Contacts: Reviewer: Arush "Sandok" Kochhar
Editor: Alex Di Domenico // Designer: Allan "Zardon" Campbell

Introduction

Many eons ago, a wonderful thing happened to our world when Sony decided to engage itself in the console war. The majority of people doubted that the media giant would be able to win against the leading console giant of the time, but they did and the PlayStation was born. Millions flocked to it, abandoning Nintendo to try more mature, exciting and sinister games. However, this transition took a while, because at the time of the PlayStation’s launch, very few games were appealing. Except for the original Wipeout. By pure coincidence, the story has been the same for Sony’s brand new handheld, the PlayStation Portable (PSP).

Blue and orange explosions?

The creators

Wipeout became famous immediately upon its numerous releases on PlayStation from Psygnosis (each one was pretty successful) and fans were eagerly awaiting the great franchise on PlayStation 2 at launch, but disappointment rained as the gaming community had to wait a few years before a Wipeout game was even made for the black box. It was no longer from Psygnosis anymore either, but from SCE Studios Liverpool and to be honest, they royally messed up with Wipeout Fusion. Controls were twitchy, you died too quickly, the tracks were uninspired and the AI was dumb to say the least. Okay, maybe I went overboard, but for many gamers, this new Wipeout had lost most of what they had loved in the previous games. So for the PSP, more than a few were skeptical (including myself) but I am happy to announce the guys from Liverpool didn’t mess this one up at all. In fact, they might have just created the best Wipeout to date!

That green reactor looks like a Dooms Day device actually…

The game

Wipeout Pure is a fun racing game set in the future, 2197 to be exact, where cars are ancient history and everybody drives cool hovercrafts. Not only that, but the races are in excess of 1000 km/h through crazy environments, ranging from extensively busy metropolises to dangerous snowy mountains and of course, everything in between. Wipeout is a very simple racing game, so don’t except much more than what I previously mentioned beforehand. There is no visible storyline since SCE Studios Liverpool really concentrated on making the game worthy of its (successful) predecessors (and avoid the mistakes peppered throughout Wipeout Fusion). They’ve succeeded in capturing the essence of this once great racing franchise.

That green reactor looks like a Dooms Day device actually…

Graphics

This is one of the wonderful things about Wipeout Pure and also a great way to show your friends what the PlayStation Portable is really capable of. I have never seen such gorgeous graphics running on a handheld system and even though the screenshots speak for themselves, you have to watch the game in action to witness the real graphical prowess of the game. It’s whole different experience from the screens. The speed sensation along with explosions going off left and right, other race crafts whizzing past you and of course, you whizzing past the beautiful levels is simply unforgettable. Actually, come to think of it, this PSP Wipeout is prettier than the PS2 one! You have every effect imaginable in this game, including some cell-shading and it really does pay off when you get to admire it in motion. Wipeout Pure is a technical marvel, but as in every game, it doesn’t come without some drawbacks. Sadly, during the races, there are a few slowdowns here and there during the more intense sections. It’s nothing too drastic, but it is a disappointment nonetheless since you’d expect all handheld games to run perfectly smooth. Even so, this is the best PSP eye-candy to date!

Very pretty, isn't it?

Sound

I’ll be frank, it’s amazing. There is no other word to describe the sounds and music this game has to offer. It’s impossible that somebody would dislike the audio department of Wipeout Pure. Let me elaborate; the sounds themselves are really good since all the explosions and weapons sound just how you’d image them to, the levels each have lovely ambient sounds and the race crafts sound very futuristic. The real beauty resides in the music, which is quite unique and thoroughly enjoyable. Now, I’m not a fan of electronic music, but Wipeout Pure manages to blend in it and make it sound phenomenal. Even if you hate this kind of music (electronic), the songs chosen for the game from Liverpool are perfect and you’ll actually find yourself loving them in the end. The beats are all from famous artists and even if you don’t like a few of them, you have the choice to remove them from the playlist in the options menu. In addition, all the sounds are high quality, meaning that if you put on the headphones for your PSP, you’re in for a real treat!

Keeping a tight line ....

Gameplay

By now, you must have noticed I’ve been talking about the explosions and all the audio-visual department has to offer, so you must have come to the conclusion that Wipeout Pure isn’t a normal racing game. Of course, your assumption would be right if you thought of that, because this game is in a class of its own (that’s how good it is). To begin, a normal race doesn’t consist of you choosing a vehicle and picking a track to race on with other adversaries. You also have gameplay elements hidden as power-ups, which range from defensive shields to offensive missiles. Even though many other games like Mario Kart have done this sort of thing, Wipeout takes it to a new level of racing. You may even elaborate certain strategies in the game since every ship has limited health (during the races, you slowly lose your health because of enemy missiles and bad driving) and every power-up has the possibility of healing you (if you decide to sacrifice it). Meaning, you have to make the right choice, otherwise, you might be finishing in last place. All in all, the exuberant speeds, mixed with the power-ups and the fierce AI is really something out of this world! It’s just amazingly well balanced and implemented into the game.

Wipeout also features many different styles of gameplay, which is a big plus. You are not stuck with the typical single races and time trials, but you also get to experience the three other fun modes. Free Play is quite useless (but very relaxing) since it only lets you race around on an empty track. Not the best of things is it? Well, don’t despair since there is also a tournament mode, which is a simple competition where you rack up points during the races. The tournaments are also the only way to unlock new levels or bonuses, but the most interesting mode in Wipeout Pure is the one I saved for last: Zone. It’s a very interesting mode where you are handed (without choice) the fastest ship in the game and you have no control over your brakes, sort of like the movie ‘Speed’. Okay, I agree it sounds really odd, but bear with me a bit longer. Well, let me explain what you must do; you take your cool ship and start driving through one of five levels. You can’t regenerate your health, you have to try and stay alive as long as possible, which doesn’t sound that hard. It would be easily possible if your craft didn’t keep accelerating without your approval and before you know it, everything is going by so fast you can barely keep control of the vehicle. It may sound strange, but it’s extremely addictive and it’s one of the greatest game modes I’ve seen in a while (very innovative too).

Interface

The moment you witness the introduction, you know that the developers poured a lot of work into it. The same goes for the menus, since they are simply gorgeous and have such a wonderful style, you could spend an eternity just browsing through them. If I’d have to describe them, I’d use the following three words: Sleek, Simple and Sexy. Actually, the official site of Wipeout Pure mimics the game’s menu quite decently. Another positive aspect about the game’s interface is that you can apply different skins to change the looks, which is a real rarity. All the music in the game is customizable to your preference and after spending tons of hours in the menus, I never once had a problem. One of the better menus I’ve seen in a while to be honest.

That’s the coolest tunnel ever!

Multiplayer

Wireless gaming on the PSP with Wipeout Pure was extremely pleasant to say the least. You can play with up to eight others and all of it is done through Ad Hoc, meaning it’s very easy to hook up and start racing. Single races, tournaments or time trials are available to play against your mates and I assure you, if you all have the same skill level (more or less), you will have a blast. Playing versus the brilliant AI is fun but versus human opponents, it’s a thousand times better and laughs are guaranteed. The only downside to the multiplayer is that at the moment, not many people have a PSP, so it’s difficult to find sessions, but if you do find someone; get ready for some great fun.

Taking a tight curve at 312 km/h is almost boring

Future

What does the future of this game hold for you? Well, surprisingly, a lot, since Liverpool is bringing out tons of content for free via the built-in browser in the game. Already, a new racing engine, a new level and a new skin have been made available to the public and if you go on the main website (www.wipeoutpure.com), you’ll notice they even are planning to allow users to download new music for the game. If that isn’t excellent support, I don’t know what is! Don’t think the added content is rushed and mediocre either, it’s not and it’s on par with the game’s original content. I sense many great things will be added to Wipeout Pure.

One huge city… Really huge!

Conclusion

I can’t even tell you how much I enjoyed this amazing video game on my PSP. Nothing compares to it and Wipeout Pure is easily in my top 10 best games of all time. The exhilaration you feel while racing is unbelievable and if you get hooked by the game (trust me, you will get hooked), you’re going to have an unforgettable experience. Sure, it has a few slowdowns, but that’s about the only negative aspect in the game. I’ve racked my brains as much as I could, but nothing bad comes to mind except the aforementioned slowdowns. The music is superb, the gameplay is perfect, the multiplayer is outstanding and the future of Wipeout Pure seems to be very bright. I know that I’ve easily forgiven Liverpool Studious for their major mess-up on Wipeout Fusion for PS2 thanks to this game. I can only advise you to go out there, buy a PSP and a copy of Wipeout Pure and enjoy!