We Ski & Snowboarding Impressions for those who are interested:
Color me surprised, it's... a real mountain resort. Once the initial (short) load completes after character select, you're on the mountain, and there'll be no more loading until you quit. You can move from course to course just as you would at a real ski resort - get to the bottom, hop a lift, end up somewhere else.
The lifts are brilliant - picturesque, peaceful, and skippable. The courses are even more brilliant. Each route is color-coded and with an associated animal (which has a connection to the type of course - alligator is full of moguls like a gator's back, kangaroo full of jumps, etc).
Courses are filled with off-piste secrets to discover, and these earn you achievements of sorts (and new gear to wear).
The controls are really smooth - I mostly play just using the remote/nunchuck combo but the balance board works really well too. It's all motion controlled except for braking, really, and I pretty much forget I'm controlling a game when playing because it's so tranquil.
Until you take on the races. These start out pretty light, but the later races are tough and involve some adventurous antics to get the speed you need to win.
You can rack up some impressive speeds just on the resort mountain, but then there's the other mountain - 'mount angrio'. This is where it gets really beautiful. Take a copter ride to the top of the mountain, above the clouds and looking out over a really impressive view, head for the edge and... no looking back... just down, fast.
On the mountain you can bump into other Miis, who you can pair up with and they'll glide around you. This sounds pretty weird, but in practise it's very well thought out, and makes you feel less lonely on the massive open mountainside.
You can play this game however you like. Slalom runs, races, stunt challenges, leisurely boarding down a green run, or frantic high-speed off-piste adventures. Replays are fun to watch because of how cool the mountains look.
But easily the most impressive thing about the game is that the freedom of movement and choice is matched with beautiful vistas and a totally seamless integration of each course. The mountain seriously feels like a real snow resort (I've spent a lot of time in the French Alps in places just like this). And it looks highly impressive for a Wii game, with some great draw distance and lovely snow trails.
Cannot recommend this enough to anyone interested in a fun, layered, unstructured, infinitely replayable snowboard game. One of the most accomplished games I've played in a long time.
