Wipeout Review

[Luke]

Ah WipEout....the reason the computer game became cool, the reason that people who didnt really play games bought a playstation......Its a game with a proper history (was great, was improved, was screwed by a new format) and now its here as one of the most important titles for the PSP.

Upon inserting the disk, I felt a slight trepidation. Was this going to remind me of the good old days of WipEout, or even Wip3out Special Edition? Or was it going to be as good as Fusion on the PS2 ( a lovely frisbee/coaster....but never a WipEout game...)

All of my fears were lost when the screen glowed with the build up.....surely this was WipEout back to its best? Theres no way it could go wrong??? No...It was perfect.

For the unitiated, WipEout basically created the playstation. It made video gaming cool and, whilst doing so, was also a very good game along with it. In europe, more copies of WipEout were shifted than any other game at launch, and for quite a while afterwards. If one game made Sony, this was it.

After two exceptional sequals(a rarity in the gaming world) then the wilderness set in. WipEout Fusion on the PS2 was.....well it wasnt WipEout, it lost something and a lot of people believed it was the end for the Playstations coolest game...

STudio Liverpool(Formally Psygnosis) didnt believe it was over, and when asked to create a WipEout game for the new "Playstation Handheld"(as it was then known) They went back to basics. What made WipEout fun? What was the greatest team? And now...finally...we have what is possibly the best ever version of the true Sony generation classic.

I may sound nostalgic, or even biased. But as a true gamer, who has played right through since the vectrex, sinclair zx-81 and atari 2600. I feel this game is as important to the psp as Mario is to Nntendo. SOny wouldnt be itself without WipEout, WipEout wouldnt exist without Sony......

Looking at the game, the graphics are superb(possibly the best on the PSP, but that stands to debate) the soundtrack is suitably hip and the "feel" is there. This seems to be the best WipEout game ever, but can it live up to this reputation after several hours play???? Yes, yes it can....and then some. This is the reason you bought a PSP, the Wi-Fi racing works perfectly, your DS owning friends will collapse and drool at the visuals, even parents are shocked at how amazing this game plays(My mum is still an avid fan of Tetris on the original brick shaped GameBoy and she loves this game). Oh, and maybe just a small extra....its the first game to have proven downloadable content.....Theoretically, this game could last forever, just ekeing out that last 1/100th of a second from your lap time. Personally, I will keep racing, and we will see who is fastest!!!!

Scores -
Graphics - 9/10 (Always exquisite, will shock anyone who hasnt seen a psp before)
Sound - 10/10 ( As Eclectic, yet perfect as ever, sound effects good, music spot on)
Playability - 7/10 (Fairly steep learning curve for the newbie, once you remember it/learn it. Perfect.
Length Of Play - With downloadable tracks/ships/challenges, could be forever. Who doesnt want to be 1/1000th of a second faster than someone from another country????

Overall - 9/10
An amazing start to the PSP's life, a fantastic game in its own right and almost a tech demo for PSP's abilities....cant wait for part two...

Harv

[Pagnell]

Yep, this game is absolutely superb. I played it constantly until I completed it but unfortunately that was about four days after I bought it. But it has quite good replay value with all the Gamma Packs currently being released.

[The Juggler]

Great review... cheers for that. I have the game but just cannot get into it like I have with Ridge Racer etc... still no doubt the bug will bite next time I load the thing up eh?


Des


:roll:

[almazlamaz]

thats the only game I played on PSP so far

[GARDNERSONFIRE]

waitaminute?! how many gamma packs are out now?

[Pagnell]

Originally Posted by GARDNERSONFIRE

waitaminute?! how many gamma packs are out now?

It depends which version you have. I think there are four out for the Japanese version and three for the US. Don't quote me on this though!

[Luke]

Gamma Pack 2 for US Wipeout is out soon.

[scruff_coolman]

Originally Posted by Pagnell

It depends which version you have. I think there are four out for the Japanese version and three for the US. Don't quote me on this though!

I'll qoute you that there are three out for the u.s version :wink:

[FalseProphecy]

He said that in early June, and at that time, no, there were only two for the US.

[stonicus]

Thanx to your review, I decided to buy wipeout pure, and Altough I haven`t beaten it yet, I think it`s excellent. The graphics are really nice, and the speed is very cool, specially in rapier mode.