken for Assassin's Creed creative director Patrice Desilets (albeit not producer Jade Raymond - bummer), you can understand UbiSoft animation art director Scott Mitchell's obsession with individuality. So it's no surprise he and the team are (hallelujah!) determined to make sure Shaun White Snowboarding stands out in a field of cookie-cutter action sports simulations. And, no, not just thanks to the next-generation title's open-world freedom, Scarface-sized piles of pristine white powder or its Olympic/X Games medal-winning namesake's token involvement.

The hills are alive with the sound of wipeouts! Seamless multiplayer lets you shred alongside friends.

Just a few of the outing's more noteworthy highlights? Four massive mountains - Japan, Park City, The Alps and Alaska - each composed of peak, backcountry and resort, which are reportedly load-time free, and feature only objects and locales you can actually reach. Physics that push the Assassin's Creed engine, which it's ironically built on, further than ever before, letting you spin, twirl and wipeout with enhanced realism and ease. (You can even spark off an avalanche, and ride the wave of its cascading descent.) The ability to walk at-will, so you can backtrack to anything you missed, catch a ride on an uphill lift, or suddenly launch into impromptu shredding sessions. And, of course, seamless multiplayer options as well as support for recording Internet-shareable videos for impressing, or embarrassing yourself in front of, close personal chat room friends.

Planned 32-man broadband play and marker-setting options for painless navigation certainly sound promising. More so than anything else from hands-on time though, we found ourselves struck by the outing's overall organic vibe and fluidity. Hop on the board and twirl or waddle your way over to a sick slope, and you can instantly begin executing massive hangtime-scoring tricks, no experience required. Past genre hang-ups like forced jumps following squats and too-forgiving courses (here, you'll have to avoid crevasses and cliffs) are also succinctly addressed. White's firsthand guidance, including the air- and speed-enhancing focus powers he bestows, purportedly run far beyond a cover appearance too. According to Mitchell, the extreme legend's a constant contributor to the project, not only making himself readily available for motion-capturing, but also providing daily feedback on feel and authenticity.

Note that a Wii-specific edition also makes deft use of the Balance Board peripheral, and more stylized cartoon visuals. Celebrity road trip storyline (complete with the need to earn fame to unlock additional destinations) aside though, it's the physical motion-powered controls - using your thighs or a remote - that really make this version stand out. Whichever your preference, you'll have to stay cool for a while longer, however, with the title, also available on PS3 and Xbox 360, not shipping until November.

Intuitive controls make grinding it out simple, even for beginners.

If you see it, you can reach it - and do a triple-flip off it

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