Wipeout HD

"One of the best games on PSN"

It's been over 5 years since Wipeout was on a home console, but now Wipeout HD is here. This is the second Wipeout game I've ever owned (the other being one of the PSP titles) so bear this in mind when you read the review. If you want a summary, this game is simply a must buy.

I'll start of with some minor complaints I have, just to get them out the way. The game is pretty much a "best of" package of the two PSP games. All the tracks are taken directly from them previous games, there is nothing really new here. Also, some modes such as elimination have been taken out, which is a real shame. This however is now available in the Fury expansion pack, but more on that later.

The thing that will strike you the most the first time you play is the amazing graphics, it really is such a good looking game (especially for a PSN title). The frame-rate also manages to keep up with the sometimes insane speeds, pretty much never dipping. Presentation is also top notch, even the menu screens look fantastic. The soundtrack is also something else that stands out . There are 8 songs on offer, and they just go very well with the game. You can switch between all of them on the options menu whenever you race, but if that wasn't enough you can also put your own music into the game. This is perfectly done, but I find I enjoy the techno soundtrack just as much as my own tunes.

There are a few different modes on offer in the main package. There's the main racing, which is obviously one of the main draws. It's fast and chaotic, as along with racing you can use a variety of weapons to get an advantage over the other ships. You can do this on various difficulty modes and speeds, and it gets pretty tough. Then there's time trial and speed laps, which involve getting around the track in the fastest time possible. Also there's a tournament mode, which explains itself really. The game in general has a large focus on your racing line. If you like racing games where you find yourself constantly trying to improve on your lap times, there will be plenty of enjoyment to be had here.

The best mode in my opinion though is Zone. In this mode you select any of the 8 tracks (16 if you count the reverse ones) and try and last as long as you can without your ship blowing up (which happens when you hit to many walls). Every 10 seconds you move up a zone, and it gets faster and faster. Oh, and you can't break. You can recover health if you're good enough, but you will eventually blow up when things get a bit to fast for you. The cool thing about Zone though is that the tracks almost pulsate with the music you have on, with various effects displayed around the track like something out Windows Media Player. The track is always changes its colour and displays, and it just makes things look really cool. It's all simply very impressive looking.

You have a main single player mode where you can do various challenges which get harder and harder. This is actually quite lengthy, and should keep you occupied if you're trying to go for all gold medals. You also of course have the option to play any of the game types on any track in the racebox mode, which can also be played split screen.

The online is pretty good, and it has come a long way since the original release. As soon as boot up Wipeout you can see if your friends are also playing, allowing you to quickly communicate and move into a online match if you so wish. The online also has many badges that you can obtain. These are rewarded for meeting certain criteria during a game, such as coming in first place even though you took the most weapon damage. You can also move up ranks by gaining experience which is a nice addition.

One thing to note about the game is that when you start out it seems quite difficult (although they do have a pilot assist option which helps you out). The game is also terribly difficult against Elite A.I (the hardest difficulty) sometimes. It actually seems like they're cheating, so it can get very annoying at time. They frequently gang up on you and blow you to hell.

At the end of the day though, this is a fantastic game. For the price it's a complete steal, and the only reason you should not buy it is if you played the two PSP games to death. Now you can also get the Fury expansion pack to go with it. This is also a must buy, it adds a lot of content and a lot of fun. It completely changes up the game play. The focus is less on racing lines, and more on blowing the competition to oblivion. Detonator mode in particular is quite crazy, and online Eliminator modes with 180 degree flips are likely the most fun to be had in the whole game.

9/10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 10/22/08, Updated 08/04/09

Game Release: Wipeout HD (EU, 09/25/08)