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Ubisoft says Surf's Up for DS, GBA and PSP

Apparently penguins can ride waves, too

Product: Surf's Up | Publisher: Gameloft | Genre: Action, Film/ TV tie- in, Sports | Networking: wireless (network)

by Jon Jordan

What it is with penguins at the moment? If the love-in phenomenon gets any worse, you'll be able to buy genetically-modified rockhoppers in the local petshop. Bred to withstand global warming, they will probably be marketed as ecological salvation for a species running out of ice. (Oh, and they'll look simply divine clutched in the tiny, skinny hands of Paris, Mischa and Lindsay...)

Maybe Sony Picture's forthcoming 'penguins invented surfing' mockumentary CGI movie Surf's Up will put a stop to the species' ascent. Then again, Jeff Bridges is providing the voice of Big Z, the surfing legend from the past, and it looks like a penguin version of The Big Lebowski, so maybe we should cut them some slack and just enjoy the vibe.

Ubisoft certainly thinks there are more bucks to be squeezed from our humorously tuxedoed-chums. It has gone all in with a kid-friendly extreme sport tie-in Surf's Up game, which is being worked on for PSP, DS and GBA (as well as the TV-based consoles).

Based around the film's main event – the annual Reggie Belafonte Big Z Memorial Surf Off – you'll get to make your choice from ten characters, such as Cody, the young challenger, Tank, the merciless champion, or the Big Z himself. The action will involve learning arcade tricks as well as the water conditions in the game's 11 locations, which range from calm beaches to big tubes and the turbulence of a volcano.

Of course, the odds of Ubisoft's game operating on the same principle as the film's moral (a true winner isn't always the one who comes first, kids) seems much slimmer. (Besides, wasn't that Cars' moral, too? – Ed).

The game versions of Surf's Up are due to be released during July in the UK, with the film opening in August.

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