Platform: Nintendo GameCube

Developer: Angel Studios

Publisher: Infogrames

Release Date: 2003

Genre: Surfing, sports, extreme sport

Nerd Rating: 55/100

WTF is Transworld Surf Next Wave?!  Why have I never seen or heard of this game before?? At first glance it appears to be a surfing video game with humans and otherworldly creatures who get together to surf some of the world’s greatest breaks.  And at a second glance, I think that’s exactly what it is.  It’s a surfing sports game where you get to choose your character and surf some gnarly waves on a surfboard, dolphin, and more.  It’s unique, it’s weird, it’s… it’s…

It’s a game I found at a Goodwill for $3.99 and thought why the hell not.  During my college years I lived in Wilmington, NC and did my fair share of surfing the ankle to knee high breaks at Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina (and occasional head high waves or Hurricane swells).  Since my time shredding the gnar down on C-Street or Northern Myrtle Beach, I’ve always been pretty interested in surfing and the social aspects that revolve around it.  There is a huge community of surfing aficionados in this world, even if you don’t surf anymore.  Thus the reason Atari, Infogrames, and Angel Studios came together to create the sequel to Transworld Surf.

Transworld Surf, Next Wave is a pretty fun game and surprisingly deep.  With a Tony Hawk approach in an oceanic world, you’ll find yourself immersed in a 3D World of tricks, combos, Transworld characters, cheat codes, and much more.  The controls take some finagling and a lot of trial and error until you really figure out how to get Andy Irons to really ride the barrel.  I struggled mightily at first and I just couldn’t figure out exactly which way the wave was going to break.  The camera scheme is pretty challenging at times and you just wish it would be in a different spot!  But that’s all part of the process of figuring out how to play the game.

I find the graphics to be pretty spectacular for a Gamecube game and it looked great on my 47″ LG LED TV.  Some games don’t look so good on bigger, newer TVs, but this game was very pleasing to the eyes.  The game engine produces a wide variety of waves, and it seems to generate these waves almost randomly and out of nowhere.  The waves start small and build up. It’s nice to see a variety of waves as well. Producing realistic water movement is no small-feat, and Angel Studios did a pretty good job.  Graphics are great and the sound is pretty decent albeit fairly simple.

One of the truly outstanding aspects of this game is the depth of which they truly captivated the full experience of surfing.  Playing it on the TV will never replace the rush of salt water spraying off the peak of a righteous head high wave, but from a video game perspective, this game is far from glassy.  You start out by paddling into a wave and turning with it so you can ride wave/barrel.  If you don’t feel like paddling, you can call over a hot blonde on a jet ski to pull you into a wave (which is much needed for larger waves… the jet ski pull-in, that is).  There are nice tricks to do to help earn bonus points and combo points.  These will be necessary to unlock other surfing locales, new surfers, and more.  The multiple game modes keep the game somewhat entertaining, and the career mode is that little bit of tasty fat at the end of your nerd bacon strip… deliciously the best part.

Overall Transworld Surf Next Wave is moderate-to-moderately-high fun to play.  Career is the best mode, but multiplayer offers some variety and it’s nice how you and your friends can surf the same waves at the same time instead of being in different locations.  I prefer the free surf mode where I can just dick around.  I like to pick up the Wave Bird and play this game for about 15 minutes when I want some simple sports game fun (much in the vein of how I enjoy picking up the sticks for FIFA ’13 on the Xbox 360).  The wave generation system is marvelous and I love the variety of locations.  I’ve certainly played better games and this game does feel just a tad outdated now that it has hit its 10 year mark.

You live too far inland, you want to surf, and this game delivers.  It’s pretty darn fun. Especially on a rainy day like today!  Makes me miss the beach.  But I’ll be there in less than a month… Bring on the gnar.

For $3.99, this game was well worth the price!  Find this one on Amazon in the case for about the same price before shipping/handling.

Nerd Rating: 55/100

Submitted by NerdBerry