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Splashdown for PlayStation 2
Splashdown for PlayStation 2 lets you race Sea-Doo personal watercraft among waves, buoys and other riders. The courses take you along tropical shores and through waterways, with settings including Bali and Venice. You choose a rider and try to find a smooth line through the turns. Flags on the slalom buoys show which side you must pass. Passing incorrectly reduces performance and can briefly stall your watercraft when the performance meter is empty.
Stunts directly affect the race. Once airborne, you perform a trick using shoulder buttons and directional movements. A successful landing helps maintain the performance meter, allowing stronger acceleration and a higher top speed. The meter does not make your handling more stable. Repeating the same trick also yields less benefit. You therefore need to judge whether a jump gives you enough time for a different move and whether you can still land safely.
In the career you progress through races; individual events and training provide room to practise a course or stunt. Free Ride lets you explore the water without a time limit. Two players can race each other locally at the same time in split screen, each with their own controller; no Multitap is needed. This lets you approach the same turn in different ways and immediately see which combination of line, jump and landing works best.
Region and language
Our PlayStation 2 games are PAL editions and come with a Dutch or English box, unless stated otherwise. By default, you receive the version for the European market. We note it in the product details if the region is different or the box is in another language. In almost all cases, the game is playable at least in English, and often in the other five common European languages too.
Manual
Splashdown for PlayStation 2 includes the manual unless the product title states otherwise. If the booklet is missing, the title says “No Manual”. This lets you see before ordering whether the game comes with a manual.
The manuals included with our games usually contain at least English and often around six European languages. The exact languages vary by edition, so Dutch is not always included. The booklet explains the controls and the main rules. You can use it to check how to control the game, which actions are available and how its different features work.
The history of Splashdown
Rainbow Studios developed Splashdown, and Infogrames released it for PlayStation 2 in 2001 under the Atari brand. The April 2001 announcement mentioned the partnership with Bombardier, the manufacturer behind Sea-Doo. That licence gave the game recognisable personal watercraft and equipment. The project arrived at a time when the new console allowed more detailed sporting environments, while Rainbow already had experience with off-road racing and vehicles moving over uneven terrain.
In Splashdown, the water itself became an important part of riding. The publisher's information highlighted moving water surfaces and locations around the world. The original manual shows how the designers linked speed and stunts: the performance meter increases acceleration and top speed but does not alter stability. This gives a jump a clear purpose within an ordinary race. A spectacular move must also end well if it is to gain real time over your opponents.
An Xbox version followed in 2002. This offer concerns the original PS2 release, not that later port. THQ subsequently released Splashdown: Rides Gone Wild in 2003 after acquiring Rainbow Studios. The sequel built on personal-watercraft racing and stunts but added heavily themed amusement parks and changing courses. The first Splashdown remains distinct through its own courses, Sea-Doo presentation and original career. The two games therefore share a related foundation without offering the same content.
Similar games for PlayStation 2
Splashdown: Rides Gone Wild on PlayStation 2 builds on personal watercraft and the link between stunts and speed. The sequel moves races into extravagant amusement parks, where events can change the course. The first Splashdown uses locations such as Bali and Venice and presents its own routes and races. The difference is most apparent in the setting: recognisable waterscapes versus courses deliberately built as spectacular attractions.
Speedboat GP also has you find a line across the water on the same console, but you control a racing boat rather than a personal watercraft. Progress revolves around tournaments, unlockable courses and records. Splashdown adds a rider performing aerial stunts and a performance meter, plus races for two local players. Speedboat GP is for one player. Both your position on the vehicle and the way you can play together therefore differ.
SSX Tricky on PlayStation 2 also uses big jumps and tricks to give a race more speed. You stand on a snowboard and choose routes over snow, while Splashdown sends you over moving water and past slalom buoys. In both games a stunt must end in time to avoid a fall. The approach differs: a snowy descent keeps you moving downhill, whereas engine power takes your personal watercraft through the turns.
Like Splashdown, Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec asks you to learn to read turns and preserve speed. Its cars remain on circuits, however, and do not gain extra engine performance through aerial stunts. Licences, prize money and a garage shape its progression. Splashdown focuses on personal watercraft, buoys and a meter that changes during the race. Practising a consistent line helps in both games, but a jump means something very different.
WipEout Fusion on PlayStation 2 also offers fast racing in settings beyond ordinary asphalt. Hovering ships follow futuristic circuits featuring weapons, jumps and unusual track elements. Splashdown sticks with personal watercraft and lets stunts affect acceleration and top speed. You watch the buoys and aim for a safe landing in the water. WipEout Fusion replaces this with another set of decisions: dodging, attacking and steering your ship through the racing mayhem.
