First look: Whirl Tour GameCube, PlayStation 2

Crave Entertainment announced today that it will publish Whirl Tour for the GameCube and PlayStation 2 at the end of this year. In development at Papaya Studios, Whirl Tour is a story-driven extreme sports game with a twist. As the game begins, a band named Flipside is sucked off the stage and disappears into the sky in the middle of one of its concerts. Concerned for their well-being, Wasa B., the game's protagonist, sets off on his scooter to rescue them from the depths of a dark castle.

Featuring eight levels of gameplay and seven playable characters, Whirl Tour will play similarly to most other extreme sports games. There are seven objectives to accomplish in each level, including reaching a certain score, triggering specific level-altering events, landing specific tricks, finding hidden areas, and much more. Crave is accentuating the dynamic environments in the game. Utility poles may be knocked down to create new obstacles and statues may be knocked over to destroy walls and create new areas.

Featuring customizable trick lists, the ability to swap out characters at any time, seven single-player and multiplayer modes, and a deep combo system that rewards the player for variety, Whirl Tour looks like an interesting take on extreme sports. Look for a full preview of the game in the near future. But until then, enjoy these screenshots from the development kit version of the game.