Wakeboarding seems an unlikely candidate for a viable extreme sports game, but Wakeboarding Unleashed hits all the right notes; and actually ends up as the best Tony Hawk variant since…well, Tony Hawk.
With past Activision O2 franchises, people have used comparisons to the hawkster's game in order to accurately describe them. For instance – Shawn Palmer was THPS with snow; Mat Hoffman was THPS with bikes, and so on. Following this long standing tradition, Unleashed can be best described as Pro Skater with waves and a tether rope. You can still grind, do flip and grab tricks, even bust out combos with manuals and reverts. This time around, however, you are propelled by a motorboat, to which you are attached by a rope. Effectively learning how to use the rope to your advantage is key to success in Unleashed, as you can let go of it to reach otherwise impassable areas and goals, but staying off the leash too long will lead to being stopped in your tracks, and you'll be respawned behind the boat again. It really is a fun gameplay mechanic, and in a genre that has become very stagnant, it's a nice breath of innovation, as well.
In addition to your standard scoring challenges and objectives, there are many types of oddball goals in Unleashed that take a page right out of Aggressive Inline's playbook. Clearing gaps, boat races, and holding your combo across a stretch of waves are just some of the things that will earn you new unlockables.
Also of note is the superb graphical presentation and excellent soundtrack. As per usual, the Xbox version does look a bit better than its PS2 counterpart, but other than that, there is little difference. It should be noted that there is a custom soundtrack feature on the Xbox, though the built-in soundtrack is plenty good enough. Unleashed actually manages to break away from the genre's reliance on copycat Nu-Metal, which is a bad thing if your musical diet consists solely of Linkin Park and Drowning Pool, but good for everyone else. The soundtrack actually features The Pixie's "Wave of Mutilation," which falls under the "good music" category. Wow... I'm shocked. Actually, on a whole, the entire soundtrack is pretty good, and doesn't try to hit you over the head with how XTREEEEEME it all is.
If you're tired of all the extreme sports games that rely entirely too much on "been there, done that" gameplay ripoffs, Wakeboarding Unleashed is for you. An overall solid package, and the first true innovation in the genre since the manual/revert.
-George
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