There aren’t a great deal of graphically fantastic games out there to show off your Tegra device, sure there’s games like Samurai II and Backbreaker which are both fine games but now there’s Riptide GP, which isn’t just a go-to game for showing off your shiny new device, but it’s also a heck of a lot of fun.
I don’t think there’ll ever be a time when jet skis aren’t cool anymore so anyone making a game about them already has a running start, but add stunts, futuristic tracks and the best graphics we’ve seen on Android and it sounds like we’ve got a winner before you’ve seen anything but a screenshot. It’s hard to believe that a company containing just two guys could create such a sharp looking game, although they’ve had some practice with creating last years Xbox Live Arcade game Hydro Thunder Hurricane, which has clearly been a big influence here. It’s not just the way that things look in Riptide GP that sets it apart but also the way that things move. You can hit a jump and come crashing down into the water, where the buoyancy of your craft will shoot you back up and send waves out in all directions that’ll disturb the paths of your opponents. Theres level of realism that stands out as soon as you play the game and it’s equally as important as the graphics, perhaps more so. Because of the requirements, those without a Tegra device might not even see the game listed in the marketplace and even those who do will find that turning up the video quality will drop the framerate down below a reasonable level.
Graphics and physics aside there’s a choice of six jet skis to choose from as well as six different reversible courses, so the variety isn’t the strongest but reversing the courses does make the routes feel fresh, even if the scenery isn’t. The courses themselves also adjust in small ways as you race around them although this doesn’t extend much beyond short paths opening or new jumps becoming available. Not all tracks are available from the get go, you’ll have to progress in the single race, hot lap and championship modes to unlock tracks and jet skis for the other modes and this’ll take roughly 3-4 hours to get through as the tracks consist of three laps taking roughly just under a minute each to complete. Once you’ve completed all the courses the biggest drive to keep playing the game is to beat your old lap times and race the ghosts of other players through OpenFeint, which sadly didn’t appear to be working at the time of this review. Hopefully the online ghost races can be fixed or this is just an isolated problem as once the wow factor of the game has worn off and the OpenFeint achievements have been completed then a large part of the game’s draw is extinguished.
By default Riptide GP is controlled with auto accelerate turned on so all a beginner will need to know to fly around the tracks is to tilt the device to steer, however there’s a little more to it than just that. Tapping the left hand side of the screen breaks, while tapping on the right side of the screen boosts and more boost is obtained by performing stunts. You perform a stunt with a simple two thumb gesture on the screen when coming off a jump and as long as you perform the stunt before landing you’l fill up your boost meter half way, fail to complete your stunt before you hit the ground and you’ll be flung off your jet ski into the water. Sensitivity and auto accelerate can be adjusted in the options but the default method is more than capable as the lack of accuracy of the tilt controls is offset by the fact that already having to adjust for the waves your crashing through.
Riptide GP isn’t just a great game to show off your Android device, but it’s also a great game period. The price might be a little over what you’re used to, but you’re paying a premium for quality.
Or download the free demo
