When I first saw the downloadable demo of Surf's Up from Xbox Live Marketplace I was sure it would be just another lame movie tie-in. You know, the typical attempt that relies purely on how well the film does at the box office. But upon actually playing the full game (the wife bought this for her and the kids) I'm surprised at how good this really is.
The visuals are ok for a kids game, the playability though is very good. My son is four and my daughter is five, and both have picked the games controls up quite easily. They perform the stunts and hit the gates and many of the other required objects often enough to keep them happy while playing. The wife plays the game more than the kids purely because it is a very enjoyable game. The characters, there are 10 in total with the obvious ones being the main film characters, each have their own moves and styles.
Each performing differently at freestyle, speed, stoke and whatnot enough to be noticed in the game when playing. Each of the higher levels to be surfed is unlocked by completing other areas while other characters, surfboards and surfboard designs are unlocked by collecting "surf idols" and shells. There's quite a bit of replay value. No doubt being aimed at the younger players out there the only multiplayer option is 1-4 players on one console. An online multiplayer option would have been nice, but as a parent with loads of online experience, restricting the game to one console multiplayer is more than enough for kids of the age range its intended for. Overall Surf's Up is a highly playable game that looks nice and is amusing enough for gamers of any age. Well worth the money.
