Splashdown Rides Gone Wild – PS2 – Review

This game needs no
introduction.  You certainly know the name: it instantly brings back memories
of the best racing game of 2001.  The new subtitle may lead you to believe
that this is merely an upgrade, and not a full-fledged sequel.  Splashdown
developer Rainbow Studios will tell you that it’s both a sequel and an
upgrade, but all that really matters is that Rides Gone Wild lives up to the
family name.

Rainbow Studios has taken the series in many new directions, starting with the
courses and the graphic style.  Eight enormous fantasy courses were created
for an all-new Career mode.  Each of these worlds has its own unique style;
the first one is a pretty beach, while one of the latter courses is a flooded
city.  The pretty beach quickly becomes a nightmare when the sky suddenly
darkens and a thunderstorm takes over.  Everywhere you turn you’ll see the
effects of the storm, all of which occurs in real-time.  The same is true for
the flooded city, which overflows with more water during each lap.  Cars get
brushed aside like a crumb on a table.  Bridges collapse, creating a hazardous
path for you to cross.  When the damage doesn’t affect the race, you’ll find
yourself in a bit of a jam when you try to pull your eyes away from all the
action.  It’s a really amazing experience.  Having the worlds change so much
so quickly, and in real-time no less, was probably the smartest move the
developers made for this sequel.  And don’t forget: there are eight of these
fantasy worlds.  But I only spoiled two of them – you’ll have to play the game
if you want to experience the rest.  (Trust me, you’ll definitely want to play
this game.)

Rides Gone Wild is true
to its name when it comes to performing all of the new stunts.  There are so
many stunt variations that the total amounts to more than 300.  Spread across
three tiers, players of the first game can expect to see some familiar button
combinations.  By pressing the left analog stick and any one of the shoulder
buttons (except L2), you’ll execute a Tier 1 stunt.  By adding additional
movements, such as Up and Down, you’ll perform a Tier 2 stunt.  To take it
even further and perform a Tier 3 stunt, the only thing you have to do is
press the left analog stick in a couple more directions.  You can’t just
button-mash your way to success; each tier has pre-set combos, and only those
combos will allow you to reach the second and third tiers.

Rides Gone Wild’s combo
system has a much more meaningful purpose than gaining points: it fills your
performance meter.  The performance meter increases your speed and is a vital
part of the game.  This not only encourages, but also in the later courses
requires you to perform a variety of stunts and stunt combos.  As with the
first game, the extra "work" is really the developer’s way of adding more
thrills and more fun to the experience.

Being a very greedy
gamer, I am never satisfied with "some" new things.  The eight fantasy courses
are stellar, but I want more!  There’s no need to say it though.  Rainbow
Studios clearly knows their audience: gamers who aren’t easily satisfied.
That’s why they developed a dozen new stadium courses and five new freestyle
courses for Rides Gone Wild.  The design is excellent.  Simple and exquisite.
Wild but not crazy.  Realistic-looking, but not actually realistic.
Water-filled platforms are found in many of the stadium courses, and you have
to jump off of ramps and race up and down these platforms to win.  It’s very
exciting, creating lots of enjoyment for racing fans everywhere.  Although not
as much of a fantasy, the same rules apply: to increase your speed, you’re
going to have to perform many stunts.

The new graphic style may
come as a disappointment to some.  It did to me at first.  I loved the water
effects from the first game.  It would have been nearly impossible for me to
give them more praise.  So it was sad to see those near-perfect water effects
go.

The disappointment faded
once I actually played Rides Gone Wild.  It may not look quite as realistic,
but the graphics are truly something special.  The fantasy worlds are going to
shock and surprise you, no doubt.  And the new light-reflective water effects
in the stadium course are pretty impressive as well.  The frame rate is always
consistent, no matter how much action occurs on screen, which means you’ll
never have to worry about being interrupted by some silly technical issue.
The gameplay is seamless at all times.

To buy or not to buy,
that is the question.  Splashdown lovers shouldn’t have even waited for a
review, ’cause this game should already be theirs.  Newcomers and skeptical
gamers: stop doubting Splashdown’s greatness and buy it already.  Racing games
are a hard to recommend to everyone, but Rainbow Studios made it an easy task.

For more information
on Splashdown:
Rides Gone Wild,
check GameZone Online’s

interview with Rainbow Studios.

Reviewer’s Scoring Details

Gameplay: 9
Rides Gone Wild
is a triple-A title: awesome, amazing, and antastic!  Er…that last word is
fantastic without the F, but who cares.  Rides Gone Wild packs more gameplay
goodness into its watery worlds than any other racer out there.  It’s the "Gran
Turismo" of watercraft racers.  The AI is great without being cheap.  You
always feel like you have a chance to win, even on the game’s hardest
difficulty.  Rarely is a game’s challenge so evenly balanced.  Everything
about this game deserves praise, most of all the gameplay.  It’s deep, yet
fast and exciting and unrealistic (in a good way) like an arcade game.

Graphics: 8.9
Rides Gone Wild
is dressed to impress.  Don’t let the screenshots fool you: this isn’t a
graphically-degraded sequel.  Rainbow Studios used a lot more background
effects this time around, so it wouldn’t have been easy (and perhaps not
possible at all) to keep the graphics at the same level as the first game.  As
much as I loved the prequel’s water effects, the cartoony polygons work really
well here.  You really can’t complain.  If you do, then obviously you haven’t
played the game yourself.

Sound: 7.9
This sequel
doesn’t have the rockstar power of the first game, but the soundtrack, which
features bands like The Exies and Audiovent, turned out good.  Better than
good, actually.  Call me crazy, but the track from The Donnas is pretty
enjoyable, and The Exies suits the game’s style.

Difficulty: Medium
Rides Gone Wild
doesn’t stray far from the first game, which was challenging, but never
frustrating.  You’ve got your work cut out for you if you want to get 100%
completion.  Better start now if you want to be a Splashdown master before
school begins!

Concept: 8
What’s the most
commonly used word in a gamer’s vocabulary?  More.  They want "more" good
games, "more" great sequels, and "more" variety in the sequels to the games
that they love.  Rainbow Studios went all out with this one and gave us more
than just an upgrade to the original.  The new stunts, the new tier system,
the fantasy courses – it’s all good.

Multiplayer: 8
This is a fun
multiplayer game, but with the majority of the courses locked, you’ll have to
play by yourself for a while before you get to have the full multiplayer
experience with your friends.  Of course, with a single-player mode as good as
this game has, you won’t feel like you "have" to do anything, ’cause you’ll
want to play the single-player mode until your thumbs are numb and your eyes
begin watering uncontrollably.  (It’s not healthy, but whoever said game
addiction was?)

Overall: 9
Splashdown: Rides
Gone Wild is the epitome of fun.  If you haven’t gotten down with the first
Splashdown, there is no better time than now.  The game is cheap — you’ll
find it at most retailers for $20 or less.  And if you want even more
excitement (we all do), then get wild and crazy with Rides Gone Wild.  There
is so much to do, so much to unlock.  You’ll have fun with the two-player
mode, but the heart of the game is really the single-player experience.  It’s
addictive from the start, and the fantasy courses are so good that you’ll want
to race them again and again.  THQ was smart to grab Rainbow Studios while
they had the chance — now this masterpiece series is exclusively theirs.  And
for those of you who own a PlayStation 2, this game is exclusively yours.