Wipeout HD
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Wipeout has previously established itself as one of the most prominent fast paced racing game series available, and it’s with us once again with better visuals then ever before. Do they hold up under the intense speed? Wipeout HD is under our spotlight!
Wipeout first hit our computer gaming systems way back in 1995 and was one of the flagship titles for the launch of the Playstation console. It was originally dubbed a clone of titles such as F-Zero, but the licensed audio soundtrack, largely made up of techno music, along with the more advanced visuals that Wipeout boasted, it quickly established itself as a leader rather than a follower of similar games.
Wipeout HD will be very familiar to a lot of gamers who have played the previous titles in the series, as Sony have opted to bring a lot of tracks, racing ships and even licenses music tracks from previous games in the series over to the Playstation 3 in Wipeout HD. Perhaps they are playing it safe? The game itself is based on a winning formula, but gamers may feel it isn’t worth buying as they have seen it all before.
Personally I think Sony have managed to avoid this situation by transforming the game graphically, hense the HD in the title, and also the surprisingly low retail price of just $20, or £11.99 in the United Kingdom will surely inspire fans of the previous titles who will remember how much fun the older titles were to pluck this one from the shelves of their local game stores, too. The fact remains though, if you choose to buy it, you only really paying for the graphical makeover brought in by the high definition visuals, as you will have played this game before in a different light.
Wipeout HD boasts a choice of modes. Single player campaign, racebox and online play are the three modes made available to you on the games menu. The single player campaign is self explanatory, putting you in a series of races one after another against the same opponents each time, with the aim of finishing as best you can in the rankings each time to accumulate points in your effort to take the title at the end of the series of races.
The racebox mode is for gamers short on time who need a quick fix of fun, and allows you to choose a race ship, choose a track and head out for a one off race with no ultimate goals other than to win, or just enjoy yourself for the few minutes that the race will last for.
Wipeout HD hits new territory with it’s online play modes, though the actual number of modes you can play online are limited to a couple, but it does bring added value to the title as you can compete against other speedy racers from all over the world. Whether or not the multiplayer modes of Wipeout HD will stay popular for long remains to be seen, though, but you are sure to find loads of gamers waiting to beat you right now.
Like previous Wipeout titles the game starts off very easy for casual gamers. Winning races will come naturally to you right from the start, which serves only to suck you in before cranking up the difficulty level in the blink of an eye as you reach later tiers after topping the first few. From the fifth tier onwards in particular, the computer opponents are so good than even experienced Wipeout gamers are likely to struggle to compete over the course of a whole series of races.
Whatever game mode you choose to play, it’s a pretty standard racing title brought into it’s own by the stunning visuals and the erattic pace at which they are smoothly produced. The speed of the game appears to do no damage at all to the frame rates, in single player modes at least. You will notice a slight slow-down when playing a two player race with a split screen, but the slow-down isn’t enough to detract from the fun you will have against your buddy, your mom, or whoever it is you are racing against.
The low retail price that Sony have set for Wipeout HD ultimately makes this a great value game which is certainly worth picking up. In a way you can consider it a classic game with modern visuals - and classic games are always worth having, modern visuals or not! A true gaming bargain, pick it up today.
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