JiggyJay's Full Review: Wakeboarding Unleashed for PlayStation 2
I’ve been wanting to play Wakeboarding Unleashed Featuring Shaun Murray (then called Shaun Murray’s Pro Wake boarder, which I wished they had kept the name of) ever since I played the demo of it that came with my Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4 game, and I have to say, the game has gone through a lot since that demo came out last November. Throughout this review, I will be comparing the regular game to the demo version just to tell you how much has changed or hasn’t changed (but Ch-Ch-Changes happened).
With the hit video game Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater in 1999, the video game industry soared pushed skateboarders and extreme sports buffs to play video games alas making a lot of money off of the game so Activision and Neversoft, the creators of the awesome franchise, decided to make a whole series of games with a famous person’s name on it and selling it, but they didn’t slack off. All of the games they created were top notch (aside from the flop of Shawn Palmer’s Pro Snowboarder). Until now, they have made four Tony Hawk games (all of them being wonderful), two Mat Hoffman Pro BMX games (the first one was great, I haven’t tried the second…yet), a Kelly Slater surfing game (haven’t tried it yet), a Shawn Palmer snowboarding game (it sucks), and now, they have gone the extra mile and have done a wakeboarding game; a feat that I thought was going to flop since you’re restrained from having full control over the game (like the Tony Hawk games do).
Wakeboarding is the hit sport where it’s a cross between surfing and water-skiing having you strapped onto a board and holding a rope where you can do tricks off of the ocean’s wake. There are problems first off from this that I thought of when I first caught a glimpse of the game. I thought that in the game you would be restricted from moving around and exploring everything and that’s what the games are all about, but was quickly turned off that state of mind when I played the demo. Instead of just being connected to a rope and staying afloat, you can do tricks off of the wake to get high to do grinds and find secret areas (via the awesome L2 command, which I’ll tell you about later). The game play is so neat that I think it matches or surpasses that of the Tony Hawk games (but I’ll tell you about that later).
Unlike the Tony Hawk games, when you do a trick in Wakeboarding Unleashed the movement looks so real that it’s mind-boggling. I bet the creators had real pros doing tricks with those special suits on so they could mimic their every movement in the game or something because the tricks that you pull off look fantastically real and life-like. When you do a trick, it explodes with grace and style instead of the robotic sort of movements that are in some of the Tony Hawk games. In Wakeboarding Unleashed, you can pick from Wakeboarding’s best with Collin Wright, Dallas Friday, Darin Shapiro, and Shaun Murray (of course) with the help of many other Wake boarders.
Like the Tony Hawk games, you get a huge arsenal of tricks at your command and being a guy who’s seen some Wakeboarding up-close and not knowing a whole lot about the sport, I recognized some tricks and there were some I didn’t and I had never even heard of so it was fun for me to play the game and see myself doing a Scarecrow and saying, “Whoa! That’s what it is!” When you perform a lot of tricks, then your Special meter gently starts filling so that you can be able to do that specific Wake boarder’s special tricks (just like in the Tony Hawk games) and those tricks give you a lot of points and if you connect them with a manual or a grind then you can make a really killer combo and get a ton of points to add to your Groove meter.
What’s a Groove meter? In the demo included with Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4, there was a traditional two-minute time limit (like in most of the games in the 02 series), but one of the last things the team at Shaba Games (developers of the esteemed Mat Hoffman’s Pro BMX) did was create a Groove meter and throw out the time limits that restricts the genre a lot nowadays. Whenever you do major combos, it lets the Groove meter stay afloat and keeps your time from going out thus ending a run. Instead of two minutes, you can have a lot longer, which is helpful if you want to score a lot of points or explore your possibilities with the level. The Groove meter is one of the best game play techs, which make the game play totally revert out of Tony Hawk’s gigantic shadow over the Extreme-Sports genre.
In Wakeboarding Unleashed, you can play in numerous levels ranging from a swamp in Louisiana (called “The Bayou”), a glorious looking ocean in Florida, or believe it or not, a flooded Springfield (which is the level with the most fun in it). The level design also takes a step out of the Tony Hawk games’ grasp with imaginative level designs that are virtually flawless in every way. For example, in Springfield you would think you would just be riding around the town going sightseeing, but that’s not the case at all! House’s roofs are your domain as they are ramps you can do tricks off of. Broken billboards that have fallen into the water have made a huge ramp for you to jump off of and land of the roof of a major huge building. The possibilities are endless in level design and are well done. You have to explore the level and see what harmless objects can become your trick toys.
I’m a huge fan of Extreme Sports games, so what would one be without catching major air off of a jump? Like in EA Big’s fantastic snowboarding epic SSX, you can catch a lot of air off of a jump and perform millions of tricks while in the air and you do catch a lot of air in the game. Do you know what adrenaline is? In Wakeboarding Unleashed you will because there’s not a bigger feeling than catching humongous air off of a ramp doing multiple special tricks, landing with a grind on a rooftop continuing the grind all the way down the building, jumping off at the last minute, doing a manual to keep your combo going, and finally going big off the wake and landing with a perfect million points, which you will do as the game goes on. Most of the fun of Wakeboarding Unleashed and exploring each of the levels and setting up (inside your mind) the combos that you can “Unleash” off of certain objects and that’s what makes the game totally fun.
One of the newest and bestest (…er…uh…greatest) tricks that you can do in the game and one of the coolest and most original ones is to let go of the rope that keeps you tied to the boat. This is helpful to get to certain objects that aren’t on the boat’s route (since the boat your connected to controls you, not the other way around). To do this you basically press L2 and then do your thing and press the same button to return back to the rope (but it has to happen within a certain time since you will lose speed thus making you lose balance and not stay on the water). This is the coolest dynamic and one of the coolest parts of the game because the sense of adventure and exploring is there and this is the only way to complete some goals that you have set forth.
Goals? Ah, yes. Like In Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, you have goals that are set forth for you that have to be completed in order for you to go to the next level. While these goals are usually a spin off (or cliché) like getting a high score or collecting stars (a la the collecting keys goal in the Alcatraz level in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4), but there are really original ones that are funny to do (like in the first level when you have to run over some tubers and get them wet) and there’s even some where you get to control the actual boat and have a race with time as you collect gasoline cans and go through checkpoints to get to the finishing end. There’s also a new function that I haven’t seen in a while and that’s actually identifying and finding gaps (gaps are special maneuvers like grinding a rail for a certain about of time or jumping over a “gap”). There is something like 16 gaps that you need (or eventually will) to find in a level and finding them is sort of fun and makes the replay value great.
This is an Extreme Sports game and noting that all of the ES games I’ve played have had incredible soundtrackWakeboarding Unleashed disappoints in every way. The music is almost all bluegrass, country, and blues and doesn’t please me in any way just because it’s not the best music to get your heart pumping when you’re flying through the air at insane speeds. There is some good music like a Flaming Lips tune, a Gores song, and an Iron Maiden song, but that’s about it with me. I found myself switching off the sound at every chance I could and turning on some Pennywise, Rocket From The Crypt, and even some Cannibal Corpse to fit some of my musical strain. But the sound FX are pretty sweet with nice crashing wave sounds, cheering fans (or fisherman’s cussing you out for scaring the fish away), and great grind sound effects that are pure genuine material.
Some graphical glitches have been taken care of since the demo came out like some rope physics, wave physics, and some character animation and the bugs have all been worked out and have exceeded my expectations in every way and dish out the best graphics in the genre with interesting wave motions, realistic character movement, and exploding particle effects. I just have to comment on the water graphics since they are some of the best I’ve ever seen and please my eyes in every way. The ripples, waves, and splashes are so well done that I’m sure the people taped a lot of water in the making of it. Surprisingly, there isn’t a whole lot of slowdown even when there is a lot happening on screen, but the only moments that I notice slowdown is when I ride ahead of the boat (that I’m supposed to be trailing behind). Some of the camera angles in the game prove to be your biggest enemy (especially during some grinds), but overall, they were pretty well done and don’t bug me much.
Closing Statements
Wakeboarding Unleashed Featuring Shaun Murray is certainly the best Playstation 2 game that I have purchased this year and will definitely hold my attention until Tony Hawk’s Underground comes out in the fall. I bet I will be playing the game past the time when I get T.H.U.G. because there’s so much to do like unlocked secret Wakeboarders, videos, and everything else you can think of. I have spent countless hours just exploring levels and seeing what new tricks and combos I can do that it’s stunning. Hour pass by so that’s why my title is wondering if you have the time to play the game. The addictiveness is high and thick and will surely drown you. If you want a great Extreme Sports title that will have you gasping for air, then pick up Shaun Murray’s Pro Wakeboarder because it sets new standards for a sport that has never been incorporated into video games before.
Jason
Review Of The Review
Sound: [3/5]
Although the music isn’t music to my ears, everything else sounds great crisp like the sound effects of the water and the extras that are in the game.
Controls/Game play: [5/5]
Controls are easy to memorize if you’ve played past Tony Hawk or Mat Hoffman games and you will be a regular “Wind-Waker” in no time at all with the terrific game play that is set forth.
Graphics: [5/5]
The graphical glitches have been taken care of and the rope and wave physics have been revamped and look fabulous along with the super cool water and character graphics.
Multiplayer Features: [5/5]
If you have a friend or a sibling, this game’s multiplayer features are stunning including one mini-game where you or you partner get to control the boat while your partner or you get to control the Wake boarder.
Fun Factor: [5/5]
The game is fun and addictive and a definitely must buy for any fans of the genre.
Replay Value: [5/5]
Do you want a game that will last a long time with a ton of unlockable items and a moderate difficulty for all the levels to control the time you have?
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