Full Review: Surf's Up is a kiddy surfing game that isn't too bad, but it doesn't last very long.
The Bad: Lame voice acting, not much variety, extremely short, no online multiplayer, very lame surf rock soundtrack.
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Cowabunga dude, we're going surfing! Yup, Surf's Up is a game based on the Columbia Pictures animated movie of the same name. It's basically Tony Hawk on water, with characters and flavor from the movie to boot. You get to select your character, most of which are penguins, from the begining, and can unlock new characters as you progress. You start out in an antarctic area and move on to a tsunami style wave in the south pacific. Sound like fun?
The gameplay is pretty much Tony Hawk on water. You can preform basic jump tricks, holds, grinds, and special moves that you unlock when your "Stoke" meter is full. These tricks give you some wicked sick points. Most levels have three different objectives for you to complete. Two are related to scoring a ton of points, while the last one is for going through a select number of gates in the level. There are also surf idols, which are little bronze penguin statues, for you to collect throughout the level. You unlock new areas and achievements by collecting surf idols and completing objectives. During the game, there are other characters from the movie who are tearing up the waves around you, but you aren't competing against them at all. In fact, the game itself really doesn't tell the story of the movie at all. It's just like the X Games for surfing penguins. The graphics are suprisingly quite good, because the game runs using the Unreal Engine 3, but it doesn't exactly look like Gears of War.
The gameplay itself is actually pretty fun, but it doesn't last long at all. The single player game lasts maybe 4-5 hours, but you can easily zoom through it, unlocking everything in around 3 hours. The achievements are super easy. I unlocked over 800 gamerscore by playing for maybe 5 hours, and going back to unlock all bonus objectives after beating the game.
The voice acting in Surf's Up isn't done by any of the original cast, and it's really quite poor. Granted, they only talk when you pull off a monster trick or crash into something, but it still lacks in the voice acting department. The soundtrack consists of really lame surf rock songs. This game is definately a good place to use your custom soundtracks, because the in game music is bland and uninteresting. The game does have extra leaf sliding levels, adding some variety and multiplayer for up to four players offline, but the lack of online support is frustrating. Overall, Surf's Up is a decent rental, especially for those achievement hoarders looking for more super easy points. It's definately not a bad game, but it isn't worth buying at all due to it's short length.
Gameplay: It's a decent Tony Hawk rip off, but there isn't enough levels to make it worth paying more than a few bucks to rent it.
Graphics: It is a suprisingly good looking game, thanks to the effective use of the Unreal Engine 3.
Sound: Lame voice acting and poor soundtrack hurt baddly. Custom soundtracks, anyone?
Value: Don't buy this game, it may be worth a rental, but that's the most it's worth.
Final Thoughts: Why are penguins surfing anyway?