Carve - Hands On Preview

With the likes of ‘Wave Race’ and ‘Splashdown’ it could be said that the water-racer genre is well and truly dusted, it’s hard to see where any future innovations will come and why anybody would release a game when traditionally car racers have a better chance of successful sales.<br><br>However that’s before we laid eyes and took ‘Carve’ for a spin, the latest title from Argonaut.<br><br>Offering the typical variety of modes, encompassing ‘Quick Start’, ‘Arcade’ and ‘Tournament’, whilst Xbox Live! fans will be happy to know that the game features online support, allowing up to eight players to race against each other.<br><br>So everything is rather traditional thus far, and many people might be asking why bother with this when there’s already a slew of games that have done the same thing; well ‘Carve’ features a rather satisfactory trick system, that provides more depth and enjoyment then anything we’ve seen in recent titles.<br><br>As with virtually every other game in the genre, players have to race whilst also pulling off tricks; the game uses the traditional course laid out by buoys, whilst various ramps and other obstacles provide the ingredients for plenty of extreme action. However whereas tricks and racing have felt completely disjointed in previous water-racing titles, ‘Carve’ brilliantly unifies the two by rewarding successful tricks with an instantaneous speed boost just after based upon how complex the particular trick/combo was.<br><br>However the particularly neat aspect of the trick system is the ability to combo tricks, using a system similar to that featured in ‘Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater’ and various other titles. As far as we can remember this is a first for the water-racer genre, and it certainly makes a difference; the trick system is extremely responsive and certainly gives a great sense of satisfaction, whilst controlling the accompanying speed boost shortly after provides an additional challenge.<br><br>Tricks/combos also boost your ‘Double Boost’ gauge, which when fully topped grants the player a momentary boost of intense speed complete with dizzying lighting effects and a rather impressive screen filter.<br><br>It’s not just the trick system where ‘Carve’ innovation lies, as the game also exhibits some neat ideas with regards to team selection. The game offers four different teams, encompassing two different characters; as you’d expect these cater for the different styles of game, i.e. speed, tricks, maneuverability, however your teammate will also update you on progress through each race as you compete to ensure you both finish in a top position.<br><br>‘Carve’ features a selection of 27 different courses from all over the globe to race across; as you’d expect these feature the usual selection of shortcuts, whilst the various locations chuck up all kinds of different weather conditions for you to race in. It has to be said that the actual physics behind the water appears to be less extreme then the tidal waves that featured in ‘Wave Race: Blue Storm’, however due to a slightly buggy preview build we’ve been unable to check out a fair selection of the total amount.<br><br>Whilst the actual physics behind the water may be a tad disappointing, the same certainly can’t be said of the visual effect. The surface of the water magnificently reflects the entire surrounding environment, whilst the rain effect is particularly startling; chuck in the usual selection of water droplet effects, some wonderful animation and environments that are packed with little details and you have one of the best looking titles in the genre.