Kelly Slater's Pro Surfer (GBA)

THE GAME

Let's get the obvious comparison over and done with first, shell we? Yes, it is like a surfing version of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, and no, that doesn't make it better or worse.

In fact, apart from being endorsed by a well known face from the real world scene, these two are as different as can be.

The game is played in different modes, from career through to freestyle, and played across a collection ...
...the competitions (hopefully winning them) you unlock locations.

For each beach, you unlock, you can enter specific competitions to complete challenges to unlock boards.

The boards all have varying capabilities - some are for speed, others for tricks - but to be honest, they all play more or less equivalently.

This might sound complex, but once you get used to it, dipping in and out of the various modes ... more

THE GAME

Let's get the obvious comparison over and done with first, shell we? Yes, it is like a surfing version of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, and no, that doesn't make it better or worse.

In fact, apart from being endorsed by a well known face from the real world scene, these two are as different as can be.

The game is played in different modes, from career through to freestyle, and played across a collection of unlockable beaches.

As you progress through the competitions (hopefully winning them) you unlock locations.

For each beach, you unlock, you can enter specific competitions to complete challenges to unlock boards.

The boards all have varying capabilities - some are for speed, others for tricks - but to be honest, they all play more or less equivalently.

This might sound complex, but once you get used to it, dipping in and out of the various modes to get the best edge for a given beach becomes second nature.

Of course, there is the obliagtory freestyle (or drop-in) mode, where you can practice. Like Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, at first, you will need to.

The controls are straightforward enough : turn left or right by moving the D-pad left or right, and slow down by pushing it down.

All buttons are used for tricks, which is where the fun starts, particularly when they can be modified by pressing the D-pad up mid-air.

Sometimes it is a bit of a chore to remember the combinations, especially if you are in a trick competition requiring some fancy finger shuffling to twist and turn through the required combos.

THE EXPERIENCE

Each wave that comes along is potentially different, and each beach has a different wave style.

So, the direction that the wave travels in, and the height change for each run. This is important; more height means more air tricks, and if you don't know what direction the wave is going in, you'll run out of water and wipe out miserably.

The animation is smooth. The colors vibrant, and well chosen. The lack of pixellation (how do they do that?) means that it is easy to distinguish between the crest of the wave, the surfer dude, and the rest of the wave.

Vital if you want to surf in 'the tube', where the crest curls down. Big points, very tricky.

The trick system is, at first, annoyingly picky and overprecise, but I mastered the combos far quicker than I did those on Tony Hawk's Pro Skater.

There is a irritating voiceover, which you will want to switch off at once, as well turning down as the sound track so that it deosn't drown out the crashing of the waves.

With these little tweaks it becomes an enjoyable experience.

Unless you are a Tony Hawk fan - then you will find it restrictive and boring : after all one beach is pretty much the same as any other, and there are no hidden objects that I can find.

THE VERDICT

The game is made for casual gamers. It is accessible, clean, throwaway fun. The lack of variation means that the hardcore amongst you will quickly toss it aside.

If you want something to pick up and play, advance through over a period of months, then it is perfect. Most people will not have the patience to sit down and play it from start to finish.

[By the way, I picked it up at GAME for about £5. At that price, it's unbeatable!! At the retail price of £15 it would be reasonable.]
 

...less