WipeOut HD – PS3 – Review

I have been playing Wipeout titles
since I was a much younger (and thinner) lad. Some have been pretty good,
others have failed to deliver on the fast-paced thrills, but I had high hopes
for this downloadable title. To be honest with you, I am four for four when it
comes to Sony’s downloadable games. Every one of them has been a blast to
play, were well worth the smaller price tag, and delivered on pretty much
every front. But could I go five for five? Would the law of averages kick in
and make this the first stinker to grace my download list? In a word … Nope.

For those of you new to the whole
video-game thing, the Wipeout franchise has been going for quite a while,
dating back to early titles on the original PlayStation and Sega Saturn. In
the game, you pilot a futuristic vehicle as it skims two meters off the ground
and attempt to out race your opponents using weapons, white-knuckle piloting,
boost points scattered around the course and any shortcuts you may find.
Learning the ins and outs of the course helps you find the right line to just
miss the wall as you sear through a series of twists turns and jumps that
would leave any NASCAR driver in a state of panic. This is a game for the
rough-and-tumble pilot ready to be turned into a fine red mist when you eat it
into a wall.

 
"I just lost my lunch." 

OK, maybe that doesn’t happen
since you never die a gruesome death in the game, you merely get started over
if you fall off the track. But you could eat it if you take too much damage
from enemy pilots, but again, no red mist, no burned bodies, this title is for
the family and the bright colors and insane speeds are exactly what the doctor
ordered for some good ol’ video-game fun. 

Wipeout is an excellent example
of high speed thrills with zero lag occurring. The game has a very smooth
texture going for it even as you rip by going several hundred miles per hour.
Bright lights – from the vehicles, in the background, from explosions and from
the tracks themselves – are nicely done with bright pixels making them pop
nicely. I like the dynamic third-person view of both the vehicle and the track
for these types of games and this one handles like a dream, smooth controls
combined with a nice setup for using boosts (quick increases of speed), firing
weapons and even shifting left or right to dodge enemy fire, all of it is very
nicely done.

This being the future and all,
corporations sponsor these races with pilots representing different companies.
You can pick a certain company and stick with them (getting additional
loyalty) points but it can also be as much fun trying out all the different
combinations of sponsors and vehicles. Since the game has several modes, you
will naturally find yourself gravitating to the career mode where you play
through a series of races, earning points, medals and unlocking other vehicles
all while progressing through the challenges put before you.

 
"We go much faster, and it will be
tomorrow!"

These challenges include going
full combat against a field of other opponents, racing the clock in time
trials and trying to best the fastest lap time are all part of the challenge
in this one. While the tracks are direct copies of the Wipeout games off of
the PSP (Pure and Pulse) the difficulty becomes insanely crazy as you are
required to score pretty much all golds (1st place finishes) towards the end
of the game in order to actually "beat" the game.

I suppose at this point you know I
like the game. Its graphics, gameplay and level design are all good fun, but I
would be remiss if I didn’t talk about how good this game sounds coming out of
a 6.1 surround sound. The high torque thrust of the engines rocketing down the
race track, the explosions, heck even the logo title screen on the PlayStation
3 menu. This game has a very crisp, very full sound to it. The up-tempo techno
track also helps the player get into the mood for some high-octane action. A
full sounding game that compliments the action nicely.

If that isn’t enough for you
players out there, this is also one heck of a way to "do it up" online.
Boasting up to eight players racing at the same time, I was floored at how
smoothly everything worked out. Nary a glitch or hang up, the game plays just
like it does in the single-player mode but with the added benefit of actually
playing against people. This is officially my current online addiction and I
invite anyone who downloads it to go out there and give it a try, the
single-player experience is great, but this is what Wipout fans have been
begging for for years.

Lastly, the game is called Wipeout
HD for a reason. Full HD graphics playing on my 1080p television at a
screaming 60 frames per second is a right enjoyable way to spend an afternoon.
This is a full-on HD game and the crisp, clean lines and most surprisingly, it
is downloadable. For the most part, every downloadable game I have played has
looked pretty good, but I question why this game wasn’t packaged and sold for
for a full game price. It’s every bit as good as Motorstorm and in some ways
better. For the price, you would be hard pressed to find a better game on the
Sony Network.