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Transworld Surf Review
Anthony Wolfe
00/12/0000
After becoming the first decent surfing title on the Xbox, Infogrames surfer heads to the PS2, can it have the same success???
It seems that in the past couple of years, we have been hit with an onslaught of āextremeā sports games. Itās starts out with a simple skateboarding game, and then before you know it, the industry has spawned off a whole new genre dedicated to these games. Through my observations of these āextremeā sports, I have come to the conclusion that, if there is one sport that deserves to have extreme in front of it, Iām damn sure itās surfing. All of the effort that is put into just seconds of a wave is simply amazing.
Although surfing isnāt the most popular of sports, it definitely has itās own following of sorts. From Kelly Slater who is out day after day working his ass off to put surfing on the map, to the Army Colonel on āApocalypse Nowā who cared more about the sport, than the war in which he was fighting in, surfing has become a pretty well known and liked sport.
Obviously a very wise individual over at Atari/Infogrames decided that it would be time to capitalize on surfingā growing popularity by making a videogames showcasing the sport. So came TransWorld Surf. TransWorld was originally released on the XBOX, and was instantly recognized as a well-rounded and very fun game. Now itās Playstations turn to hit the waves up. Does it continue on with what the XBOX started? Or does it spill like an amateur on a 40 footer?
So you want to get into the logistics of the game? Well let me break it down for ya. TransWorld Surf is basically the slate in which all surfing games will be based; it is the first of itās kind to do it well after the dreadful Championship Surfer and Surfer H20.
Starting off, you have your run of the mill modes to choose from. You can choose to have fun for an unlimited amount of time in Free Surf. Practice up on your āunder pressureā skills in a timed Single Session. If you have a friend bumming around your house, you can partake in some multiplayer. For beginners there is the Tutorial Mode. Finally, you can go take on the world in the heart of the game, known as Career Mode.
I refer to the Career Mode as āthe heart of the gameā for a reason. You see, not only does it provide you with 25+ hours of Gameplay but it also is the core for unlocking new levels and even boards. It can be said that itās just another olā career mode, but interestingly enough it isnāt. The career mode provides it own special blend of challenges and fun that makes it unique in itās own way. A perfect example of this would be the fact that levels can be played at different times during the day, providing the player with more challenge and newer goals. Another sweet feature provided in the career mode is the awesome photo system. During a run, you will have opportunities to get a photo taken while performing a sick a$$ trick. Successfully filling the Photo āquotaā will enable you to compete in the head-to-head competition for the current level. If you place first in the competition, you get new boards, which are oh so important in those later levels. I like the fact that Angel Studios took something so simple and made it into something so innovative, making for a greater gaming experience.
TransWorld Surf comes packed with all the XBOX goodies as well as itās own unique treats. There are 10 levels (locked and unlocked) total in the game. They are based off of awesome and world-renowned real world locations that go by the names of Kirra Point (Australia), Fort Point (San Francisco), Tavarua (Fiji), Hossegor (France), G Land (Indonesia), Huntington (Southern California ā“ Hell Yeah!!!), Pipeline (Hawaii), Witches Rock (Costa Rica), Teahupoo (Tahiti), and Todos Santos (Mexico). To add on to that sick lineup of breaks (levels), you are treated to quite a selection of surfers, including Andy Irons, Cory Lopez, Dan Malloy, Christian Fletcher, Rochelle Ballard, Shawn Barron, Jason Collins, Taj Borrow, Shane Dorrian, Taylor Knox, Chris Ward, Fred Patacchia, and Tim Curran.
In game, TransWorld provides a terrific 3D engine for surfing and a wave system that is superb. To begin with, you have many different waves randomly thrown at you, as well as, with the assistance of a lovely and flirtatious wavegirl, the option to choose between surfing normal, hazardous, and in some cases difficult waves to achieve your goals. A basic run can turn into the sweetest feeling of glory. I think I shall speak surfer to surfer on this topic, and give a detail example of my preaching.
The level loads, and you find yourself in paddling in a beautiful sea. In the distance you spot a huge wave approaching you. As the wave reaches you, you begin to stand up and gain your balance, careful to not snake the wave. Wow! Youāre up, and youāre swaying back and forth to gain speed. To get your multiplier up, you take control of the wave and perform a basic snap turn. You sway some more gaining even more speed as you prepare for the big one. Your healthy, your karma is good, and you are ready to battle the wave. As the wave reaches the perfect height, you Ollie off of it and perform a sweet two-handed 360 grab. On the way down you regain your composure and land safely back onto the wave. You sway a bit more, Ollie again, and this time go for the one-handed, foot off the board, 360. BAM! You hear the splashing of the water as you land another trick with perfection. You notice that your trick meter is at full blast and ready to go, your multiplier is up to 10.0 and your score is over 5,000. Inside youāre electric and full of energy, but outside you show the smoothness of a champion, keeping calm, cool, and collect. Swaying against the water feels so good, as you try to gain max speed for the ultimate air. Youāve reached max speed and it feels like Mach 3 as you prepare for the wave. You Ollie up, BANG, you perform a SUPERMAN, the ultimate trick. As you land, a sense of pride and joy crosses through your body. The big 75,000 flashes across the screen signifying the amount of points you scored on the wave.
Thatās what it is all about folks. Angel Studios have done such a good job on perfecting the gameplay aspect of this game. The controls are smooth, the animations smoother, and it just feels damn good. For a building block, everything comes together quite well.
Unfortunately, the gameplay isnāt perfect in every aspect. Its main flaws come to play in the career mode. Iām really not digginā the karma meter. Basically what the karma meter does is measure your activity with the sea life. If you are keeping low key and not disrupting their natural flow, your karma meter will remain good, but if you in turn hit an animal by accident, or get in their way, your karma meter will move over to bad, meaning that it interrupts your flow of tricks and perfection. It seems like an ok idea, but trust me it sucks. Also there are goals in which you must avoid sea life?!? I wonder if Angel Studios were that starved for ideas, that they would use sea life as a goal in career mode. Oh well, what can you do? Adding on to my list of problem, I would have to say that the paddling system in the game is the just basically a waste of time. It serves no purpose, and just doesnāt need to be there. Since Iām on the topic, when you call for a wave girl (because you arenāt getting anywhere paddling) precious seconds are removed from the time limit. In opinion, that is simply terrible. There should be no penalty for calling the NECESSARY wave girl to help you catch a wave.
These are the main Gameplay flaws, just little and basic stuff, but it can have a bearing on the game. The little things nag and annoy the hell out of you sometimes, and itās all you can do to avoid turning the game off. Even though these flaws exist, I still think that end result is rather good and satisfying. Catching a good wave just feels sweet. I hope that in the sequels (and there will be sequels you can count on it) that they correct some of these problems, but all in all, theyāve got a solid build.
I almost hate to write about the graphics aspect of TransWorld after giving such compliments to its gameplay. The graphics are definitely the bummer of the game. The engine performs mediocre at best, and isnāt even deserving of a āfirst timeā game like TransWorld. For starters, the water textures in TransWorld are plain. How does that sound? PLAIN!!!! Thatās the only word I can use to describe them. With most words, you can use adjectives and world play to make them sounds better, but plain is just a plain word. Thatās how the water in TransWorld looks. There is nothing you can say or do to deny it, or change the fact.
The water is only the half of it though. I really canāt see the excuse for some of the slowdown that is encountered during the game. Itās quite sad really. I call for the wave girl and slowly but surely she gets there, the engine almost stutters to a shuddering halt. Time is ticking off my clock and I canāt even get to my next wave without all this jagged slowdown. Itās really annoying to deal with and puts a bad damper on the game.
Despite saying all that I just, Iām going to have to give complements to the player models. They look pretty awesome and there arenāt many imperfections in them, the animation also is extremely fluid as your surfer pulls trick after trick out of the hat. They still arenāt enough to evade that slowdown though. Itās a killer.
Any gamer will tell you that in keeping with the āextreme sportsā tradition, you need a lot of Underground music; the more unknown, the better. Well proudly Angel Studious kept with that tradition by putting together a bunch of unknown catchy tracks for the TransWorld Soundtrack.
While the tunes can get rather old, pretty quick *ahem* Ace of Spades *ahem*, they still last their time and add a nice feel to the game.
I find it nice that you can switch tunes in-game and while in the middle of a trick, but why the hell would you want to? Itās all about user options, and for the sound aspect of TransWorld, there are a lot of them. As far as sound effects go, well they are put together with pretty good effect. The wave sounds give you an almost feel for being on the beach, and the sounds of different collisions work well. On the whole the sound is pretty average, nothing special, but then again not as bad as the graphics. Hehe, had to add it in.
