Okay, so Shaun Murray
might not be a household name to extreme sports fans in the same vein as Tony
Hawk, Kelly Slater or even Mat Hoffman, but you can always count on Activision
O2 to take a particular extreme sport and make it both ultra cool and really
fun. In Wakeboarding Unleashed, you will not only be introduced to Shaun Murray
but also to the fast-paced aquatic sport of wakeboarding . . . and love every
minute of it.
Serious extreme sports
fans and wakeboarding enthusiasts will tell you that Shaun Murray is a
three-time wakeboard world champion and practically the pioneer of the freeride
progression. He also does things on a wakeboard that truly have to be seen to
believe. Unleashed allows you to play either Murray or any of the six other
real-life champions such as Cobe Mikacich, Darin Shapiro or Tara Hamilton.
Wakeboarding, for those of you who don’t know the extreme sport, involves what
looks like a snowboard, a speedboat and a lengthy rope and the ability to pull
off some spectacular tricks at high speeds.
As always, you can’t get
very far in the extreme sports genre without bringing up the brilliant Tony Hawk
Pro Skater series and I do so because Unleashed practically feels like the Tony
Hawk games in many ways. For one thing, it follows the same basic
complete-and-unlock-new-objectives formula that offers up some unique challenges
collecting stars, matching certain tricks when they’re called out or performing
one long combo. The more challenges you successfully complete, newer challenges
are unlocked as well as stat points you can use to upgrade your wakeboarder’s
balance, hang time or even jump height. The only thing missing is the
interaction with characters scattered throughout the many locations.
Secondly, the controls and
many of the tricks are similar to the Tony Hawk games. You can perform a number
of rail tricks, manuals, invert tricks and grab tricks. There are plenty of
things to grind and you can also do wallrides. However, since the main feature
here is water, many of the tricks are performed off the wake or off the various
ramps you’ll encounter. You can even let go of the rope for some extra
hang-time up in the air and by pressing the Left Trigger, you’ll get the rope
tossed back at you. All of these things leave enough room for you to be as
creative as you want with the many tricks. It really doesn’t get any better
than this when it comes to ultra smooth and responsive controls.
What sets this game apart
from many of the extreme sports titles out there, though, is the co-op mode. If
you’re tired of being the one that is being dragged around by the boat, you can
drive it yourself while a friend does the honor of performing the tricks as the
wakeboarder . . . or vice versa. There are also some split-screen multiplayer
games that have been seen before in many of Activision O2’s other titles such as
Trick Attack, H.O.R.S.E. and Tug-O-War (which replaces the Push game).
Just about my only
complaint is that the game didn’t include a Create-A-Wakeboarder or a
Create-A-Water Park feature while they’re at it. Although these things might
seem insignificant to others, it would have added a little something extra to
the mix. The Groove Meter, although keeps the game going since running out of
groove ends your run, can be a little unforgiving unlike the Juice Meter in
Aggressive Inline. Still, the game does offer a large number of locations
(eleven in total) such as Hong Kong, Venice and even Belize.
Graphically speaking,
Unleashed manages to present a pretty decent-looking game with water being the
most amazingly realistic and prominent feature. Not only does the water ripple,
wave and reflect most of what is all around you, but also it’s the best seen in
a game so far. Each location has its own little charms as well, although there
are some pretty plain spots scattered throughout and the color scheme in
locations like the bayou make the area look, well, kind of drab. Still, the
locations are filled with plenty of eye-catching details and the wakeboarding
champions are rendered wonderfully.
As for the sound, the game
wins big points for it’s plentiful and eclectic soundtrack filled with tunes by
artists like the Flaming Lips, The Pixies and Molly Hatchet just to name a few.
Of course, many of the tunes might not be everyone’s cup of tea so you can
always use your own soundtrack–ah, the beauty of the Xbox hard drive. Still,
even with a decent soundtrack, the game seldom throws a variety of sound effects
to the mix. While the boat’s motor and the splashing water sounds great, it
would have been fantastic to hear more from your wakeboarder than the occasional
oomph when he or she slams into something or the sounds of the board
scrape a surface when sliding.
Wakeboarding Unleashed
follows in the very footsteps of the Tony Hawk series and delivers a game that’s
both fresh and addictive. With some rough spots here and there, it’s far from
perfect but it comes really close . . . close enough that gamers might even
overlook these imperfections to enjoy all the fun and challenging objectives.
And with a co-op feature, this just makes this game worthy of the purchase
price. Go out and get this if you’re looking for an enjoyable extreme sports
title.
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#Reviewer’s |
Gameplay: 9.0
Wakeboarding Unleashed is an
addictive game. Yes, you’ll be hooked the second you start launching off a wake
and start pulling off a number of manuals or invert tricks and yes you’ll love
every second of it. Thanks to the great controls, you’ll be performing some
really complex tricks in no time–although I still recommend you go through the
training tutorial. This is a game will keep really occupied due to the
demanding Groove Meter.
Graphics: 8.2
Although there’s no real special
exclusive Xbox enhanced visuals here, this is still one great looking game. The
water effects are the best seen in a game so far and it literally draws most of
your attention away from the other visual details. Each location is nicely
detailed, although you’ll encounter some rather plain-looking textures on
certain buildings and objects. The riders, though, look wonderful out there and
their movements are both natural and realistic.
Sound: 8.0
The soundtrack is composed of a
decent amount of tunes from artists such as The Pixies (remember them?),
Pavement and Mountain (I’m sure not a lot of gamers know “Mississippi Queen”).
And even though there’s an option to customize the playlist with your own songs,
I see gamers sticking to the soundtrack found here since it is got everything
for everyone. Of course, indie rock or classic rock tunes might not tickle
every gamer’s fancy so you’re free to come up with your own.
The sound’s biggest
disappointment comes from the sound effects. Here they are barely noticeable
with the exception of a few grunts of pain here and there and the sound of the
speedboat’s motor as it speeds across the body of water. It would have been
great to hear the few characters you encounter shout back at you as you splash
them or even heckle you while performing.
Difficulty: Medium
While the many challenges are fun,
the majority of them are also quite tricky and difficult to complete without
trying it seven or eight times. The hardest challenges–like the dueling banjos
challenge in the Bayou level or numbers challenges in the first level–will keep
gamers very busy and just a tad frustrated. But then again you can always
return to any of the levels and complete the difficult challenges with plenty of
rider upgrades.
Concept: 9.0
Wakeboarding Unleashed has a lot of
things going for it in the challenges and objectives department and many of them
are actually creative and amusing. While looking for your own challenges in the
true Tony Hawk Pro Skater fashion would have been way cool, you can select any
of the available challenges through the Options menu. There are also objectives
that allow you to leave the wakeboarding aside for a minute and drive the boar.
My biggest complaint–and this affect the game or take anything away from it–is
that there is no Create-A-Wakeboarder or no Create-A-Park feature.
Multiplayer: 9.0
You have to love a game that tries
something different with its multiplayer options and this game certainly offers
something completely different. The co-op feature gives you and a friend a
chance to work together as a speedboat driver and rider. If that doesn’t grab
your attention, the game also includes your usual multiplayer fun. The
two-player split-screen fun offers the option to choose from a horizontal or
vertical view of the action, although I highly recommend horizontal since it
gives a clearer view of the environment around you.
Overall: 8.9
Slightly innovative and very
addictive, Wakeboarding Unleashed seriously scratches our extreme sport itch and
brings us a game filled to the brim with unique challenges and perfect
controls. Aside from the ample number of levels available and all the amusing
challenges the game throws at you, sports gamers will get a kick out of being as
creative as they want with the tricks. Consider this one highly recommended.
