Wipeout Fusion: Web Wombat: Games

These were the words from the mouths of non-gamers - the mainstream, if you will. Its popularity exploded and soon Sony knew that it was the start of a very fascinating franchise.

Fast forward a few years and a bunch of games inbetween and you'll come to Wipeout Fusion - or Wipeout PS2, as it's being called around the office here.

From the moment the intro kicks in, blasting your oculars with a dizzying array of anti-grav racers - each jockeying for position - you know that this is going to be good.

There's no denying this is a first generation game visually. While it moves at a solid 60fps, the anti-aliasing isn't as solid as we've come to expect from more recent games, like Jak & Daxter, for example. The draw-in distance has been pushed back considerably and the trackside detail has increased ten-fold. The weather effects are remarkably life-like, with rain, snow and fog all contributing to the atmosphere.

The new weapons effects are truly amazing and the small ion trails (or whatever they are) trailing behind the ships add a little more sophistication to the production. On the whole, the graphics are very impressive, with good texturing and detail, yet without being gob-smackingly brilliant. It is a close call though…

After the significant break since last playing Wipeout on the PSX, Fusion seemed somewhat lethargic. I was banging into walls and stuffing up corners on a regular basis. After an hour or so of playing however, the game opens up and you begin to appreciate the controls and all their nuances, but familiarising yourself with the new tracks helps immeasurably. Like my grandfather used to say, "…there's nothing like corner anticipation." Or was that constipation…

While it will take some time to get back into the groove of anti-grav racing, those who have played prior Wipeout games will be very happy with the way the game responds. Dab the air brakes around tight corners, life the nose slightly if you have to - it's all very smooth but at the same time blisteringly fast and highly addictive.

That's part of the track down there - very cool

The whole process of progression has taken a rather sharp turn to the left and, as such, the Vector, Venom, Rapier and Phantom classes are no more. But fret not, because while these were pretty cool, the new system is even cooler. But before I get into how the new system works, here's a little background info.

2150 AD, the F5000 Race Commission celebrates its 100th birthday. The most popular sport in the world, Anti-Gravity racing, is losing its market share. The analysts believed the hype surrounding the F5000 championship had peaked, that people couldn't discern the difference between the technological improvements occurring each year. So it was decided that F5000 racing be phased out.

The Race Commission revealed plans for an ambitious new league - the F9000 class. Many of the F5000 features were retained, such as the inclusion of weaponry and damage bonuses, but the big drawcard was totally new tracks involving more dynamism.

When entering the new tournament, you must choose one of four machines available, with more unlockable as the game progresses. You pick a racer - each team has two - and choose a tournament. One tourney is available at first, and once you've beaten this, more will be unlocked, along with many other new features.

The tournaments are based solely on the leader board - a much better method than having to place first at every outing, I believe. Basically, you can lose the first race, or come third or whatever, but if everyone else goes really badly, or your game picks up in the last few races, you'll still come out on top. Simple, yet fair.

There are also player races and special challenges interspersed between the normal tourneys, whereby you'll unlock new pilots and the like. These serve to break things up a bit, adding more variety, if you will.

On top of this, money you earn during the tourneys can be spent on upgrading your ride, making it more stable, faster or better protected. A small, yet hugely rewarding feature, which makes progression less daunting for newbies, too.

The other game modes are varied and exciting and, generally speaking, this purchase makes a lot of sense. There's a least two-weeks of solid playing for the hard-nose gamer and perhaps a half-year or more for the casuals.

Weapons play a large role in every race

Back to the game modes: the 'challenge' is a great addition, first seen in the Nintendo 64 incarnation of Wipeout, if memory serves. Basically a whole a slew of individual challenges with each subsequent test unlocked if a gold, silver or bronze medal is captured. The challenges vary from getting six kills (called eliminations) with only a certain amount of laps, to performing one 'superlap' in a very short time. Beating these also unlock new weapons and sometimes other features.

The arcade mode is fairly straightforward, with each of the eight locations (and their various permutations - totalling 45 tracks) on display for you to come first over three laps. There is a time trial mode, endurance racing and a highly entertaining secret 'zone' mode.

Seeing as I'm running out of space, here are the games vitals: 32 ships, 16 pilots, eight teams, 45 tracks, five multiplayer modes, six single-player modes and some 26 weapons.

I really want to talk about the weapons, because they go a long way to making this game what it is - not just a racer, but a strategic powerup-using blast-a-thon. And boy, do the weapon effects look groovy! You start the game off with just a few, opening up the more powerful weapons, and even a few team-specific ones. There's rockets, guided missiles, vulcan cannons, bouncing grenades, shields, speed boosts and mines.

Then you've got your ultra-destructive types: orbital ion satellites, charge plasma cannons, the venerable 'quake' is back, there's even a biological weapon that grow across the track, trapping racers. And who could forget the power swarms - tiny drones equipped with rapid-fire auto-tracking guns -- oh how I love this game...

Then there's the multiplayer-specific weapons like hunter missiles, stealth shields and universal energy drains. New to the series is a new type of pad. A bit like the 'go-faster' arrows, these 180-degree flip pads work on certain levels - miss them and you'll crash, hit them and you'll be impressed with the result. There's even secret shortcuts than can only be accessed by using a weapon to blow a hole through a wall, for example.

All this and no talk of the music or the cool futuristic logos? Shame on me… Taking the reigns from Designers' Republic and creating all the emblems, menus and visual icons is Good Technology. While many have criticised this move, I don't really care. The menus worked fine for me, I liked the on-track billboards and racing decals. They were neither better nor worse than the previous efforts at 'futurising' the look and feel of the game.

Audio? Yes, it's quite pleasing and perhaps a little less relaxed and more 'in-yer-face' than the last Wipeout game. Here's the list:

1. Future Sound Of London - Papua New Guinea (Hybrid Mix)
2. Braniac - Neuro
3. Pariah - Beats Defective
4. BT - SmartBomb (Plump DJs Remix)
5. Cut La Roc - Basshead
6. JDS - Punk Funk
7. Elite Force - Krushyn
8. Elite Force & Nick Ryan - Switchback
9. Ameythyst - Blue Funk
10. Utah saints - Sick
11. Plump DJs - Big Groovy Funker
12. Stakker - Humanoid (Plump DJs Mix)
13. Timo Mass - old School Vibes
14. Luke Slater - Bolt Up
15. Orbital - Funny Breaks (Plump DJ's Mix)

Non-licensed tracks and artists:

17. Bob Brazil - Big Ten
18. Intuative - Wav Seeker
19. Hong kong Trash - Down The River (torrential Rapids Mix)

Track design is simply brilliant

Of all these, none were particularly bad, with the highlights being FSOL, BT, Utah Saints (heh!) and Orbital. The result is something that your average gamer will enjoy, but taken with all other aspects - the amazing graphics, the cool iconic designs and roller-coaster tracks - it is quite profound and very easy to see why the game captured a largely untapped audience back in 1996.

The AI is really impressive too, but not unbeatable. The pilots of the 15 other ships usually on the track with you don't react like GT3 drivers, who will follow the same line every time. No, these guys have their own racing lines and strategies, which makes for a much more rewarding single-player experience. They'll block, blast and bash you out of the way - it's quite a nice surprise really.

At the end of the day, Wipeout Fusion has surpassed all my expectations. More than anything else, it's got almost unparalleled longevity and most will want to see it through to the very end. The game plays well, looks good and has some of the most devilish weaponry devised, you'll invite your mates over just to toast them. Sony Studios Liverpool: (aka Psygnosis) kudos for not stuffing it up.

Click here for an Interview with Rob Francis, lead designer on Wipeout Fusion.

Game: Wipeout Fusion
System: Playstation 2
Players: 1-4
Memory Card: Yes
Developer: Studio Liverpool (Psygnosis)
Distributor: Sony

Rating: 90%

(Ratings Key/Explantion)

Wipeout Fusion is on the shelves now.

Wipeout Fusion website

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