Wave Rally

Wave Rally

Wave Rally, also known as Jet Ski Riders, is a 2001 Jet Ski racing game developed by Opus Studio Inc. and published by Eidos Interactive exclusively for the PlayStation 2. It was released in North America and Europe in 2001, and in Japan 2002...

, also known as Jet Ski Riders, is a 2001 Jet Ski

Jet ski

Jet Ski is the brand name of a personal watercraft manufactured by Kawasaki Heavy Industries. The name is sometimes mistakenly used by those unfamiliar with the personal watercraft industry to refer to any type of personal watercraft; however, the name is a valid trademark registered with the...

 racing game developed by Opus Studio Inc. and published by Eidos Interactive

Eidos Interactive

Eidos Interactive Ltd. is a British video game publisher and is a label of Square Enix Europe. As an independent company Eidos plc was headquartered in the Wimbledon Bridge House in Wimbledon, London Borough of Merton....

 exclusively for the PlayStation 2

PlayStation 2

The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...

. It was released in North America and Europe in 2001, and in Japan 2002. It was also to be released on the Xbox

Xbox

The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...

 but was canceled.

Gameplay

The game provides players with both a Jet Ski and runabout on which to race. Five modes of play are offered: Arcade, Championship, Time Trial, Multiplayer, and Freestyle. The Championship mode awards points based upon the player's final position in each race. The objective is to be the rider with the most points at the end of the season. The Arcade mode forces the player to reach checkpoints within a given time limit in order to continue with the race. The freestyle arena is requires the player to perform various tricks with the aid of waves and ramps scattered around the open area. Tricks are performed using button and directional pad combinations and are judged according to composition, appeal and technical merit, among others.

Dynamic waves which vary in frequency and height can help or hinder the progress during the race. Races take place during different times of the day and in variable weather conditions. A cast of eight selectable characters, consisting of female and male riders, makes up the field for each race. Races take place in a variety of real world locations, such as the Maldives

Maldives

The Maldives , , officially Republic of Maldives , also referred to as the Maldive Islands, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean formed by a double chain of twenty-six atolls oriented north-south off India's Lakshadweep islands, between Minicoy Island and...

, New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

, Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

, and Venice

Venice

Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

. The official Kawasaki

Kawasaki Heavy Industries

is an international corporation based in Japan. It has headquarters in both Chūō-ku, Kobe and Minato, Tokyo.The company is named after its founder Shōzō Kawasaki and has no connection with the city of Kawasaki, Kanagawa....

 and Jet Pilot licenses allow for official watercraft

Watercraft

A watercraft is a vessel or craft designed to move across or through water. The name is derived from the term "craft" which was used to describe all types of water going vessels...

 and wetsuit

Wetsuit

A wetsuit is a garment, usually made of foamed neoprene, which is worn by surfers, divers, windsurfers, canoeists, and others engaged in water sports, providing thermal insulation, abrasion resistance and buoyancy. The insulation properties depend on bubbles of gas enclosed within the material,...

s. A two-player split-screen mode is also included.

Reception

The game received mixed reviews. GameSpot

GameSpot

GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...

 noted "Stiff controls, some questionable AI, and other quirk...ruin an otherwise entertaining experience". While Game Revolution

Game Revolution

Game Revolution or GR is a gaming website created in 1996. Based in Berkeley, California, the site includes reviews, previews, a gaming download area, cheats, and a merchandise store, as well as webcomics, screenshots, and videos...

 commented "It's got some nice waves, but a bad camera, tough controls, and some unsatisfying gameplay cause an evil tsunami of massive proportions". Official PlayStation Magazine

Official PlayStation Magazine

Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine is a now-defunct monthly video game magazine, published by Ziff Davis Media. It was a sister publication of Electronic Gaming Monthly. The magazine focused exclusively on PlayStation hardware, software, and culture, covering the original PlayStation, PlayStation...

stated "This game looks so great, but the controls may very well be the worst I have ever seen in a racing game". IGN

IGN

IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...

stated "Wave Rally isn't bad to look or listen to, but in the end it seems like more trouble to play in view of the rewards it offers. Shoving yourself around the courses is a frequently frustrating task, even with a touch of catch-up to the AI. You can learn a better way around the tracks, sussing out the lines and finding shortcuts (of which there are many), but it's still entirely possible for the strange behavior of the water to throw you off, no matter how hard you try".