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Background: Unlike its bigger brother on PS3 and 360, which delves into open-world gameplay and offers some cool online options, Shaun White Snowboarding on Wii is a bit more of a straightforward affair. But that’s OK, as it offers one aspect the others can’t: the actual board. Making use of Wii Fit’s balance board, what Shaun White Snowboarding on Wii lacks in visual fidelity it looks to make up in a more authentic experience.

What We Saw: At Ubisoft’s pre-E3 event we got to check out the game using the board. While the Wii game features the same environments as in the PS3 and 360 versions (Alaska, Europe, Japan, and Utah), the game doesn’t allow you to go anywhere, at any time, like it does in those. The experience here is more of a road trip with friends, with sections of the mountain split up.

Good to Go: The balance board seems to work well enough with the game, and if you don’t have the board you can use a standard Wii Remote setup to pull off the tricks. The controls are all kept really simple.

Warning Sign: Using the board, the game is really tailored as more of a fun, casual affair — for example, the game has you doing hula hoop motions in order to pull off tricks. Unlike the PS3/360 versions, this one isn’t necessarily attempting to create a realistic snowboarding experience, despite the authenticity the board affords it.

Good to Go: You have a cameraman with you to capture some of your best moments which can then be shown off in videos later on. Picking the right cameraman actually influences the gameplay, though, as he or she will often give you a boost on the mountain.

Warm Afterglow: While nowhere near as impressive as the PS3/360 versions of the game, Shaun White Snowboarding on Wii has lots of potential to be fun — especially for those who already own the balance board.

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