Wipeout Fusion

"Anti-gravity mayhem."

Introduction:
Wipeout is quite a well known series, for those who have not heard of it though it is a racing game which features anti gravity ships, seeing as this is classed as a future sport in the instruction manual the games takes on a futuristic style. Wipeout Fusion is the first Wipeout on Playstation 2, there were three games on Playstation and one special edition that contained elements of all three, all the games were good so that gives Wipeout Fusion a reputation to try and follow.

Storyline:
Being a racing game there isn't one, there is a little mini story in the rivalry of the ship pilots though. That is very minor.

Graphics:
Rather exceptional. Whilst the graphics in previous Wipeout games have been above satisfactory this takes them to a higher level, they are bolder and brighter with more attention to detail than ever before. More positives for this, the menus are tidy and welcome a new gamer and the ships and tracks look absolutely stunning, futuristic graphics for a fantastic futuristic game.

Sound:
Get in!, this is good as it always has been with good licensed audio tracks from popular artists and groups such as the Chemical Brothers. Races sound great with good detailed music and audio that fits in with the environment of the track. Weapons sound good with certain sounds made when they are used and menus sound good with the same music as the races.

Gameplay:
A bit shallow, but still good. The most annoying thing is the control system which takes a lot of getting used to, the air brakes are probably the worst thing. The game though is very fun if you get around the minor distraction, there's lots to do and a fantastic multi player mode which extends game time as well as gameplay. The last thing is the variety of races and modes, the good thing is that if you get bored you can just go do something entirely different, brilliant.

Game Time:
A while but not ages, maybe a month to get that one hundred percent rating, multi player could add a week but that gets boring very quickly, on the plus side there's loads of stuff to master and gamers should be happy.

Final Recommendation:
Buy it or rent it, its your choice and its a good choice to buy it, some may not like its complicated format, however with its great variety and good range of sound, gameplay and graphics it has zoomed into many peoples collections.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 11/25/03, Updated 04/12/04