Splashdown Update

The makers of the impressive ATV Offroad Fury were on hand at Infogrames' Editors' Day to demo the latest build of their equally impressive Splashdown. At the show we saw a few of the game's previously unrevealed features.

The most notable bit of info revealed was the game's unique power-maintenance system. Basically, there's a crescent-shaped meter that sits on that bottom right-hand corner of your screen that gradually fills as you perform tricks and navigate the many buoys that populate the tracks. It's in your best interest to keep this meter full, as, if it drops to zero, your engine will stall. It drops significantly if you miss a buoy, which adds a bit of incentive to going at the tracks in a coherent manner.

Also revealed was the game's copycat mode, which is a variant of the HORSE mode popularized by Tony Hawk's Pro Skater. You essentially have to one-up your opponent's tricks after he or she performs them, and vice versa.

The designer present also mentioned that weather effects will play into the game; storms will ravage some of the game's more challenging tracks, effectively changing the way that the crafts behave on the water. We also learned that certain tokens would be scattered throughout some of the more remote areas of the game's maps, which when collected, will grant you access to some of the game's secrets.

Splashdown is due out at the tail end of next month. Keeps your eyes on this space for an update very soon.