'Shaun White Skateboarding' Preview - Get A Haircut, Kid!

It's hard to imagine how one brings variety to skateboarding video games. You are, after all, limited to certain aspects like ollies, kick-flips and grabs. As the "Tony Hawk" franchise has found, that formula is extremely difficult to keep fresh from year to year. EA's "Skate" has seen some success, but after the third installment, those games are really just iterating on what came before rather than innovating in any significant way. "Shaun White Skateboarding" is attempting to bring some innovation to the genre with a unique art style and some never-before-seen gameplay elements, but is it enough to separate it from the pack?

"Wizard Of Oz" Much?

"Shaun White Skateboarding" is set in an imaginary world ruled by a totalitarian regime. Under the auspices of keeping the populace safe, extreme activities like skateboarding have been banned and the world is left in a dull, colorless (literally) state. It's up to you to bring color back to the world with your extreme cube-gleaming abilities.

I checked out the demo last week, and the art style definitely brings a new angle to the genre. The demo began in a gray, concrete version of a Times-like square. Pulling off grinds and tricks around the world, though, set off bursts of color which radiated out of the board. Store front windows popped open and classy graffiti appeared on nearby walls. As you make your way around the map, more and more of the city "awakens," until you're left with a technicolor smorgasbord.

The vibe is decidedly similar to "Jet Grind Radio," which is a style that hasn't really been seen since Sega's in-line skater. Thanks to the power of next-gen consoles, the effect is considerably more pronounced and gives each map an increased feeling of interactivity and personalization.

Where We're Going, We Don't Need Rails

Apart from bringing color into the world, there's another unique gameplay element in "Shaun White Skateboarding." Certain locations across the map can be "sculpted" as you skate across them, allowing you to create new lines instantly.

The most obvious implementation of this was on a rail. Hitting a button while grinding will detached the end of the rail and snake in front of you, twisting and turning based on your chosen direction. You can connect that rail to any location you wish, from other rails to half-pipes to straight into the ground. You can even reset the rail's location if you don't like your first placement of it. This all plays out right in the midst of the gameplay, as you're pulling off tricks. It's almost as if they baked a track-creator right into the basic gameplay.

Does It Have Enough?

There's no doubt that the developers of "Shaun White Skateboarding" are trying to do something new. Based on the quick, 10-minute demo, it's hard to say whether the game will have enough depth and variety to compete against some of the bigger players in the genre, but it's definitely off to a solid start.

Tags shaun white, shaun white skateboarding, ubisoft