Playing Downhill Jam allows you to ditch that nunchuk contraption, and just use the remote like a standard controller. To steer, just tilt the remote in the direction you'd like to go. It's quite basic, but is at least intuitive - even if it feels a little more like driving a car than riding a board. Hold a button to squat down for more speed, which comes at the expense of tight control. In some of the narrower corridors, that's quite the judgment call.
Tricks are much more understated than Tony Hawk games past, and for obvious reason: flash isn't going to get you down the hill much faster. Okay, the boost you earn will, but that doesn't count. Tricks are still here, however, and can be pulled of by either pushing buttons or just giving the controller a good jigglin'. Grind balance is a breeze with the Wii's motion-sensing marvel of a controller, and really opens up the tunnel-vision levels. Extensive combo strings are a thing of the past; the sooner you come to terms with this fact, the more you'll be able to enjoy yourself.
We had access to dozens of tracks, each in one of eight main geographical locations (Rio, San Francisco, Scotland, etc.). The linear, obvious paths were decent, but the real fun is exploring around to find some shortcutlery. A favorite was using a jetstream grate to blast over a huge wall, thus bypassing a very windy road. Levels also have a fair amount of pitfalls, which will require you to shake the remote vigorously to recover from and get back into the race. Knowledge of the courses will definitely be an asset in multiplayer competitions.
