E3 2010: Shaun White Skateboarding aims for jilted Tony Hawk fans

While most people are familiar with Shaun White from his Olympic snowboarding performances, he’s also got a solid background as a professional skateboarder. Shaun and Ubisoft have teamed up to make Shaun White Skateboarding, an arcade style game that looks to be aiming squarely at gamers turned off by Skate’s realism and Tony Hawk Ride’s well, awfulness.

Ubisoft’s E3 demo today showcased the game’s unique freeform rail system that allows players to grind floating colored rails that give you free access to the level. Shaun White Skateboarding certainly isn’t aiming for realism, as the floating rails and invisible half pipes make clear. Even so, these freeform rails should allow for unparalleled creativity in creating unique lines through skate spots. The game also alters the levels based on your performance; successful trick lines result in drab gray buildings and architecture being replaced with more colorful, and skate-able, structures.

Shaun White Skateboarding should be a good fit for gamers more interested in insane tricks rather than realism, and its unique freeform system gives it the unique twist it needs to present a threat to EA’s Skate. Shaun White Skateboarding will release this holiday season for PS3 360 and Wii.

Jun 14, 2010