Splashdown: Rides Gone Wild
- August 04, 2003 13:32 PM PST
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The girls and boys of Splashdown definitely go a little wild in this sequel.
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The Sky Is Falling
The subtitle says it all: Instead of a second jetski game that feels a lot like ATV Offroad Fury on water, Rides Gone Wild takes its cues from a heavily cartoonish jaunt through crazy tracks inspired by amusement-park rides. As concepts go, that counts as unique, and for Splashdown pros, it will be a jarring switch.
But once the surprise fades, the tracks really amount to nothing more than what you?d expect from, say, Mario Kart?and they?re done quite well. The level of background activity, ranging from rampaging dinos to dive-bombing planes, is so high that sometimes you?ll gawk too much to simply drive straight.
Seat Surfin?
Once you?re accustomed to all that, the game plays very much like the original. The going gets pretty tough once you ratchet up the difficulty from Rookie, and the bouncy feel of the controls and physics can be troublesome. Largely, though, it?s a fun mixture of high-speed racing with a tight balance of racing and tricks.
The graphics succeed with an impressive amount of lush color and detail, but that cartoony style might turn off old hands expecting realistic water. The sound fizzles a bit due to a lackluster jukebox of tunes and truly obnoxious dialogue.
Rides Gone Wild amounts to a departure from the original, and that will probably lose some players and attract some new ones. It?s definitely fun and challenging, and with its slightly reduced price, many racing fans will enjoy taking it for a spin.
