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By Lonnie on November 21st, 2001
Introduction Its been along time since the original Wave Race on the N64. Finally Playstation2 owners can get a feel of what it is like to take to the sea. Unlike Nintendo’s game Rainbow Studios, the makers of ATV Off Road Fury, have created what seems to be one of the most realistic water engines known to man and put Sea Doo water craft in the place of Jet Ski’s. With an amazing soundtrack and gut wrenching graphics Splashdown is one title you won’t want to miss.Presentation Shim, Shimmer, Shine as I like to call it. This game is pretty. Even the loading menu’s make you want to grab a wet suit and just go swimming (Granted you don’t have to pee). There are four modes of play. Training is your basic "Sea Doo for dummy’s" class with the overly annoying aussie girl. Arcade lets you take on any course, provided you unlocked it in career. Career mode is a worldwide racing tour where you must build up a racing team and take the world finals at Lake Havasu AZ. There is also multiplayer where you go head to head with friends in multiple race mode’s including stunt based copycat mode (Think horse in Tony Hawk).Graphics & Sound First response when we saw the opening movie was, "Oh my God is this a game?" As riders cut through the water it ripples just like its real life counterpart. Each one of the characters is fluidly animated and come with their own set of phrases some of which will keep you laughing for hours. Splashdown has one of the best soundtracks I have ever heard, with bands like Sum 41, Blink 182, SR-71, Smash mouth, Groovie Ghoulies, Man... Or Astroman?, and KMFDM. The music never gets too dull and keeps you into the action.Gameplay So you have a Sea Doo and you have realistic water effects you can’t possibly have great gameplay too? Well, actually you can. Controls are tight and well responsive, not loose and somewhat laggy as in ATV Off Road Fury. Stunts are fairly simple however there are plenty of them to choose from. When you start an event you have a performance meter. The meter is empty and builds up as your perform tricks, thus increasing your overall performance of your Sea Doo. This game should keep you busy for a while. There are 18 photo-realistic courses that you must master before you can consider yourself "good".Lasting Appeal This game is pretty easy to love. If your a fan of extreme sports, or a casual racing fan, or maybe you tired of the same old solid ground racer, then Splashdown is right for you. Its a lot like wave race blue storm right? Well no, it has better water effects and more realistic physics while still maintaining the ability to perform stunts. With all the A+ titles this season DON’T let this one slip out of your hands.Conclusion While Nintendo has Wave Race: Blue Storm it seems somewhat lacking. The control in Blue Storm was just Awful. Splashdown seems to give the big N a run for its money in the water racing area. With the rebirth of the Atari name Infogrames has brought a truly innovative title to the hands of gamers everywhere. Now lets just see how many people adopt it. | 
