Tucked away in its deepest depth, the blue planet contains all of Mother Nature's maddest secrets and gonky rejects - fish that look like coathangers, for example. In comparison, there's not much happening on its surface.

Well, there are waves - big crashing swells of water perfect for propelling some free-spirited daredevil about on a slice of plywood. And that's where Transworld Surf comes in.

In structure and spirit, this follows the excellent Tony Hawk's blueprint. Choose a dude from a line-up of surfing's A-list bigwigs, then carve your way through several levels of challenges and competitions using an elaborate trick system, stringing together lady-impressing combos as you go.

When it comes to actually completing these challenges and competitions, though, it's an acquired taste. Controlling your rider is cumbersome and frustrating.

It may be an accurate reproduction of the sport, but it's nowhere near as rewarding as the masterclass of freestyle stunt expression that is Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3. The tasks are a bit lame, but that's what happens when you stage a game on the lip of a wave - there's not going to be that much to do outside of board-based water wiggling.

A serious oversight is the lack of a tutorial level, a training mode or any kind of on-screen prompt. Having to read and learn all the moves in the manual is a real downer, and you're reduced to progress via trial and error.

The showcase effect for a title like this has to be the water, and it's a strangely mixed bag in TWS. As the camera zooms in from its aerial view of the entire bay, straight into the thick of the action, it's gorgeous. The briny in the sunny levels looks stunning - you can almost taste the spray as waves billow, swirling the barrels. But when it's cloudy, the sea becomes an oily slick that looks like a lake of liquid metal.

This may be an authentic and fairly deep take on the sport but, as a game taken on its own playable merits, Transworld Surf is average at best.

1. Some really great water effects!
2. Can use your own tunes
3. Lots of tasks...

1. ...But nearly all of them are tedious
2. Some really naff water effects

Power
Some lovely visual fodder, except for the shiny water on some stages.

Style
It's surfbum chic - silly shorts, sponsorship, fitting tunes and cowabunga all the way.

Immersion
Can be engrossing, but non-fans of the sport will quickly sink without a trace.

Lifespan
There's a lot to plough through, plus it has the timeless appeal of (albeit difficult) freestyle tricking.

Summary
For hardcore extreme sports nuts only. Not enough variation, or freedom to explore, but okay if you can stick it out.