Wakeboarding Unleashed
Itching to go wakeboarding but stuck inside?
Video game Wakeboarding Unleashed could satisfy your craving for a while, and get you dreaming of happier times. The game’s makers, Shaba Games, promise the player or players will “feel the rush as you crash into houseboats and catch huge air in nine exotic levels with seven world class wake-boarders.”
What is it?
Wakeboarding Unleashed, or “Wakeboarding Unleashed featuring Shaun Murray” to give it its full title, lets the player take their pick of a number of prominent stars of the sport to control. These include multiple world title-holder Murray and others such as Darin Shapiro, Parks Bonifay and female charger Dallas Friday.
Real life wake boarders will be more than satisfied with the impressively accurate and vibrant water graphics, which on their own would be reason enough to get yourself a copy. The game pumps up the sport to somewhat unlikely extremes giving the player or players the ability to catch gigantic air and carry off flips and grabs in a variety of appealing locations, including Florida, Hong Kong, Venice and the North West Pacific coast of the US.
There is tons of interesting scenic detail in Wakeboarding Unleashed, from passers by to geological features and other boats and quirky challenges such as water balloon fights.
How to play
First released back in 2003, the game offers a number of playing options including a unique cooperative mode, which sees one player controlling the boat and the other being towed. The multi-player option allows up to four players, though with eight boats and eight boarders, multi-player isn’t as varied as other games in the extreme sports genre. The game also features the ability to pull tricks or go exploring without holding onto the tow-rope.
Most of the game's levels have three types of challenges: Groove, Gap, and level specific. Groove mode lets you get accustomed to the environment, with challenges such as making certain scores or grinding a certain amount of feet. Gap challenges require that you let go of the rope at some point, which makes learning to ride without the towrope essential. Level-specific challenges give you a certain amount of time to perform a specific task such as executing a series of tricks within a time limit.
Music Maestro
Reviewers of Wakeboarding Unleashed have been complimentary about a richer soundtrack than the usual tedious diet of shouty guitar fare common to many extreme sports video games or movies. Artists include the Pixies, Van Halen, the Flaming Lips and the Stooges. Want more? More information including a trailer of the game, examples of the screens on different levels, and background info on the characters can be found at wakeboardingunleashed.com
