Wipeout Fusion

"If You Can Adjust to the New Design Team, Wipeout Fusion is the Most Fun Yet."

Wipeout, Wipeout XL (2097), Wipeout 3, and Wipeout 64 were all designed by the Designer's Republic. With the advent of the first 128 bit Wipeout, ''Wipeout Fusion,'' the series takes a new leap in both graphics and design team, shifting to Good Technology. This shift is very radical, though, and takes a lot of adjustment. So without further ado, the review:

Gameplay: Excellent
The Gameplay of Wipeout Fusion is by far the most fun in the series. Notable changes include the ability to upgrade your ship through credits earned in the League races; this gives a sense of accomplishment and forces more involvement with the game (as opposed to previous instances of the series, in which you could access almost any track with any ship immediately). There is a lot more enemy ship interaction, and the game is fiercer and more competitive feeling.
Simultaneously, the track design is by far the best yet, with loops, rolls, corkscrews, huge jumps, and a great sense of speed. The tracks are also easier to learn, but retain a lot of challenge due to a feature whereby specific sections of track are opened or closed at different difficulties.
The fun factor is simply as high as it has ever been, and that is the most significant part of this game.

Sound: Fine (relative to other wipeouts) and Very Good (relative to other games).
Wipeout Fusion features a startling variety of techno bands and songs. If the original Wipeout had probably the best music, a fast paced hard techno soundtrack with just the right amount of trance, and wipeout XL had the richest music, with good instrumentation; if Wipeout 3's music could be described as very trancy, and Wipeout 64 was upbeat; than Wipeout Fusion is a mix of all of these, for better or for worse. It seems like most of the time, it's for worse. The songs in Wipeout Fusion are great, but simply do not inspire the same excitement as in previous games.
The sound effects are fine, with audible airbrakes, different engine sounds, and creative weapon sounds, but on the whole they are a bit sparse and unintrusive (as they have been in most other games in the series).
All in all, the sound in WF is a bit of a letdown, but can still hold its own and be entertaining.

Graphics: Very Good
This game hosts a number of impressive effects, including rain, snow, dust, translucency, sun glare, metallicity, engine trails, etc. It also runs at 60 fps almost constantly in single player, though it has raging slowdown in multiplayer. There is an infinite draw distance, meaning you can see the entire track. The graphics are fast, impressive, and polished. However, there is nothing overly astounding about this game's visuals; by now, there has been a lot more impressive feats in games like Final Fantasy X, Metal Gear Solid 2, and Halo. However, if those are considered first tier graphics, than Wipeout is definitely close behind, leading the pack of ''normal'' or non-groundbreaking titles.

Design: Passable
The design of WF is simply not the same as in every other Wipeout game. This can be attributed to Good Technology (a talented group in its own way) replacing the Designer's Republic, and the change is simply jarring, leaving a feel that is more funky and trippy than futuristic and serious. This new incarnation of the series simply feels more upbeat and, well, groovy than the cool feel of XL, the hard feel of Wipeout 1, or the trancy feel of Wipeout3. It is closest to Wipeout 64, but there is still a notable difference, especially in the ship design, which has gone very downhill. In fact, besides the Feisar ship, the EGR ship, and perhaps the Pirhana ship (3 out of about 7 or so ships), the ships all look like toys, or kid's sketches, devoid of the grace and aggressiveness of the typical wipeout ship. Complaints also include the sense that although the tracks are incredibly expansive, they do not impress in terms of scale or magnitude; none of the buildings look imposing, none of the environments are as extreme. They are complex and varied, but a certain dramatic feel is missing (compare the Lord of the Rings movie to the Harry Potter movie, and that's the difference between previous Wipeouts and WF for lack of a better analogy).

Miscellaneous: Fine
For the most part, the game is stable, except several annoying aspects include falling through walls, exasperating loading times, and repetitive menu music. Plus, some of the interface can be misleading (the blue bars next to each of the ship's particular categories, speed, turning, etc, are NOT indicative of relative power or ability, but instead how much that category can be upgraded). Overall, one gets the sickening impression that if the Designer's Republic had still been on this game, it would have been the perfect Wipeout; however, as it is, the game is still well designed. Foremost, however, Wipeout Fusion is simply a blast to play, intensely fun and easily as entertaining as any wipeout before it. Overall rating? Definitely buy, just try not to compare it to other Wipeouts.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 07/01/02, Updated 07/01/02