Jet X₂O might not be the first watercraft game to appear on a console, but if the demo of the game sent to us by Sony is any indication, it might just be the best one yet.

Jet X₂O is a game of watercraft racing - not just racing, but extreme racing.  Getting to the finish line in first place is not as important as it is to do so in style.  There are plenty of ramps, waterfalls, and rocks along the courses to assist you in catching serious air, so that you can pull off some of the more than 30 moves included in the game.

When you play the game, you'll have your choice of one of eight different riders.  Each has their own strengths and weaknesses, so you can choose one that is a fast rider, one that excels at stunts, or go for a more balanced one.  You then can select from one of ten different watercraft, and pick a course from the eight included in the game.

The courses range from lakes and rivers to more fantastical settings such as Antarctica and Atlantis.  A lot of racing games feature short circuits, and extend your gameplay by making you run several laps to complete a race.  This is not the case in Jet X₂O.  Each course is really quite long, and provides plenty of shortcuts and alternate routes.  Each race will run over five minutes and you'll never have to pass the same place twice.

The demo included the Slicstream course which is set along a river with a hydroelectric dam in the middle that empties into a recreational lake.  The course provides a lot of variety along its run, including plenty of jumps (some off of waterfalls and through the dam itself), narrow and winding streams cutting through forest, wide-open lake surfaces, and even a passage through a cave.  The scenery looks great, but what will really catch your eye is the water.

The water in Jet X₂O looks amazing.  The ripples along the surface look very realistic, as do the reflections, and it's translucent enough to see the bottom along the shores and shallows.  And it more than looks realistic, it behaves a lot like water as well.  You'll not only see the current, but feel it too.  Passing watercraft kick up swells and wakes that you can both see and ride.  Should that swell hit you as you are trying to steer you craft into a narrow gap, you'll feel it pick up and push your craft to the side, forcing you into the bank or down a different fork in the stream.

The game itself is an enjoyable mix of speed and stunts.  Your competition is pretty good and downright cutthroat, and each racer has a distinct personality which comes through in their racing style and in the taunts they throw at you as they pass.  Some will gun their craft in a beeline for the finish line, some will concentrate on pulling off difficult tricks, and others just seem to get their kicks from jostling and cutting off their competition.

There are gates along the course which you are not required to hit, but doing so will provide you with more mega-energy.  This energy can be used to provide a speed burst when you need it, or you can let it accumulate until you reach the top of the mega bar.  A maxed out mega bar will allow you to perform advanced tricks and stunts on your next jump, collecting higher trick point totals.  It will also let you pull off your racer's unique trick.

The game will feature several gameplay modes.  Race mode will feature more gates and less jumps, while stunt mode will be the opposite.  The game will also feature a season mode that will let run a series of races to compete for an overall championship.

The demo did a good job of showing off Jet X₂O's promise.  The gameplay is fast-paced and addicting, and is wrapped in some great graphics and very cool techno beats.  It looks like a lot of effort went into designing the game's courses and water physics, and the result will make the game even more enjoyable for players.