Shaun White Snowboarding has taken a few different forms on PSP and PS3 but no version has received the hype – or first-party support – like the Road Trip edition on Nintendo Wii. Touted at E3 with Shaun White himself riding a Wii Balance Board, SWS was hyped as the game for Wii Fit owners to purchase. It’s not hard to see why; though many others have touted their Balance Board support, where else can you find a snowboarding game that appears this intuitive?

As it turns out, appearances are not deceiving. Shaun White’s demonstration was not an exaggerated bit of nonsense to hype an underdeveloped game – quite the contrary. In reality, SWS is one of the best titles to use the Wii Balance Board. Perhaps more impressive than that, however, is how well it uses the Wii remote and only the Wii remote.

Single-Handedly

We’re told that two things are better than one. Most Wii games can’t work with only the Wii remote in place, or so we’re led to believe, hence the inclusion of the Nunchuk attachment. But since Wii is the only motion-based console available, the question still lingers: can the remote go solo, and if done successfully, can that game be played with just one hand?

Amazingly, it actually can. Tony Hawk’s Downhill Jam was an excellent, high-speed racing game that used the remote’s features to provide a unique kind of steering. But it required the use of two hands. Two years later, Skate It offers one-handed remote support but the game plays better when paired with a Nunchuk.

There have been other attempts in the extreme sports genre, but none will be remembered like Shaun White Snowboarding. From the moment you begin going down your first hill, you can feel the sensitivity of the remote – and intuitive programming by the developers – come to life. Steer with a simple tilt left or right. Just like a thumbstick, the amount of tilt applied to the steer affects how sharply you will turn. Hold the B button to add the carving effect (essentially the same as the other versions) or hold the A button to duck and increase your speed.

Motion and tilt sensitivity come into play for just about everything else. Upon starting a grind, you’ll need to ensure that your boarder can hold onto his or her balance. In virtually any other game, this includes a fluctuating push of an analog stick. Shift right …shift left! Now right again. SWS could have fallen victim to the same issue using motion control, but this is another reason why the game plays so well: when trying to balance, that’s what it feels like you’re trying to do. If you hold your hand steady, your boarder will be steady as well.

Flick and Grind

Grind-able objects tend to link into each other or are clustered together, and SWS makes it easy to take advantage of this layout. By flicking the remote upward, your boarder will jump straight up; flick it left or right to jump in either direction. Rails are easy to grip since the game does it for you automatically. There are no additional buttons to press – just make sure you’re soaring above the rail as you approach. If the rail is low enough, you may not need to soar above (jump) it at all, since the game will automatically lift your boarder onto the rail.

Now while this may sound like SWS is being a bit too kind, do not mistake the controls for charity; the simple rail mechanics are vital given the limited number of buttons on the Wii remote. By holding it with one hand you are technically limited to just two buttons (A and B) – the plus and minus buttons are useless and the 1 and 2 buttons are practically out of reach.

Trick performance is where the game gets – yeah, you saw this coming – tricky. Generally, they aren’t too difficult to pull off. A spin here, a flick there, and the combination of many similar motions will rack up tons of points. The hardest part is landing a trick, particularly on rails. If your boarder isn’t lined up properly with the rail, ground or any other platform, you can kiss your earnings goodbye.

A Balancing Act

In addition to great motion controls, SWS is notable for its use of the Balance Board. What you’ve seen and envisioned is 50% true: every move is performed (successfully or not) by leaning. After a few minutes of figuring out how to shift your body for the best control, SWS is nothing short of amazing. Stand close to your TV (which should be at eye level, if possible) and the effect is several times more engrossing. Panasonic has a 150-inch HDTV prototype that could theoretically turn this into a snowboarding simulator. But it’s impressive with any sizable screen.

The 50% that isn’t true, or at least was not expected, is that you still have to use the Wii remote. Its purpose is only to add the A and B buttons, which are needed to switch your trick types. The rest is done by leaning forward (apply pressure toward the front of your feet), backward (lean on your heels), or a mixture of the two (one foot leans forward while the other leans back). Jumping is seamless – simply lift your body (don’t jump, just take pressure off the board) and your boarder will shoot into the air.

Gameplay: 8.5
Remarkably intuitive. From the moment you touch the Wii remote or Balance Board, Shaun White Snowboarding feels great. A must-play for everyone.

Graphics: 7.5
The backgrounds and character animations are acceptable considering the Wii's old graphics processor. But the character models are a bit too stylized and the pre-rendered movie clips look very cheap.

Sound: 5.7
The more I play the Shaun White Snowboarding games, the more annoyed I am by the soundtrack. This version is particularly annoying because it uses the 1 button to change tracks. You know how easy that is to bump!? Note to all developers, sound designers, and everyone else in the game industry: Ballroom Blitz remakes are NOT recommended for your extreme sports game soundtracks.

Difficulty: Medium
The objectives themselves aren't too difficult, but it will take some time for you to master the controls – especially if you're trying to beat the game with the Balance Board.

Concept: 7.9
The best version of Shaun White Snowboarding, thanks entirely to the Wii remote and Balance Board controls.

Multiplayer: 7.9
Four-player split-screen versus and co-op modes add variety to the experience.

Overall: 8.3
Wii owners have some great extreme sports games to choose from, and this is one more that shouldn’t be missed. It contains some of the same quirks of the other versions (crown collecting and other objective-based goals) but is still a blast to play. This version also contains a rider/cameraman feature that lets you select two different characters (one to film, which adds a special ability, and one to board) to enhance your overall performance. That is yet another dynamic that makes Shaun White Snowboarding: Road Trip for Wii the best version available.