Jet X2O impressions

Sony recently dropped by the GameSpot offices with an updated version of Jet X2O, its upcoming PlayStation 2 water racer. As previously reported, the game will feature four different modes, eight different characters, and more than 30 motocross-inspired tricks.

Jet X2O will feature three different season mode difficulty settings, each of which will allow you to unlock more and more of the game's tracks. The game's characters will all be from different countries, and each one will have a watercraft inspired by his or her country. For instance, the German rider will ride something that looks a bit like a Volkswagen, while the Russian rider will drive a tanklike craft. Each racer is rated in four stats: balance, strength, weight, and tricks. In addition, every rider will have access to multiple vehicles, each of which will come with its own set of stats.

In the game's race modes, the gameplay is not unlike that of similar games, such as Splashdown and Wave Race. There are gates and jumps littered throughout the courses, and passing through a gate or performing tricks, which is done using different combinations of the four shoulder buttons and the D pad, will fill your onscreen turbo meter. Once full, you can unleash some huge, player-specific tricks. The square button will burn up your turbo meter, giving you a speed boost in the process. The gameplay in Jet X2O seems pretty easy to grasp. Aside from the aforementioned turbo boost, X accelerates, and the triangle button is used to tweak tricks. Turning is, of course, handled using the analog stick. Hitting diagonal directions lets you turn more sharply than you would normally. The courses are said to take between four and seven minutes to complete, and they don't have you doing multiple laps around a short track.

Sony's Jet X2O is being developed by Killer Game at Sony's San Diego studio. It is currently scheduled to hit store shelves on October 29.