Before reviewing Splashdown, I asked myself, "How can I truly convey my feelings about this game? How can I convince gamers that this really is the best racing game of the year, when I've been giving endless praise to games like NASCAR Thunder 2002 and Kinetica for the past couple of months?" A big part of me wanted to give Splashdown a 10, but I couldn't do it. Splashdown is not perfect, therefore it does not deserve a perfect score. Then I thought about other racing games and what it really meant for a game to be "perfect." Is it how the game plays, how the game looks or how the game sounds? For me it has never been any of those things. Any game can seem perfect for a few wondrous moments, then turn into crap the next day. I'm not saying that NASCAR Thunder is like that, because it's not. But the point is, every racing game I've played this year has been just another excellent racing game...until now.

Looking back, I can only think of two racing games that I enjoyed more than Splashdown. I may surprise a few people when I say this, but neither of those games were Gran Turismo. Gran Turismo 2 and 3 are just as good, but they are definitely not better than Splashdown.

Splashdown's water effects are nothing short of spectacular. You could stare at the waves all day long -- race the same track 20 times and STILL be unable to pick out each and every detail. To say that Splashdown has groundbreaking visuals would be a huge understatement. No other game on the PlayStation 2 has water that looks as realistic as this. The texturing is so perfect that you feel as if you can almost reach into the television and stick your hand in the ocean. Like Solidus from Metal Gear Solid 2, Splashdown's water is the perfect balance of solid and liquid forms. The water is comparable to anything seen in a CG movie five or six years ago, which is why the game's commercial says that it is "actual game footage."

Any gamer who looks at a few screenshots of Splashdown is going to be impressed. But only those who play the game will know just how amazing the graphics are. The physics are -- dare I say it -- mind-blowing. Actually, that's the least I can say about Splashdown. I haven't been this impressed by a single graphic effect since Silent Hill 2.

The way the sun bounces off the top of the water is incredible. ICO blew me away, but Splashdown takes the cake. I'm getting so sick of hearing people say that developers need a "very long time" to develop games for a new console before they are able to take full advantage of its capabilities. Look at Metal Gear Solid 2. That game was unveiled in May of 2000, and it looked just as good then as it does now. The PlayStation 2 hadn't even been out a year yet before Gran Turismo 3 (AKA the best looking racing game of the year) hit store shelves. Now we're slightly past the one-year mark, and the games are nearly perfect, both in how they look and how they play. Rainbow Studios developed Splashdown in a relatively short amount of time. They never delayed Splashdown once or made any excuses about its release date -- they did their job right and made sure that the game was released in November as promised. And yet it still turned out to be the best racing game of the year!

Splashdown's controls are superb. I've played a lot of racing games this year and none of them (except for Gran Turismo 3) are as precise as this game. The analog stick movement is nearly identical to Wave Race 64. Push the stick as lightly as you can and the Sea Doo will still react accordingly. This makes maneuvering the watercraft a breeze. Tight corners are tough to navigate, but can be dealt with easily once you learn how to "submerge" the nose of your Sea Doo into the water. Like Wave Race 64, Splashdown's Sea Doos can be completely submerged to avoid various obstacles in the water. There are many enhancements and additions to Splashdown that no other racing game has. You really feel like you have full control over your Sea Doo. Rarely are there any restrictions in Splashdown. Every course can be explored beyond the path set up for the race. If you head out too far, a monster will pick you up and throw you back to the course!

Splashdown is the perfect example of what a racing game should be. When I'm playing it, I'm not thinking about tomorrow. I'm not concerned with playing the next great racing game because THIS IS IT. Period. The buck stops here. I have not enjoyed a racing game this much since Wave Race 64. Like I said -- Gran Turismo 3 is just as good. But there is something so much more special about Splashdown. I can't even put it into words. If you buy only one racing game this year, it absolutely must be Splashdown.

Gameplay: 9.7
Playing is believing. The commercial is great, but it doesn't do the game justice. You've got to pick up the controller and let it immerse you in its gorgeous world to fully understand the depth and beauty of Splashdown. And when you do, you'll never want to stop.

Graphics: 9.5 
Splashdown is so realistic, that even Mother Nature is impressed by it! It rained hard while I was playing the other night. Obviously Mother Nature wanted to prove that "her" water is the most realistic. Very true. But Splashdown is the next best thing. One look at Splashdown's breathtaking water and you'll say, "Wave Race who?"

Sound: 9
Splashdown's soundtrack isn't on par with Final Fantasy, so why am I scoring it nearly as Final Fantasy IX? Because this is the best compilation of rock music that I have ever heard in a video game. In fact, it's better than all of "NOW That's What I Call Music" albums available and most other music compilations. The first Tony Hawk's Pro Skater game had a great selection of songs, but most of them were from no-name artists. Splashdown's soundtrack features a wide variety of songs from bands we all know and love, including blink-182, Sum 41, Smash Mouth and SR-71. The other songs are provided by lesser-known artists, but they're still very enjoyable. The only thing I don't like about the soundtrack is that you can't hear the music while the game is paused, even though the song keeps on playing! If you pause the game and leave the room for a minute, the song you were listening to will probably be over when you get back. Also, for some strange reason, the music will spontaneously stop halfway through a song every now and then. But those are game problems that have nothing to do with the quality of the music, which is top-notch.

Difficulty: 8
Splashdown provides the best challenge of any racing game released this year. The difficulty is perfectly balanced -- the courses are easy to learn, but hard to master. Your opponents will challenge you to the very end, but never seem too unforgiving. Like the masterpiece that inspired it (Wave Race 64), Splashdown cannot be beaten in a day. If you played it non-stop, you'd probably be able to finish it in a week, but who has the time to do that? Regardless of how long you play it each day, cherish every moment. It's going to be a long time until another racing game is released that is as good as Splashdown.

Concept: 8 
The concept here is simple: develop a racing game better than Wave Race: Blue Storm and any other watercraft racer out there. Rainbow Studios succeeds with flying colors, gorgeous water and superior gameplay.

Multiplayer: 8
What? No 4-player split-screen mode? What gives? Everything else about Splashdown is nearly perfect, so I don't understand why the multiplayer mode isn't just as impressive as the rest of the game. The 2-player mode is a blast though.

Overall: 9.5
As I was writing this review, my sister started playing a song called "Best I Ever Had" by Vertical Horizon. The song is about losing the best girl he ever had (hence the title), but it's strangely fitting to this game. Splashdown is the best racing game I've played in a very long time. It's the kind of game that I'll look back on and think, "Man, why couldn't more games be like Splashdown?" If you've ever wanted to know what perfection is, then go out and buy Splashdown immediately. It's the best watercraft racer you'll ever have.