Surf's Up [PS3]

If you're a parent with wee ones at home and you have a PS3, I'm telling you right now that you're going to end up buying Surf's Up. That's not a comment on how good or bad the game is; it's just a simple fact that in a kid's mind animated penguins plus videogames equals something they'll gladly throw a temper tantrum for.

Luckily, if your kids set their hearts on Surf's Up, it seems they could do worse.

If you don't know anything about the movie, allow me to summarize: A young penguin is trying to get started in the world of professional penguin surfing. To do so, he needs to win competitions. This is where you come in.

The game features five surf settings with a handful of runs in each and focuses on unlocking the game's ten characters and surf boards while participating in the Reggie Belafonte Big Z Memorial Surf Off. Finishing the course first isn't the sole measurement of success in the game. At the onset of each contest, you'll be briefed on a set of objectives that will dictate if you clear the run -- stuff such as scoring 15,000 points, collecting penguin idols or passing through eight gates.

To rack up points, you'll need to take your penguin and his board to the top of some gnarly waves and then pound the X button to pull off killer hops and leaps. When a rail pops up, feel free to grind it for more points, but look out for big ol'wooden walls that will knock you down and ruin your point-grabbing moves.

There's a good chance you'll eat sand more than once and see the screen crack on impact while your character screams "Aw, my beak," but in general Surf's Up is an easy game to get the hang of and should be fun for kids who might not be old enough to appreciate Resistance or MotorStorm -- they can even bust out the Sixaxis controls when riding the whitecaps and deploy a special meter to slow down time for even more moves in one string. Tubular!

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