In this day and age, futuristic racing games are a rare breed. Whilst Nintendo had their F-Zero series and there was also the short lived Extreme G series from Acclaim, the true pioneers of the futuristic racing genre were Studio Liverpool (previously known as Psygnosis) with Wipeout. Ever since its debut on the original PlayStation, it has developed into a benchmark for fast paced action racing with stylish visuals and backed up by a thumping soundtrack. Most recently, the series has spent its last two outings on the PlayStation Portable with Wipeout Pure and Wipeout Pulse. Now, Wipeout finally makes the jump to the current generation consoles with Wipeout HD.
Available exclusively via the PlayStation Network, Wipeout HD isn’t a fully fledged title. If it were that you would find it on your nearest store. Priced at £11.99, it is considerably cheaper than disc based games, and even cheaper than some of the other Playstation Network titles too. A low price doesn’t necessary mean low production values though. Studio Liverpool has worked very hard to achieve what would seem an absolute bargain for PlayStation 3 owners. Of course, the ‘HD’ part of the game is the most significant aspect, since Wipeout HD runs at a full 1080p resolution and at a constant 60fps. It’s certainly paid off, nothing compares to the sheer sense of speed and eye watering euphoria you get from your first.
There is another side to the budget pricing. Wipeout HD is essentially a culmination of the previous two titles that were on the PSP. The eight tracks available are all reworked versions from Wipeout Pure and Wipeout Pulse, which means if you’ve already played those titles to death you’ll certainly have the upper hand, but you won’t find anything new here. The same goes for the game modes, you have your standard races, tournaments, time trials, and zone ‘survival’ challenges. All of which form the bulk of the main singleplayer campaign with the use of four vehicle classes. The campaign is a straight forward tier based path, and the game encourages you to stick with one team to build loyalty points to unlock additional racing liveries. As for the racing teams, Wipeout HD is crammed to the teeth with old favourites such as Feisar and AG Systems, to more recent additions like Mirage which was featured in Pulse as downloadable content for the PSP. On top of this, Wipeout HD features online gameplay for the first time, allowing you to participate in races and tournaments with other players around the world over the PlayStation Network.
If you’ve never played Wipeout before, your first experience may be a daunting one. With such fast speeds, twisty tracks and weapons in the mix, it’s not surprising to see new players put off. Wipeout HD sees the introduction of a new Pilot Assist option, which keeps the player’s airship away from the walls of the track as much as possible. Think of it as assists in a car simulation game: they’ll slow you down a bit but you’ll stay safe. The key to successful racing in any Wipeout game is to use your left and right airbrakes accordingly for cornering. Combine that with selective usage of the games pickups and you’ll race your way to victory. All the standard pickups return for Wipeout HD, such as missiles, a protective shield, autopilot and the notorious quake weapon. Your ship’s health is another factor to consider too, as you’ll lose health from collisions and weapons. Absorbing pickups replenishes your ships health, and is the key to staying alive in the race. Veteran players will most likely have Pilot Assist switched off, as it would do more harm than good, but as the airship classes get higher things get a lot, lot more quicker, so even veterans might have to give it a try. Wipeout HD also features SIXAXIS motion controls which are fine for lower tiered races, but for the faster classes it’s pretty useless.
As mentioned earlier, Wipeout HD runs at a steady 60fps at full 1080p resolution, and not surprisingly, the graphics in Wipeout HD are simply gorgeous. The artistic nature of Wipeout has always been a key characteric of the series, from mesmerising colour schemes to catchy fake sponsor logos. The sense of immersion in this futuristic racing universe is superb. The zone races in particular stand out in the graphics department, with the entire colour scheme of the track morphing into the next one for each zone you progress through. The same high quality extends to the game’s audio too. All the special effects have a real punch to them, from the beeping of mines as you lay them behind you onto the track to the explosions of missile blasts, nothing is quite like a race in Wipeout. Even the ambience effects are noteworthy too, where at the beginning of each race you can hear the pre-flight checks and self-diagnostics of the airships at the starting grid. And of course, the soundtrack is very fitting for Wipeout HD, comprising of the likes of The Prodigy and Kraftwerk to provide all your electronic tunes to accompany your races with.
For all its merits, Wipeout HD still has a few problems. With eight tracks, things can get old quick as you progress through the singleplayer campaign. You’ll continue to compete in the same old time trials, tournaments and zone challenges. And if you’re already familiar with them on the previous two outings, you’ll probably be a bit disappointed. The online play is rather limited too, as you can only play races and tournaments online. There’s no way to filter Pilot Assist usage as well, so you can never tell whether or not the guy who’s beaten you really is that good or has had a bit of help along the way. There is hope though, with Wipeout HD being a PSN title, updates will definitely be expected, as well as new downloadable content. There’s also a new photo mode in the game which allows you to take screenshots during your races which is a nice little bonus, but it’s fairly limited in practice and the special effects require short loading times.
It’s very hard to fault Wipeout HD, mainly because of its price. At £11.99 you get a lot of game for not a lot of money. You also get a lot of eye candy and a lot of thrills, but not a lot of staying power. The prospect of downloadable content is a factor to consider however, since Studio Liverpool will be fully supporting this game. If you’ve never played Wipeout before or haven’t touched the series for a while, this is an absolute must buy. However, if you’re a Wipeout Pure and Pulse fanatic, the lack of new content might be a downer, but the gorgeous visuals will probably convince you anyways.
