Wipeout

"The greatest achievement of Playstation's initial success."

I can remember getting my Playstation at 10:38 A.M., Saturday, September 9, 1995: The day it was released. I had read all of the reviews, seen the hype, and spent the next several months of my life engulfed in all things Playstation.
Looking back, the Playstation had a plethora of titles to recommend it during its first months. There was Battle Arena Toshinden, boasting a ''true 3-D fighting system'', the under-rated Jumping Flash with it's fascinating worlds and killer vertigo, Namco's popular coin-op translations Ridge Racer and Tekken, and other great games (such as Warhawk and Twisted Metal), that would entertain the growing masses of Playstation enthusiasts, but one game wooed the gaming audience like no other, and gave Sega and Nintendo a shocker as it showed the potential of Sony's new powerhouse...

...Wipeout...

In short, it's ''Formula 3600: Anti-Gravity Racing League'', a futuristic, hover-craft racing game; I'd call it the 32-bit equivalent of The SNES classic F-Zero. The racing excitement of Wipeout is complemented with a full line of combat weapons, (missiles, mines, rockets, shields, etc.) Two players can play each other via the link cable, but the one player version plays just as well.

Every aspect of the game, graphics, sound, control, -every part of Wipeout was so incredibly smooth, wickedly smooth.
The tracks, in their brilliant array of colors flew by instant-by-instant as they confirmed the answer to my question: ''Is this the Future?''

The stylish techno music will get your blood pumping as it massages every nerve in your brain. The sound effects echo perfectly what you see on the screen and bring out the race with incredible ease.

One Warning: This game is not for the casual racer. The learning curve is steep, especially when it comes to mastering the technique of air-braking, but it is very rewarding. When you learn how to pilot your craft, you'll be hooked, as I am.

If you haven't heard of this game, you're living under a rock and you slept through my review.
If you haven't played this game, play it.

How else can I say it? Wipeout rules.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 06/22/00, Updated 06/22/00