Shaun's dreaming of a White Christmas

It’s been exactly one year, and now Ubisoft’s back with a follow-up to last year’s anti-port. While the original Shaun White wasn’t flawless by any means, it did embody an important contribution to Wii’s tragically petite library of solid, unique efforts by third-party developers. It also was a logical application for the highly-specialized Wii Balance Board accessory, a $50+ investment with functionality practically limited to that of fitness and… well, snowboarding. It was also a heck of a lot of fun at times, just like its sprawling ancestry of point-driven extreme sports titles. In the end, the concept was solid (albeit thinly extrapolated), but it was those two specific conditions—the unique form of gameplay and the infrequency of solid third-party Wii offerings (especially those which might have ended up being a mere port)—which made it so enticing to many gamers.

Confounded critic that I am, however, I logged my complaints—not enough content, the lack of leaderboards and online functionality, occasionally confusing and obtrusive gameplay—even while praising its triumphs. Others complained that it was too easy and lacked variety. Fortunately, though we’re hardly staring a blockbuster in the face here with World Stage, it seems that Ubisoft has definitely heard our cries. But is this marginal update really worth your attention—especially considering that the original can be had for half the dough?

Downhill action, uphill battle

There are truly few fundamental differences between World Stage and Road Trip. The presentation is practically identical, with the same kid-friendly, happy-go-lucky cut scenes and character personalities, and the same breed of beautiful, stylized visuals and catchy (though unfortunately paltry) collection of licensed musical selections. The gameplay is almost exactly the same. You still select a rider and a Friend to accompany them (the latter of which, in case you aren’t familiar, imbues your rider with enhanced attributes and a unique Respect Power, activated by collecting crowns on the course and performing well). Even the scoring and focus is mostly the same, though it has evolved favorably.

But you’re probably not all that interested in what’s the same, so let’s focus instead on what has changed (or, in most cases, improved). For starters, your team of boarders now operates out of an airport hub, where they find all forms of basic sustenance: shelter, television, and Wendy’s. From here, you choose your activities: Campaign Mode, Local Multiplayer, Trick Design, or Leaderboards.

Look familiar?

Campaign Mode can be enjoyed by either one player or up to four, and that number can change whenever you like and as often as you like, which is awesome. All of the progress made, regardless of how many people happen to be participating, is always saved and counted toward your advancement. The main component of this mode is the Events, which are various pairings of slopes with specific rules and objectives. There are a lot of different preset templates you’ll encounter here, including:

• Timed race, solitary

• Race against others

• Trick race (get a high enough score; not timed)

• Slope style (three slopes, best of three runs)

• Trick vs. Time (score enough before time runs out)

• Big Air (one big jump, best of three runs)

• Trick Clearing (reach the next gate with enough points)

• Knockout (last contestant to pass a gate is eliminated)

And more. The courses vary independently of the objectives, a design which effectively provides a more diverse experience overall that doesn’t stale nearly as quickly as the original. And there’s now a more intense focus—if you choose, anyway—on the actual racing aspect of the game. While some people are going to be happy about that (and it absolutely contributes to the highly-sought sense of variety), I personally prefer the trick-based gameplay. Fortunately, you always have your choice of a few different options of what to play while working through the campaign, so you’ll rarely find yourself stuck spinning your wheels in an attempt to complete a particular event.

Each event you complete rewards you by improving your ranking (you start at 100) in correlation with your performance (first place and lots of skill bumps your ranking quicker than, say, third place). You’ll also receive the opportunity to press a button and have your score (or time) uploaded to the leaderboards server, where you can quickly compare your performance to other players around the world. Once your campaign ranking reaches the top 5, you’ll be able to compete in the World Stage—the basis for the theme of the game.

You'll find the Wendy's to your right. Virtual Spicy Chicken Sandwiches did not make the cut.

I’m suddenly hungry for Skittles

If the various courses don’t infect you with a craving for fast food and candy, they’re at least certain to provide a challenge. As you progress, you’ll find plenty of winding slopes, and they’re occasionally just as difficult to navigate as they were in Road Trip. That isn’t to say that the controls aren’t great; they’re just about as good as possible, and the game’s auto-calibration of the board in conjunction with the three selectable sensitivity settings are largely to thank for that. It’s also nice that the gameplay is so forgiving with regard to such techniques as grinding and landings—clearly, it favors fun over accuracy. But it’s still tricky at times getting your weight to turn you as you want it to, and although that’s a large part of the game’s challenge itself, some gamers will find it frustrating yet. Perhaps if you were strapped to your Wii Balance Board it’d be a different story (cue third-party cash-in accessory idea).

Still, some gamers are sure to find it too easy, and for those, the game wisely recommends that they advance to the Expert mode, where things are much tougher (seemingly impossible at times in fact). As with most games of this genre, however, the main competition is yourself, as you constantly try to improve your own scores. The leaderboards—an excellent addition, though the implementation isn’t perfect (different trick styles on different courses all wind up on the same leaderboard, puzzlingly)—only provide yet more motivation to hone your skills and see your name in the lights.

As before, in the grand scheme of things, the trick system is really the biggest draw for Shaun White (and every other extreme sports game before it). Tricks are performed by pressing A/B and shifting your weight back and forth around each of the four quadrants of the Wii Balance Board, and they feel shockingly intuitive once you get the hang of the mechanics. A major addition in World Stage is the ability to design your own tricks via Wii MotionPlus (though MotionPlus is only used during the design process, not during gameplay)—and it works really very well (it’s shockingly versatile). There’s a combos system in place, too, and that’s no surprise. As each race loads, you’ll find quick animated tutorial tips designed to introduce you to a couple of different gameplay techniques while you’re waiting—a painless and effective approach.