SUNNY GARCIA SURFING (PS2)


Taking the sport to new highs

By WILL BARKER

Surfing games have always been a contentious area when it comes to videogames. It's not often that you come across a surfing game and go "Wow, this is really good and it's got solid replayability too!"

Indeed, the only other decent surfing game that comes to mind is Mike Stewart's Pro Bodyboarding, which was released on the PC in the late 1990s and while it wasn't perfect, it allowed you to really tear up the waves.

Ubisoft has finished work on Sunny Garcia's Surfing (SGS) for the PS2 and without pulling your collective legs, this is a tip-top title.

Bear in mind that those who dislike the act of surfing, using the ever-changing shape of a wave for propulsion, may not like it as much, but in the end, reviews are subjective anyway, so on with the show.

SGS is an impromptu sequel to Championship Surfer, which appeared on the PSX and DC and is put together by Krome Studios - an Australian outfit. The introduction, showing Mister Garcia hammering through some outrageous barrel sections, is the perfect stimulus to get really pumped for some bodacious digital waves. From the outset, there are only a few surfers, boards and breaks on offer, but predictably you can unlock more by completing the championship and arcade modes, and eventually the special challenges.

Freesurf is a great way to get to grips with the game's often demanding controls, but the meat of the game lies in the arcade and championship modes. Arcade is a bit crappy really, as it takes away much of the realism. You have to reach a certain score to pass the level, by performing tricks, which would be easy enough, were it not for the gamut of obstacles in your way. There's sharks (big ones, too), underwater photographers, buoys and even sea-mines that explode. In all, it's a necessary evil, because you need the arcade mode to unlock new riders and boards.

The championship mode, on the other hand, is an absolute winner, allowing players to pick their waves and bide their time. You can even sit on the board and duck dive if you want. Players also have the ability to mess around with heat times and rounds, but a good set up is to count the best three waves out of ten. There are three heats per beach (30 waves then) and about 24 beaches, which ensures good longevity. All comps are one on one and while the first half-dozen beaches are relatively easy, the much larger 10+ foot beaches can get a little treacherous.

Controlling your digitised grommet is fairly easy. Up speeds up, down slows down and left and right steer/rotate your surfer, while the main action buttons translate to various tricks, such as cutbacks, floaters, reverse airs, grab airs, smelly chairs and snaps. One of the hardest, but most rewarding tricks possible is getting barrelled.

At first it seems as though the world is against you, getting sucked deep into the pit, to be eaten up by the snarling liquid monster. After a bit of practise though, you'll find that 45 second barrels are possible, just not frequent.

Ultimately, the physics involved are what make this such a joy to play. Whether it's grabbing the rail and ducking down, pig-dog style, for a massive tube, or simply carving up the face of the wave with aggression, playing this game can be a helluvalotta fun.

The graphics on offer don't exactly overheat the PS2's core processing unit, but the way in which the waves form from a flat expanse of water is titillating (Ed - we think he just wanted to say tit).

The waves look great, but don't break in a linear fashion, which is good to see. There are slow, fat sections, then fast, pitchy and steep barrelly sections, the latter of which can often catch you deeeeep in the barrel. But the great thing is the waves don't just break perfectly all the time - they have variations in thickness, speed and size and perhaps that's what kept me coming back.

The surfers include the likes of Shea and Corey Lopez, Shane Beschen, Tim Reyes, Jason "Rat Boy" Collins, Nathan Carroll and the games namesake, Sunny Garcia. As far as Garcia goes, he is a good choice for a mascot, claiming the World Tour Championship in 2000. He's also an arrogant, sore loser, but that's my opinion and it no way taints the game. Just had to say what I thought. Then again, I reckon Kelly Slater is just as bad, if that's any consolation for Garcia fans (Ed - what a grumpy bastard).

The surfers are nicely rendered and while there is a lot of detail involved and mo-cap used to great effect, one of the most useful (and popular) camera angles was a zoomed out one, so most of the time the riders were little tiny grommet-like dudes anyway.

The soundtracks is similar to any good surf vid - plenty of pumping choonz and good array of artists. Personal faves were Sprung Monkey and MXPX.

I don't mind saying I love this game for everything it's not. It's not in your face, it's not trying to be Tony Hawk and it's not pretentious either. The things that were sticking points, for me at least, were the sublime wave physics combined with truly inspiring graphics and finished off with relaxing, but deep gameplay.

The simple acts of slotting into the 'green room' for a quick barrel, or whacking the lip with a furious snap are more rewarding than you'd think. Be warned though: those who have little interest in surfing would be advised to try before they buy. If you dig surfing and the culture that complements it, this will be a welcome addition to your gaming library.

ORIGINALITY 90%
SOUND/GRAPHICS 90%
PLAYABILITY 95%
ADDICTION 90%
ENJOYMENT 95%