It's actually kind of interesting to see the direction the developers are taking with Shaun White's Snowboarding. In this video they talk about how they are breaking down the barrier between multiplayer and single player by having the entire mountain be your lobby. If you are in the single player mode anyone can seamlessly join you for a fun day of conquering double blacks and broken legs.

We can look forward to the game just in time for the ski season later this year for Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, and PC.

It looks like Shaun White may have a bit of competition. While Destineer's upcoming snowboarder Stoked wasn't built using the Assassin's Creed engine (and it doesn't sport a Wii version with Balance Board support), it does have some things going for it. First off, it was created with the help of snowboarding movie creator Absinthe Films.

"It's all about defining your riding style and crafting the line that suits you," said Peter Anthony Chiodo ("Tony"), Destineer's Director of Product Development. "Stoked leaves well-worn resorts behind and gives players absolute freedom to ride wherever they want and trick off of anything they can find in some of the most famous backcountry locations the world has to offer. Gameplay is focused on style and finesse, not button mashing; Destineer and Bongfish have created a game that looks and plays like a snowboarding movie."

Adds Patrick "Brusti" Armbruster, co-founder of Absinthe Films: "Developing a snowboard video game has always been a dream of mine. There are endless synergies between a snowboard film production and a game developer that were just waiting to be activated. Bongfish and Destineer have realised this potential, and have shown a real passion for snowboarding, and together we've worked to bring snowboarding luminaries from across the planet together for this project."

Stoked includes five famous mountains featuring over 45 square miles of open terrain in each location, hidden drop points for helicopter starts, dynamic weather, multiplayer support and tons of real world pro riders. Among the list: Travis Rice, Nicolas Mueller, Wolle Nyvelt, Annie Boulanger, Romain de Marchi, Tadashi Fuse, Gigi Ruef, and Bjorn Leines.

Stoked is scheduled for release in November. More details on the jump.

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As I mentioned earlier, Ubisoft is getting into the Snowboarding game... game. Shaun White will, among other things, feature a Wii version that lets you use your Balance Board to board around open mountains.

The Wii version will also have its own story line which has you travelling the world with a crew to try and earn some fame as a snowboarder.

Hit the jump for the full release and some screens.

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Among the top-tier games shown at Ubidays earlier this month, snowboarding title Shaun White was the one I was least interested in. While snowboarding is a sport complex and interesting enough to be a vehicle for a good video game, the franchises that have cropped up never seem to stick around for very long. And it doesn't seem to be because they're not good. Plenty of great snowboarding franchises have come and gone.

Ubisoft's Shaun White seems to have plenty going for it, but nothing that made me think "Wow, this is incredibly different." The game, heading to the Playstation 3, Wii and Xbox 360, uses the Assassin's Creed engine and features an open mountain for gamers to explore.

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