TransWorld Surf: Next Wave announced

Infogrames has today announced that San Diego-based Angel Studios is currently working on an improved version of TransWorld Surf for the GameCube. The original game was released for the Xbox last year, and a Xbox version followed in May this year. While those two versions of the game were essentially the same, the Next Wave edition for the GameCube will feature numerous enhancements.

"The TransWorld Surf franchise broke new ground in the action sports genre with its incredible graphics and lifelike gameplay and wave physics," said Jean-Philippe Agati, senior vice president and head of Infogrames' Los Angeles studio. "TransWorld Surf: Next Wave has been rebuilt from the ground using what we learned from the first two editions. The team at Angel is pushing the graphics even further, incorporating the gameplay and control enhancements developed for the PlayStation 2."

While the game still features 13 pro surfers, on the GameCube players will be able to unlock a new selection of hidden characters as they progress through the single-player ProTour mode. Players will also be able to customize their chosen surfer by visiting the new surf shop and checking out the new range of wetsuits.

All 10 of the original game's levels--which include the likes of Kirra Point in Australia, Todos Santos in Mexico, and Pipeline in Hawaii--are present in the GameCube version, along with a brand-new level set in the frigid waters and perilous ice caves of Antarctica. The new game will also feature no fewer than seven different gameplay modes including new multiplayer games like king of the wave and shark attack, which we're told is not unlike playing a game of tag on the ocean, with one player assuming the role of shark and trying to catch a competitor.

Perhaps the most interesting of the new features in TransWorld Surf: Next Wave is the karma meter. This measures how politely players interact with other surfers, animals, bodyboarders, boats, and the like and indicates whether the player has good or bad karma. Achieving good karma will indirectly lead to better rides since other surfers will politely stay out of your way, and the sharks in the surf won't be so quick to attack.

TransWorld Surf for the GameCube is scheduled for release in Spring 2003. We'll bring you more information on the game as it becomes available.