Surf's Up

Once again, an animated movie that goes to a game is released pretty much at the same time. One of the most common merchandising techniques that have been around since the earlier days of the game industry. Surf's Up seems like the perfect movie for this, it was a big success, with funny characters and the 3D animated style that sports theme.

Even though surfing is not a pretty popular sport in the gaming world, there are some surf games out there already, so let's talk about these surfing penguins.

About the game

When it comes to the plot of this game well, it's pretty much the same as the one from the movie. This makes sense since they actually do sell these games as if you're playing the movie. Our main character Cody Maverick is a penguin who dreams to be the best surfer. And be up there at the top along with his lifelong idol Big Z.

To prove that he's the best he's gonna have to beat all the other competitors in what promises to be one of the biggest surf competitions in the world. Or at least the biggest bird-surfers competition in the world.

Is it actually a good game?

You may have more than enough reasons to doubt if this is really a good game. Games based on movies are often pretty bad, especially when they are trying to recreate the whole movie's story. This game does that, but it somehow manages to not be terrible. The gameplay is similar to that of old skating games such as Tony Hawk Pro Skater. It's more of an entry-level version of those games, clearly directed towards kids.

But the unlockables are there, the gameplay is solid, and the whole story is not boring. The recreation of the story is made throughout a championship mode, so you won't be losing time with side missions. The game can be too simple for not-so-young players though, which can be a negative thing. However, it's more than clear that this game is not intended to be for hardcore sports players.

Review

Overall it is not a terrible game, it's pretty solid all around. It can be a little repetitive though. The game is way too short to rely on a single player for a good experience. If you're lucky the main championship mode can last you about two hours. Good thing there are unlockable characters and local multiplayer to make up for the lack of a good story mode. But this is indeed the best game about surfing penguins out there

• Graphics and visuals: The game actually looks great. And of course, it does, it uses CryEngine, the very same engine as the Crysis games. The water effects and the characters look similar to the movie, even though the animations may sometimes be leaking fluid movements.

• Gameplay: A pretty solid yet basic gameplay that's perfect for the younger audiences. The multiplayer mode is fun and entertaining. The game itself is not challenging at all and it's too short, so you better be ready to play a lot of multiplayer for this one. Only local multiplayer though, as there's no online feature here. You can also spend some time unlocking all the collectibles, learning new tricks and playing a total of 13 levels.

• Sound: The soundtrack is pretty similar to that of the movie. It uses some lines from the movie, but overall the soundtrack perfectly fits the style of the game. This means it’s ok, but not great.