Exclusive: Wakeboarding HD

The world's first official playtest.

Published 15/03/2010 at 17:30.
By Alex C [nofi].

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I’ll be honest, I didn’t really know what to expect from TikGames/Creat Studios’ Wakeboarding HD. I’m a big fan of some of the studio’s output, including the addictive Mushroom Wars and the short but compulsive Smash Cars, but Wakeboarding as a sport has never interested me and I normally prefer my boards on wheels, with Rodney Mullen balancing on top.

Still, I’ve got a reasonably open mind and I’m a sucker for PSN titles, so taking up the mantle of being the first person on the planet to get their hands on the nearly finished code I pulled on my wetsuit and installed the game, anxious to see what one of my favourite digital download developers had come up with for their eighth PlayStation 3 game.

First impressions were striking – the interface is gorgeous (it’s got that fluffy, breezy Outrun feel about it) and the load times snappy enough for a game not out for a little while yet. I decided to go in at the deep end and take on the game’s main mode but before I was allowed to get a proper feel I was forced through the mandatory (and unskippable) tutorial.

Turns out that the 10 minutes or so to do so was time well spent; Wakeboarding HD’s 17 lessons require your full attention as the game takes you through the basic controls, through to jumping and tricks through to grinding and combos, and as the game uses the same few buttons for multiple purposes it really is an essential process, so take your time.

The left stick obviously steers your ‘boarder, and whilst X is used to jump you can also tap the other buttons when on the water to perform certain tricks. Once in the air (either via a normal jump, a ramp, or via the wake for extra lift) the face buttons do various grabs, and all this can be combined with spins and flips, a little like SSX.

Once allowed out into the open waters and you’re free to experiment with the trick system the game starts to come alive – there’s seemingly dozens of locations on offer, and each has multiple objectives for your wakeboarder to complete, from collecting stars placed strategically around the course to knocking away certain objects or getting a specific score.

Each objective also comes with a bronze, silver or gold level of completion, all communicated effectively via a scrolling progress bar at the top of the screen so you always know how close you are to your next target – it’s a neat way of doing things and certainly encourages repeat plays of a course just so you can aim for gold.

Although the audio left a little to be desired at this stage in the game’s development (the music was a bit rough) the visuals were stunning. The Creat Engine goes from strength to strength and the water effects combined with the dynamic waves is hugely impressive and the scenery has a distinctive ‘pop’ to it too – it’s all very crisp and moves along at a lovely 60fps.

So, seemingly out of nowhere, Wakeboarding has shot to the top of my want list for the PSN. I didn’t have a huge amount of interest for the game previous but that’s now completely changed – it’s so different to anything else just now and my extreme sports fix has been filled: I can’t wait to get my hands on the finished game and play through the whole thing.

At least for now, Rodney Mullen will have to wait at the beach.

Comments

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iAvernus | 15/03/2010 17:31
Member
1112 TSA Points | Member since: Nov 2009

Looks pretty cool… I must admit.
- nofi | 15/03/2010 17:34
  Wants a custom tag.
  5421 TSA Points | Member since: Forever
  
  It is, it’s really cool. Just happy I can finally talk about it – any questions, just ask.
  - w3r3w0lf | 15/03/2010 17:55
    Member
    497 TSA Points | Member since: Jan 2009
    
    I take it it’s just single player only?? (not that that matters btw)
  - Kevling | 15/03/2010 17:56
    Member
    2612 TSA Points | Member since: Dec 2008
    
    Check the first screenshot ;)
  - w3r3w0lf | 15/03/2010 17:56
    Member
    497 TSA Points | Member since: Jan 2009
    
    Whoops, my bad :D
  - cheekyMcB | 15/03/2010 18:47
    Member
    1126 TSA Points | Member since: Feb 2009
    
    They should have a co-op mode where one person controls the boat while the other does the wakeboarding.
- wotta | 15/03/2010 17:34
  Member
  901 TSA Points | Member since: Feb 2010
  
  WooHoo Exclusives FTW
  - nofi | 15/03/2010 17:35
    Wants a custom tag.
    5421 TSA Points | Member since: Forever
    
    Spoiled slightly by GDC, but nevermind!
- TheSabreman | 15/03/2010 18:01
  Member
  541 TSA Points | Member since: Jul 2009
  
  Yep looks good, Digger HD & Cuboid were good games but seriously overpriced. I wonder will Wakeboarding HD fail due to overpricing ?
ShovellyJoe | 15/03/2010 17:39
Member
1439 TSA Points | Member since: Oct 2008

What price would you expect it to be on the Playstation Store based on your knowledge on the quality and length of the game?
gazzagb | 15/03/2010 17:40
Master of speling mitakse
4274 TSA Points | Member since: Feb 2009

Looks nice, any word on a rough price?
- Kevling | 15/03/2010 17:45
  Member
  2612 TSA Points | Member since: Dec 2008
  
  “Thursday, 18th March in Europe, and on 25th March in North America, for €14.99/$14.99.” – from the EU Blog.
  
  So probably around £12 then.
  
  PS: So it’s not that early code then Nofi?
  - w3r3w0lf | 15/03/2010 18:01
    Member
    497 TSA Points | Member since: Jan 2009
    
    At that price then, as they are not releasing a demo for it:
    “We’re in discussions, but there’s nothing to announce right now about a demo”
    it’ll have to wait.
  - TheSabreman | 15/03/2010 18:06
    Member
    541 TSA Points | Member since: Jul 2009
    
    No demo and £12 ?!
    
    Will be interesting to see if it is in a Sale offer after a few months, as I have other stuff to finish so there is no rush to buy it.
  - nofi | 15/03/2010 18:07
    Wants a custom tag.
    5421 TSA Points | Member since: Forever
    
    Was written some time back, Kevling. :p
  - cc_star | 15/03/2010 18:09
    Team TSA: Writer
    11320 TSA Points | Member since: Forever
    
    You’re telling me ;)
  - Apnomis | 15/03/2010 21:15
    Member
    1621 TSA Points | Member since: Sep 2009
    
    I’m instantly put off by publishers that use the old $=€ trick to rip off the UK and Europe (many would convert $14.99 to €11.99/£9.99 currently). So immediately it puts this game on the back foot. Also I’ve been stung by a couple of their games in the past that looked interesting but ultimately turned out to be a bit of a disappointment – therefore no demo means no purchase from me (Unless I see it in the Special Offers section for half price further down the line).
Kevling | 15/03/2010 17:43
Member
2612 TSA Points | Member since: Dec 2008

Nice exclusive, and linked to on the EU blog too…. hit central!
- Kevling | 15/03/2010 17:55
  Member
  2612 TSA Points | Member since: Dec 2008
  
  And the US blog too…
  - Apnomis | 15/03/2010 21:39
    Member
    1621 TSA Points | Member since: Sep 2009
    
    Yeah just spotted that it’s on the EU and US blog – nice little coup for TSA! I noticed that they feature a few times in the ‘What we Read’ blog summaries as well – seems like they’re getting themselves in Sony’s good books! And why not – they are one of the few sites that not only stick to NDA’s but also operate in a largely fanboy/bias-free zone…
ECKing822 | 15/03/2010 17:50
Member
3 TSA Points | Member since: Mar 2010

Wow- glowing review. Think I’m going to have to check this out too :)
SIR-DARK-HAZE | 15/03/2010 17:51
Banned
Comment hidden
TTP | 15/03/2010 17:51
Member
245 TSA Points | Member since: Sep 2008

Wait a minute. This game DOES not use the Sixaxis sensor at all? The moment I saw it I though “yeah, I love the wakeboard minigame in Wii Sports Resorts! Can’t wait for this HD version!”. And then I realize it’s totally stick controller? Why Creat? WHY? It doesn’t make any sense.
w3r3w0lf | 15/03/2010 17:51
Member
497 TSA Points | Member since: Jan 2009

Goddamit. BFBC2 tomorrow, GoW3 on Thursday, and now this. A demo/ decent price will sway this for me :)
Tuffcub | 15/03/2010 18:00
Team TSA: Writer
5711 TSA Points | Member since: Dec 2008

Looks like Outrun on water. I like.
TSBonyman | 15/03/2010 18:07
Member
2916 TSA Points | Member since: Dec 2009

It looks pretty decent, might be a refreshing change.