Already gaining great respect on the PlayStation 2, Rainbow Studios decided to try and stretch it's muscles on the mighty Xbox as far as graphics are concerned. Did they add much else, or is Splashdown just another simple PS2 to Xbox port? Luckily it's not, but there is also not a substantial difference either. What this version offers is prettier and slicker visuals, along with a few more options and features.

First off, Splashdown was very pretty on the PS2, but on the Xbox, things are even more pleasing to the eye. For starters, take away the jaggies, add some more shimmer and transparency to the water, and toss in a more solid 60fps framerate, and you have a recipe for the best looking water title along side of Bloodwake. The player models, while not the best looking riders to grace an onboard racing title, look fine. The Sea Doo watercrafts are accurately modeled to perfection with movable parts shown in detail. The backdrops are brilliant, displaying plenty of the Xbox's fantastic lighting effects. Throw in some nifty weather changes and you have some very cool environments to race within. The overall package is very nice, with plenty of variety in the tracks, although still not enough in the players themselves.

Audio does a fine job utilizing not only the Xbox's Dolby capabilities, but custom soundtracks as well. You hear repetitive cheers and trash talking from you and your opponents, but they are short enough to ignore after a few races. The engine sounds are what you'd expect from this type of game, very common and not very variable. What does stand out is the game's custom soundtrack option. You not only get to choose your soundtrack, you can randomize the songs, or choose each particular track by title! All in all the game does a nice job of taking advantage of what the Xbox is capable of producing, but not much else in exceeding said possibilities.

Game play is top notch, with tight responsive controls and adjustable A.I. You control your jet ski with great ease, which is nice if you want to pull off those fantastic looking stunts. What is a let down of sorts, is that the original tracks exclusive to the Xbox are totally different from the ones ported over from the PS2 as far as physics are concerned. You have in the ported PlayStation 2 tracks, a very enjoyable ride with not much to really hamper you as far as wave effects go. In the new Xbox exclusive tracks though, you have killer waves that vary and throw you around (ala Wave Race) which makes racing the new tracks seem unbalanced. I like what was done here with the new tracks, but the overhaul should have been complete for all the tracks, and not just a few. The game still plays fantastic nonetheless.

Spashdown, while lacking upgradeable rides, is full of fantastic options. The aforementioned custom soundtrack, over 40 tracks in 18 locales, plenty of stunts to learn, and a perfect and a fun multiplayer mode. Splashdown will easily keep you busy for hours and hours.

With so many racers on the Xbox, is Splashdown a worthy purchase? Oh yeah baby! If you haven't tried this one by now, get it and prepare for Jet Skiing at it's finest. Let's all hope Rainbow has a sequel up its sleeves.