Joystiq hands-on: TARGET EDITION! (of Shaun White Snowboarding)

Breathe a sigh of relief. It's not nearly as bad as it first sounded. In fact, the "Target edition" of Shaun White Snowboarding might actually warrant a trip to Target for game shopping. And, didn't you hear? Target expects plenty of Wiis in stock this season. Why not do all your holiday spending there?

The marketing ploy is quite clear, and a good one. Building off its apparel partnership with Shaun White, Target has positioned itself to offer, exclusively through its retail and online outlets (oh, hai Wal-Mart!), a premium edition of Ubisoft's snowboarding game, and in turn, a hook to lure consumers into crossing off all the game requests on the holiday gift lists they're responsible for. (A recent survey found that 90% of tweens and teens are expected to ask for a video game this year.)

That's right, we said premium edition. While the Target-branded version will cost an additional $5, it'll include roughly 20 percent more game content (which, we were told, will never be offered as DLC). More specifically, the standard edition, available through all other retailers, will feature four mountains (each divided into peak, park and backcountry sections); the Target edition will include a fifth mountain, the "Target Mountain," which isn't as large as the original mountains, but does boast some interesting extras, like a full loop to attempt in the Xbox 360 version (identical to the PlayStation 3 and PC versions) and a trip inside the Target Chalet, based on the elitist party pad in Aspen. We know what you're thinking: But, what about the ads?
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Carving down the slopes of both Target Mountains -- the Xbox 360 and Wii games were developed separately and feature unique content -- we were surprised to be relatively unmolested by product placement. While we braced ourselves for, say, the Bullseye dog to zip by, we only noticed an occasional Target logo stuck to one of the course's border fences or dangling from an archway (and a few plugs on menu screens), along with, perhaps coincidentally, a heavy dose of reds decorating various objects. To be fair, we didn't see the game's other mountains, so we can only assume similar, realistically placed ads for various products will be scattered on those courses too. (Note: We saw the game at Target Studios NYC and the operators were strict about what content was to be shown -- the Target content.)

"Wow, so it's not, like, littered with Target ads," we puzzled aloud.

"No, dude, definitely not!" asserted Trent Ward, creative director of the Wii version.

Of course, this was also our first opportunity to get hands (and feet!) on Shaun White Snowboarding, and we can now say that both versions are very competent, if not unoriginal entries in a genre that has been on hiatus for a few years. The highlight was control, which is obviously the selling point for the Wii version, but also the main strength of the game on Xbox 360. On the Wii side, Ward explained that he split control development into two separate teams -- one for Balance Board, one for Wiimote. Both succeeded, offering a compelling reason to keep your board around (even now that you can hold a downward dog for 30-whole-seconds) or a look even if you didn't splurge on the Fit craze.

We preferred the Wiimote option (call it, conditioned bias), which, conceptually, transformed the controller into a mini-snowboard: we tilted and flicked to manage movement; grabs remained button-based. (We even pined for a clip-on Shaun White figurine to make it all the more god-like, our hand steering the star to greatness.) The Balance Board worked much in the same way, except our body weight did the tilting and "flicking" (in this case, a bend and pop at the knees); grabs were also button-based, so one hand had to hold a Wiimote. We found that both control schemes were exceptionally responsive, but the game's overall sense of speed (and realism) definitely takes a hit -- it's a sacrifice that benefits the solid framerate, too. In terms of realism, smashing into a tree, for example, doesn't actually stop you, a consequence that Ward explained would have otherwise been too frustrating to endure.

So then, call the Wii version the "mellow" one of the two. Indeed, Ward emphasized the game's focus on the true-to-life buddy-relationships many pro snowboarders share. Real riders are "too cool" for the high-energy, aggressive competition often overplayed in "extreme" sports games. Much of the Wii version is spent pursuing a friendship with Shaun. A platonic romance game, if you will.
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By contrast, the Xbox 360 version of Shaun White Snowboarding is fast and, well, aggressive. We played on a fully powered-up board as Shaun himself, carelessly ripping off 1080s with ease. It hits hard when you go from a 4:3, noticeably bland aspect (Ward couldn't confirm widescreen support for the Wii version) to a screen filling panoramic with crisp texture and vibrant color; and perhaps, for this reason alone, we were thinking the Xbox 360 version is a worthy successor to SSX. While not quite as over-the-top as that once beloved franchise, Shaun White Snowboarding doesn't concern itself with realistic aspirations. Call it "accessible," as the controls and execution of movement are simple, yet layered for potential mastery. Movement on the left stick and grabs on the right stick. R-trigger's your ollie button, with some dynamic range, and L-trigger works as a toggle to switch the right stick to refined board manipulations.

There are other clear evolutionary changes to the genre, too. Of note, a handy d-pad menu that operates music, multiplayer options and a sort of quick-save slot, called a "marker." Activate the marker (d-pad down) at any point to save your current location on the slope and you can seamlessly "warp" back (d-pad right) to that position to replay a certain jib, for example. You can also dismount from the board (Y-button) at any time, which is a quicker means of running back up the slope to retry a section, in case you didn't set a marker or aren't near a lift (which are fully functional and can be dismounted at any point along the ride, by the way). Best of all, you can reach down into the snow (B-button) and scoop up a snowball, and, yes, hurl it at someone! There's even a "Death Race" mode that incorporates snowball fights with all-out racing, adding body checks (X-button) to your playful arsenal.

What we saw were solid foundations for both versions of Shaun White Snowboarding, but we're still skeptical about the game's story progression. How can it build upon what's already been done too many times? Race around mountains against stereotyped characters ("Lars Scrotum," really guys?) -- check! Hundreds of customizable costumes -- check! Um, lotsa snow -- check! (Not much potential to break the mold, eh?)

While the Wii version is limited to one living room-only multiplayer, the Xbox 360 game (and its counterparts) has an integrated online mode -- à la Burnout Paradise -- that actually lets you and your friends progress through your separate single-player campaigns while playing together (essentially, real players replace AI players in competitions). Multiplayer is the real ace here, as there has yet to be a qualified, community-driven snowboarding game this generation -- or ever. Still, it's gonna take all of that $10 million fund and a big smile from the world's most famous carrot top* to tempt people off of the skateboard and onto a snowboard. Good thing Shaun's got Target on his side.

*The actual Carrot Top is a distant second.

Shaun White Snowboarding is scheduled for release on November 17 in varying degrees of quality on Xbox 360, Wii, PlayStation 3, PC, PSP, DS, and PlayStation 2.