Wipeout Fusion

"Wipeout returns with a Bang!"

Wipeout Fusion becomes the fourth installment of the very popular and well respected wipeout series. Fusion, like others in the wipeout series, gets you racing around at many thousand of kilometers per hour on specially designed circuits. Not only that but there is a little twist where you can eliminate your opponents with weapons. Fusion becomes the first wipeout game to appear on the PS2 and manages to utilize the PS2's advanced graphic and processor chips to improve the series even more with a greater selection of weapons, tracks and improved visuals.

Gameplay - 10
Fusion comes jam packed with stuff to do. There are 5 modes to explore, 3 of which are available at the start. First up come the AG League. Here you race against 15 other AG craft (anti-gravity craft) and aim to win each race in the series. You win points for what position you finish plus bonus points for every elimination of enemy craft. There are 10 series in the AG League, and the number of races in each series ranges from 3 in the early rounds, to 7 near the end. From this league you also win credits on how well you performed in each individual race. These credits can then be used to upgrade your AG craft in areas such as lateral stability, braking, thrust, speed, weapons and shield, in a way that winning races should then become a little easier, however, for every 25% upgrade of your craft, the AI will also improve their craft as well. The second mode is Arcade. Here you race on all of the 42 tracks against 15 other opponents and aim to win a gold medal on every single one by finishing in first place. Challenge mode is the last of the three modes you'll initially be able to play. This involves each of the AG teams and you will be challenged to win gold medals in chase, elimination, race and time trial tests. Every team has 7 challenges all of which are very tough but nevertheless fun.

The other 2 modes only become unlocked once you've completed a certain percentage of the game. For zone mode this is 30% and for time trial it's 60%. Zone mode is completely new to Fusion. Here you'll race in a special AG craft around 10 of the 42 tracks. The main objective is to collect as many speed chevrons as possible. Every 10 seconds you'll move up a zone level and your speed will gradually increase. You have to reach zone 30 to get the gold but belive me, the speeds at this zone are unbelievably fast! much faster than the normal racing. In my opinion this mode is indeed the most difficult of the game. At the highest zones you'll be smashing into the walls like no one's business which isn't good because you only have a limited shield. That said, this mode is very rewarding once you manage to do it. The other mode you unlock is the Time Trial. Here you simply have to beat all the predefined times on all of the 42 tracks. Some of the times you have to beat seem very impossible until you find the shortcut that cuts the 2 seconds off you needed for gold!

Well that's the modes, now for the tracks. In Fusion there are 7 different track zones. Each track zone has 3 courses and these are all reversed, so in effect there are 42 tracks to race and explore on. These are all very unique ranging from Vohl Square in Russia, Florian Heights in the USA and oddly Katmoda 12 on the moon (well it is the year 2160). As always with Wipeout games, the tracks are littered with speed plates, weapon pads, trigger pads and of course the pit lanes to recharge that shield, but what's new in Fusion are gravity flip pads. These only on Katmoda 12 course, flip your AG craft by 180 degrees and so open up the possibility of even more strategic racing. Loop the loops, corkscrews, tight turns, tunnels, bridges and intense jumps also add to the experience, your reflexes really do have to be awesome if you want to stay on the track and remain in one piece.

Now to the craft. There are a total of 7 AG craft in Fusion. Initially only 3 will be available to use at the start, namely; Feistar, G-Tech and Van Uber. To get the others you'll have to beat the second pilot of those teams in challenges which are scattered throughout the AG league. The other teams include; Auricom, EG-r, Tigron, Xios and Pirana. I particularly like the way that all the teams have been given a different kind of personality, for example the Tigron team is very aggressive and hence has good shield for ramming opponents and firing weapons, whereas the Xios team is more focused on racing, so they have good thrust and speed attributes.

Of course, no Wipeout game would be complete without the weapons. Fusion boasts tons more weapons than others in the series. These include mines, missiles, proton cannon, flamethrowers, rockets, plasma bolt and of course, the unforgettable quake disrupter. This little beauty sends a rippling earthquake down the track - enemy craft are knocked up in the air and take high damage. Definitely the best weapon in the game in my opinion. As well as the offensive weapons there are defensive weapons such as the gravistinger, shield, turbo and autopilot. My only gripe with autopilot is that it does tend to sometimes dump you halfway round a tricky tight turn making you smash into the walls as it disables, very annoying, but still liveable.

As well as the usual run of the mill weapons there are 'super weapons'. Each team has one super weapon each and you have to unlock these by completing the team challenges in challenge mode. Power Swarm is a super weapon from the EG-r team, locking onto the enemy craft, it releases tiny drones that swarm around the enemy firing tiny rapid fire weapons until all their ammo is spent. The Tigron team has a super weapon called Nitro rocket, also locking onto the enemy craft, it sends a liquid nitrogen projectile which freezes and crystallizes the craft. Any impact would completely destroy it, e.g. contact with a wall or other craft. I particularly like this weapon, especially when you proceed to ram the frozen enemy craft into oblivion! Multiplayer also has specific weapons that you can only use in multiplayer. Much like super weapons, these cause massive damage and are great fun to use.

Graphics - 8
Woah, the graphics are brilliant. The tracks have been given great detail. You'll be racing on environments such as desert, snow, water (yes you race over water) and of course asphalt. Weather changing effects are also great to see here in Fusion. Sometimes in a race it will rain while sometimes it won't, this adds to the 'realistic experience'. On the Cubis Float course in Switzerland it will snow and on Florian Height, USA, the bright sunshine will momentarily obscure your view from the track. Dust from the craft racing over sand and gravel is also there plus the shafts of light from behind the crafts afterburners.

All the craft indeed look totally individually ranging from the totally unique box art of the Auricom to the true Wipeout 2097 style of Feistar. No complaints here, the craft look highly realistic with great textures and colors, as with the jaggies, well there hardly noticeable to even worry about.

My only complaints with the graphics side is the 5-15 seconds loading time between tracks plus the odd bit of slowdown when quite a few craft are on screen at once all firing their weapons. To me this it wasn't a major factor. In fact the slowdown can sometimes be a saviour when your racing at those insane high speeds.

Sound - 10
The music is excellently suited to this kind of futuristic racing game. Soundtrack features Future Sound of London, BT, Timo Maas, Orbital, Luke Slater and more. All the UK techno and house music is great and truly adds to the fast paced frantic high speed racing game that it is. The sound will definitely get your heart pumping even more.

The sound effects are stunning. All the crafts have a unique humming tune of the engine as they race around at super high speeds. When your missiles and weapons hit enemy craft, the explosions sound great and go with a nice bang! and when your going to get hit yourself, the on-board computer gives you a spoken warning just before it hits, nice! Even when your racing over ice surfaces, you can hear the ice making a cracking noise under the craft. Superb attention to detail, which I greatly enjoyed.

Replay Value - 10
I don't think I need to tell you that there is absolutely tons of stuff to do in Fusion. Alas, the controls will take some time to learn if you are new to wipeout games, but with perseverance, you should get the hang of it in an hour or so of play. With the 42 tracks and 5 modes, I have to say that replay value is top notch. Mutiplayer is immense fun, especially when you destroy your mates craft! Not only that but there is currently an official wipeout fusion online competition where you can compete with people from all over the world adding even more replay value to the equation.

Overall - 10

Ninto liked:
+ Loads of modes
+ Fun and challenging tracks
+ superb quantity and quality of weapons
+ Great AG teams
+ New zone mode
+ Thumping tunes
+ smooth graphics
+ game statistics where you can track your progress

Ninto didn't like:
- 5-15 second loading times
- Minor slowdown

This game is a credit to the wipeout series. A must have PS2 game for any wipeout player or racing game fan. Not only does it still manage to keep the good points of the previous games, but it expands on these with greater weapons, tracks and a greater sense of speed to boot! But it now!

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 03/20/02, Updated 03/20/02