Games Database
GBA
Sport: Surfing
| Viewed: | 2D Side-on, Scrolling | Genre: | Sport: Surfing |
| Arcade origin: | No | ||
| Developer: | HotGen | Soft. Co.: | Activision |
| Publishers: | Activision
(GB/US) |
Released: | 2002
(US) 18 Oct 2002 (GB) |
| Ratings: | 3+, ESRB Everyone | ||
| No Accessories: | No Accessories | ||
Summary
Activision's collection of champion-endorsed, extreme sports sims just increased by one, with their O2 range of virtual cool kids titles adding the father of all board sports to its roster. Six-time world champion Kelly Slater is the dude in question and, of course, the radical, excellent, and all round babe-impressing sport of surfing is the job at hand. So those of you not quite in a position to take a West-Coast safari down to Carliforn-I-A, and not too fussed about a wet weekend in Scarborough can now experience all the delights of surfing from the comfort of your own Game Boy Advance.
Selecting the man himself, or another one of the eight, featured surfing stars, players travel to 13 of the world's hottest coastlines, in search of the perfect wave. As with other games in the Tony Hawk style, the aim is to pull off tricks and combos, score big, and thus progress through the various tournaments and challenges. The completion of competitions unlocks subsequent locations and also the usual array of 'cool stuff', such as boards and, impressively for the little GBA, clips of surfing videos from the industry's top directors.
Those of you old enough to remember the early days of the Atari Lynx will immediately notice this game's resemblance to California Games. The same side-on, 2D perspective is used here, as the surfer rides across the screen, outrunning the wave and performing his range of tricks. This game mechanic is greatly improved upon, however, and the title also boasts some great visuals (namely the water effects).
All in all, there's not a great amount you can do with a surfing game. The developers have made the most of the opportunity, however, including a host of options and features, a four player link-up mode, and generally delivering a comprehensive surf sim.
Selecting the man himself, or another one of the eight, featured surfing stars, players travel to 13 of the world's hottest coastlines, in search of the perfect wave. As with other games in the Tony Hawk style, the aim is to pull off tricks and combos, score big, and thus progress through the various tournaments and challenges. The completion of competitions unlocks subsequent locations and also the usual array of 'cool stuff', such as boards and, impressively for the little GBA, clips of surfing videos from the industry's top directors.
Those of you old enough to remember the early days of the Atari Lynx will immediately notice this game's resemblance to California Games. The same side-on, 2D perspective is used here, as the surfer rides across the screen, outrunning the wave and performing his range of tricks. This game mechanic is greatly improved upon, however, and the title also boasts some great visuals (namely the water effects).
All in all, there's not a great amount you can do with a surfing game. The developers have made the most of the opportunity, however, including a host of options and features, a four player link-up mode, and generally delivering a comprehensive surf sim.
