momlogic's Julie: My son had the chance to preview "Tony Hawk: SHRED" for Wii ($99.99, Rated "E" for Everyone) this weekend along with 12 of his closest friends. That meant I had 13 boys age 7-11 in my living room at once. Thankfully, the game kept them entertained for hours.

My son, Holden (age 9) loved last year's Tony Hawk: RIDE ... and I was psyched and surprised to learn that you can use the RIDE board with SHRED also.

After a few calibration issues (make sure the wireless receiver dongle is not positioned BEHIND the Wii -- it worked much better when I turned the Wii to the side with the dongle facing to the right), we were off and running.

Holden loved how SHRED allows you to snowboard AND skateboard. The kids really picked the game up instantly. It was amazing how they just seemed to intuitively know what to do on the motion-sensored board.

The boys played in "Party Mode." They loved being able to skateboard in New Orleans and snowboard in Whistler. They also loved the videos of pro skateboarders like Tony Hawk, Lyn-z Adams Hawkins, and Corey Duffel, and snowboarders including Travis Rice, Louie Vito, and Olympic Gold Medalist Torah Bright interspersed throughout the game. They were cracking up at some of their sarcastic one-liners.

As a mom, I was a big fan of how the game got the kids off the couch and kept them moving. And it had a good soundtrack, too!

My 1-year-old goddaughter liked picking up the SHRED board and walking around with it, which provided super-cute photo opps.

After the party, my husband and I jumped on the SHRED board and tried it, too. Although I've had a lifetime of crushes on skateboarders and snowboarders (Shaun White, I heart you), I am a horrible skater and snowboarder. But I got to live out my X-Games fantasies on the SHRED board, and we had a blast.

My son says this game was even more fun than Tony Hawk: RIDE, and he's been playing it every chance he gets.(When he can get me to stop playing it, that is!)