Wave Race 64 set the standard for videogame jetski racing, and in 2001, Wave Race: Blue Storm for the Nintendo Game Cube raised the bar. Just because one game has dominated the genre, it doesnt mean that other games arent going to try and get a piece of the pie. With the power of the current generation of systems, faster, smoother, and more realistic racing games are possible, and one of the first games to try and knock Wave Race from the top slot is Eidos Wave Rally.

Youd be excused for thinking that Wave Rally is an outright Wave Race clone, because thats what it essentially is. Theres an Arcade mode, a Championship mode, and even a Freestyle competition. The graphic styles are very similar, and the course layouts also feel quite familiar. Unfortunately, Eidos was unable to mimic the game at its high level, and as a result were left with a sub-par, unoriginal game.

Wave Rallys visual presentation is a mixture of nice little details and flawed bigger issues. The first thing to catch your eye in the game is of course, the water. It looks good, but it doesnt look realistic. Lets clarify that a bit, its got the right colors and transparencies, its got waves, but it flows more like liquid metal than H2O. It still comes off as respectable despite it looking like youre racing in Mercury.

The riders are all nicely detailed, and animated quite well. The execution of tricks is smooth, and so is the transition from one stunt to another. The game is also bright and very colorful, which helps bring out the richness in the games varied environments.

Those were all the good things about the games look, and unfortunately, everything else looks quite poor in comparison. The first issue is the framerate, which is slow and often erratic. The choppiness first rears its ugly head during the pre-race panning across the level, and it continues, although to a slightly lesser extent during the races.

Even running the game through S-video cables doesnt help eradicate the games horribly pixilated look. Im not going to exaggerate and say it looks as bad as a Playstation game, but its pretty bad. A camera thats a bit too low, and a bit too slow to keep up with your rider make the game harder than it should be to play, certainly doesnt do anything to make things look better. After a race, a laughable replay mode showcases youre performance. Theres not much to say about it, other than its pathetic.

Moving Shadow provides music for the games soundtrack, and its not too bad. Some of the musics well done, and other tracks arent as good, but all in all its respectable. The jetskis all sound solid, though I cant attest to how realistic they sound since PSX2Central hasnt let me use the corporate jetski yet. Overall its a decent sounding game, but one that youll likely end up turning down after a few hours of gameplay.

Wave Rallys saving grace is its gameplay. Its not superb, but in the end, the games whole is better than the sum of its parts. The game offers the standard racing modes that youd expect in a jetski game, and they are all solid. Arcade mode is for people that want to jump right into the game and dont have time for the games lengthy Season mode. The Season mode offers the same style of racing as Arcade, but over a longer period of time involving more courses. The Freestyle mode is just what it sounds like - you compete for a high score in a wide-open course. A Time Trial mode, and 2-player mode round out the games options.

We want to be like Wave Race screams the game as you start your first race. The way the camera shows the course before the race, to the spectators lining the side, the course style, and even the yellow and red buoys that you must follow during competition all are straight from Nintendos classic. Once the race starts, the games simple, yet somewhat rigid controls make steering your craft quite a chore. Eventually they grow on you and dont present too much of a problem.

Earning first place in a race involves staying inside all of the buoys, some of which you have to memorize their position to make, and taking any of the available shortcuts. Ramps are strategically placed to help you cut corners, but even the shortcuts have perils. If you try and get greedy and jump too far to the left or right and you might end up on land, or running into a previously unseen obstacle on the other side. The races are generally tight and competitive, in no small part due to the lack of mistakes the top riders make, but at least its challenging.

The games Freestyle mode puts you in an open course and lets you show off your best tricks. However, instead of just awarding a set amount of points for each trick thats performed, the moves are judged in a number of categories. There are Technical and Artistic points awarded, as well as points for Composition, Succession, and Appeal. This places emphasis on performing a wide variety of tricks, in rapid succession, and combining them into one strong performance. For what some people view as a throwaway gameplay mode, its fun.

Wave Rally ends up being a sub-par game for a number of reasons, not least of which is that it does nothing new, and the stuff it rehashes isnt as good as what its trying to emulate. If you are really curious, you might want to give the game a look as a rental, but youd be better off saving your money as far as a purchase goes.