n one hand, Nintendo’s Wii offers up a chance for developers to create new and innovative product. On the other hand, the Wii makes some of the old tried-and-true video game series nigh impossible to execute to the same level they are on other systems.

The Tony Hawk franchise is an unfortunate victim of this conundrum. While Tony Hawk’s Downhill Jam takes the franchise in an interesting direction by basically turning it into a racing game with tricks and grinds, it loses its roots and finds itself treading dangerous and unexplored waters.

Downhill Jam’s play mechanics are simple. You hold the Wii remote like a NES control pad, and steer your onscreen character by turning it to the left or right. Grinds are executed with the 1 button, and grabs are done with the 2 button. Combine those with the d-pad and moving the controller in various directions, and voila – you have a trick system.

The system, while fine on paper, really doesn’t require any skills. I was getting just as many points from smashing buttons and flailing my hands around as I was from seriously working on executing complex combos. So the trick system, while interesting, doesn’t really matter, other than needing to pull off something every once and while just to keep up your speed.

This sums the game up in a nutshell. While there is something here, it’s more novelty than a game. It took about four hours of simple one to two minutes runs for the game to even start offering a challenge, and even then it was just a question of finding the secret route hidden in the level and getting lucky once or twice.

The features list reads like it was taken from a Gaming 101 handbook with standard issue highlights like boards to unlock, different race types to “challenge” you, and outrageous skating destinations like Machu Picchu to make you feel like you are truly radical. Combine this laundry list of features with high-school interactions with the other skaters with names like Crash, Jynx, and Tiffany, and the picture becomes clear. Tony Hawk’s Downhill Jam is an unimaginative and often times annoying game that hangs its hat on a Wii controller interface that is interesting because it is different, but easily forgettable after a few short hours.