As a lifelong resident of Birmingham, some 200 miles from the nearest rapidly moving water, it is difficult to see the appeal involved in jumping into a canoe, hurling yourself down waterfalls, bouncing off rocks and being scratched to death by all manner of riverside flora and fungi. However, with almost every sport being given a console-based simulation, why should kayaking be any different? An opinion held by Indie Games, a small and relatively new French games developer who have released Wild Water Adrenaline, a rip-roaring downstream ride for the PS2.

For such a small team of developers, the attention to detail is quite astounding. Graphically, each course is laid out on stunning backdrops that paint an accurate and mesmerising image of areas that you could only expect to visit in your wildest dreams. Every contact with and movement within the water causes ripples and slashes, as you would expect in real life, and the character's movement while wrestling with the currents will cast your mind instantly to those boring downstream slalom events you watched last time the TV was taken over by the Olympics. The audio is also commendably produced and as a whole the sound and feel of this title really suck you into the world of rapid watersports, with even a few shrieks of excitement from the characters whilst flying down the waterfalls.

In the last Olympics, Britain did manage a bronze in the women's kayaking event, but in previous years we have struggled as a nation to come to terms with this extreme sport. Now I'm not trying to use this as an excuse, nor am I trying to claim that our nation's failings bear any relation to the fact that I am rubbish at this game, but rubbish I am. During my brief stint into kayaking, I seemed to favour the 'falling-down-waterfalls-in-reverse-and-scraping-along-rocks' technique, very rarely executed so well in this Olympic sport. However, my failings in this game could not be attributed to the controls chosen by the developers. They are a little difficult to get to grips with, but you would struggle to actually distinguish a fault in their make up. Each arm of your virtual representation in the kayak, canoe or small inflatable turtle (not actually in the game, but one for future titles perhaps) is controlled by circular movements of the respective analog stick (left stick = left arm)

From some 18 years of consistent gaming, I possess eyes no better than Stevie Wonder and wrists like Monty Burns, so the kinetics involved in Wild Water Adrenaline don't help the latter at all. My lack of competent grasping of these controls could be down to evolution's poorly provided opposable thumbs, or my monkey-like brain just not being able to deal with its complexity. Either way, expect a lot of time and frustration getting used to this less than intuitive system. The only consolation I can offer the developers at Indie Games is that the controls have paved the way for a PS2 paddle controller; forget control boards and steering wheels, all the kids will want a paddle controller by Christmas.

As I struggled with the 'pat your head while rubbing your belly' style controls, I decided to swallow my pride and have a go at the training. After telling me what I already knew, I was left to my own devices, simply being instructed to paddle round and hit all the buoys. So I persevered, thinking that on completion I would receive more training on the ins and outs of kayaking. Unfortunately not. Once I had battled my way round the course, checking that all the rocks on the side were intact, I was handed a message of congratulations then passed back to the main menu, apparently ready to take on the world. But like in real life, you can't send someone down the world's most dangerous rapids simply by saying, 'get in the boat and stick this paddle in the water'. Not that you can fall in, which for me and the entire You've Been Framed fanbase is a bit of a disappointment. The game's lifespan is an issue and if wild turns or uncomfortable landings caused you or one of your team members to fly out of your vessel, the time spent playing this title before boredom set in would be dramatically increased.

Although it took me some time to get used to, and even after hours upon hours attempting the first challenge, I did start to enjoy this game. It's difficult to explain exactly what it is that makes it appealing, and the fact is that it takes too long for the gamer to get this feeling of enjoyment, but there is a feeling of satisfaction involved in finally managing a good clean run downstream in a respectable time.

Another major gripe with WWA is that I always think sports titles have a potential for all manner of variety in the gameplay. But with the only options from the career mode being a time attack or slalom, the lifespan is limited right from the off. There is the option of multiplayer, which does make the game a whole lot easier, but you can't help but wonder how difficult it would have been to give the option of a race or some kind of two player battle mode.

However, for all its failings you can't heavily criticise the developers of Wild Water Adrenaline for what they have produced. It's almost as if they have made the controls and the general gameplay so true to life that you would have to be an Olympic athlete to actually make any progress within the game. Without wanting to be too derogatory about the sport of kayaking, Indie Games have made a title that would only really appeal to a tiny market of gamers, and without the addition of some more arcade-like features and a control system that's easier to get to grips with, they've ended up with an accurate simulator destined to be loved only by a few fans of the watersport. One for the hardcore paddlers only.

Reviewed by Rob Byron for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).