Now, this is an interesting game in the Wipeout franchise. As its title suggests, Wipeout 64 is an N64 exclusive, and marks the last time the series would appear on anything but a Sony console. It's also not really a sequel or a port, and it alters some things and adds others. So, leaving a trail of breadcrumbs behind us, let's venture down an unfamiliar path.
Set in 2098 (basic math shows us that's one year on from Wipeout 2097), on the surface, little has changed from the previous outing. The weapons remain (mostly) the same, pit lanes are still here and the general look and atmosphere returns. There are a few significant differences however. 64 marks the first use of analog control in a Wipeout game and dismisses digital control completely, there are team specific 'super' weapons such as the Energy Sphere (2097's Plasma Bolt), Cloak and Energy Drains (which would feature in later iterations).
The tracks in Wipeout 64 are modified versions of those in the previous two titles, be it a reversed version or one with other alterations. It makes the game feel like Frankenstein's monster, a chop 'n' swap mash up of the first two instalments, but with the look and feel of 2097. This is still a complete game, but some new circuits would have been nice (the only new track is Velocitar, which has to be unlocked).
The major upheavals here come in the form of challenges (such as destroying a set number of enemies), which expand the single player game significantly, and split screen multiplayer. The previous entries in the series only allowed for two player system link games, which proved unfeasible for many. Psygnosis has taken advantage of the N64's four controller ports, allowing four player split screen (this is the only game in the series to do so), which makes it stand out from its forebears. It's not bad, either. The major problem is with pop-up and a slow frame rate, but the gameplay itself still stands out. Get three like minded friends round and an entire afternoon can be lost.
In moving Wipeout from its natural home, Psygnosis has managed to retain much of the style and playability of the first two games. A few concessions have been made due to the storage media and the music takes one for the team. While the tunes are still great, hearing a couple of segments from Bang On! looped over and over again can grate. The graphics have the blurry filter of most N64 titles, but still look as good as before (bar some awful looking explosions), and provide a gritty alternative to Nintendo's own brightly coloured F-Zero X.
It would be fair to say that Wipeout 64 is the black sheep of the family – Nintendo exclusive, four player mode, remixed circuits – but it is distinctive. Being marketed to a Wipeout starved Nintendo audience it does its job very well. For existing fans of the series it offers multiplayer and challenge modes not found elsewhere and as is essential.
8/10
Written by Dan Gill
Bitmap Books
Showing posts with label Wipeout. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wipeout. Show all posts
Thursday, 25 October 2012
Wednesday, 24 October 2012
Wipeout 2097 Review (Playstation)
There's no doubting the impact made by the original Wipeout on its release. The trendy design and cutting edge music (at the time) created a tempting package, but the gameplay itself just needed more refinement. Thankfully, Psygnosis realised this and created a truly amazing sequel. Ladies and gentlemen, we present Wipeout 2097.
Set some forty years after the original, Wipeout 2097 (or XL for our US readers) retains much from its predecessor. The same four teams compete (and are joined by a fifth, Pirahna), the Designer's Republic are still on board for graphical embellishments, the finest dance acts of the day are on musical duties (on the PlayStation version, anyway) and the weapons are back. However, it's the various tweaks – subtle but many – that strengthened the series, and led to the Wipeout we know today.
The use of weapons in the previous game resulted in a minor inconvenience to competitors, stalling their ship and costing them time. While that was a fine tactic, it all felt a little flat. 2097 ups the combat element considerably with the addition of health bars for each ship. Once depleted, the craft is destroyed and must leave the race. A 'pit stop' at the end of each lap now has to be considered to replenish lost health, but this will cost players precious seconds and possibly a position. The more combative edge simply makes the game more fun to play. The thrill of being in second place and unleashing a missile on the ship ahead, destroying it and securing a gold medal is hard to describe.
Since the focus here is more on combat, more power ups have been added. Some return from the first game (speed boosts, shields, rockets, missiles), but the new ones, such as quake, plasma and thunder bomb provide much satisfaction when unleashed. The quake causes a wave of destruction along the track, dealing out huge damage to opponents (and looking pretty good as it does it) while the plasma shot can destroy a craft instantly, but requires practice to use effectively. The weapons and their effects add much more excitement and a slightly darker tone to the game – something built upon by the game's general aesthetic.
The tracks and surroundings are similar in design to those of the original title but have, a grimier, more dystopian feel. From Talon's Reach, a course set in a Canadian industrial complex, to Gare D’Europa, a track fashioned from the remains of a French Metro system, the circuits often feel oppressive, and add to the violent futuristic sports stylings seen in Speedball or F Zero. Combine this with music tracks like Future Sound of London's We Have Explosive and the Chemical Brothers' Loops of Fury and you have a game that's one of a kind (at least until everyone else started to imitate it.
There is no doubting this is a huge improvement on Wipeout. The design tweaks and gameplay additions make it a better game and other reforms such as allowing your craft to graze barriers instead of stopping you dead improve it further. It's the kind of sequel you would expect – take the good stuff from the first game, iron out the creases, add some new features and spread on a layer of gloss. Psygnosis didn't rest on their laurels, they new they had to innovate to keep the franchise going, and it paid off. The only real flaw here is the lack of a two player split screen option (system link makes a return in its place), but the single player offers a challenge with single races, time trials and tournaments. There’s plenty to unlock too, such as two extra tracks, animal ships (?) and an extra weapon (the minigun, if you're wondering). It's a game that still stands up today, even with the excellent Wipeout HD available, and hopefully it will see release on the PSN soon.
9/10
Written by Dan Gill
Set some forty years after the original, Wipeout 2097 (or XL for our US readers) retains much from its predecessor. The same four teams compete (and are joined by a fifth, Pirahna), the Designer's Republic are still on board for graphical embellishments, the finest dance acts of the day are on musical duties (on the PlayStation version, anyway) and the weapons are back. However, it's the various tweaks – subtle but many – that strengthened the series, and led to the Wipeout we know today.
The use of weapons in the previous game resulted in a minor inconvenience to competitors, stalling their ship and costing them time. While that was a fine tactic, it all felt a little flat. 2097 ups the combat element considerably with the addition of health bars for each ship. Once depleted, the craft is destroyed and must leave the race. A 'pit stop' at the end of each lap now has to be considered to replenish lost health, but this will cost players precious seconds and possibly a position. The more combative edge simply makes the game more fun to play. The thrill of being in second place and unleashing a missile on the ship ahead, destroying it and securing a gold medal is hard to describe.
Since the focus here is more on combat, more power ups have been added. Some return from the first game (speed boosts, shields, rockets, missiles), but the new ones, such as quake, plasma and thunder bomb provide much satisfaction when unleashed. The quake causes a wave of destruction along the track, dealing out huge damage to opponents (and looking pretty good as it does it) while the plasma shot can destroy a craft instantly, but requires practice to use effectively. The weapons and their effects add much more excitement and a slightly darker tone to the game – something built upon by the game's general aesthetic.
The tracks and surroundings are similar in design to those of the original title but have, a grimier, more dystopian feel. From Talon's Reach, a course set in a Canadian industrial complex, to Gare D’Europa, a track fashioned from the remains of a French Metro system, the circuits often feel oppressive, and add to the violent futuristic sports stylings seen in Speedball or F Zero. Combine this with music tracks like Future Sound of London's We Have Explosive and the Chemical Brothers' Loops of Fury and you have a game that's one of a kind (at least until everyone else started to imitate it.
There is no doubting this is a huge improvement on Wipeout. The design tweaks and gameplay additions make it a better game and other reforms such as allowing your craft to graze barriers instead of stopping you dead improve it further. It's the kind of sequel you would expect – take the good stuff from the first game, iron out the creases, add some new features and spread on a layer of gloss. Psygnosis didn't rest on their laurels, they new they had to innovate to keep the franchise going, and it paid off. The only real flaw here is the lack of a two player split screen option (system link makes a return in its place), but the single player offers a challenge with single races, time trials and tournaments. There’s plenty to unlock too, such as two extra tracks, animal ships (?) and an extra weapon (the minigun, if you're wondering). It's a game that still stands up today, even with the excellent Wipeout HD available, and hopefully it will see release on the PSN soon.
9/10
Written by Dan Gill
Wipeout Review (Playstation)
There are few pivotal moments in video games, but when they arrive it feels special to be a part of it. Space Invaders, Super Mario Brothers, Final Fantasy VII and GTAIII are among the titles I'd count as truly trailblazing, yet one of the more important titles in recent memory (and one to take some credit for the success of the last two on the list above) is Psygnosis' Wipeout. Seen as something of a poster boy for the PlayStation generation, it has introduced a new crowd to gaming, infiltrated nightclubs and birthed a massive Sony franchise which lives on to this day. But how does the original stand up to scrutiny so many years after its release?
Sadly, not well. As a PlayStation launch title in Europe (and the first non-Japanese game to be released on the format, fact fans), it suffers from the same problems of many games from that era – poor draw distances, ropey controls, and a lack of substance. While there's no doubting there is a game in here, what's on offer is limited. Being an amalgam of Super Mario Kart and F-Zero, Wipeout tends to focus on racing more than combat, so it would be expected that the racing is well honed and exciting.
What we actually have is oversensitive handling and a demanding challenge. This isn't a game you can just dive into and enjoy straight away and you have to play by its strict rules to get the most out of it. The learning curve for Wipeout is steep, but if you have the determination to succeed, you will reap the rewards.
Wipeout is harsh. Make that very harsh. The demands it puts on the player are high, it expects you to make few mistakes on the track. If you do, it will punish you. While replaying Wipeout for review, I found myself swerving all over the track, from barrier to barrier. Any time your craft clips the sides, you stop dead. Now I like to think of myself as a fairly decent Wipeout player, but finishing in seventh place humbled me somewhat. I realised it was merely a lack of refinement on the game's part, and that the sequels had improved on this foundation (but let's save that for another time).
However, it is a decent foundation. The basic principle of Wipeout is sound (race floating craft around futuristic tracks while shooting at other racers), it just needed a bit more playtesting. For instance, the weapons do little more than slow down your opponents, and lack any kind of excitement. It does feature a decent two player mode in the form of system link (if you can find a mate with their own PS, TV and copy of the game), the dance soundtrack and graphics fit the tone and the tracks themselves are pretty good. It just doesn't help that your craft handles with all the grace of a three-wheeled shopping trolley.
Despite all the complaints that run throughout this review, Wipeout still has its place in the annals of gaming history. It was a very important release for Sony, it ushered in a new era for gaming and it laid the groundwork for what was to come. Its problem is that it's a product of its time, and it has lost most of the magic it had upon release. Is it worth playing now? That depends on your patience.
If you have the time to dedicate yourself to a blurry, cumbersome PSOne title and can overlook its flaws, you'll get something out of it. I think it is worth owning for the completists among you, and perhaps even those who want to see where it all began. It's available to download on PlayStation Network for around £3.50, but it may be best to wait for 2097 to make its way to PSN and buy that instead.
5/10
Written by Dan Gill
Sadly, not well. As a PlayStation launch title in Europe (and the first non-Japanese game to be released on the format, fact fans), it suffers from the same problems of many games from that era – poor draw distances, ropey controls, and a lack of substance. While there's no doubting there is a game in here, what's on offer is limited. Being an amalgam of Super Mario Kart and F-Zero, Wipeout tends to focus on racing more than combat, so it would be expected that the racing is well honed and exciting.
What we actually have is oversensitive handling and a demanding challenge. This isn't a game you can just dive into and enjoy straight away and you have to play by its strict rules to get the most out of it. The learning curve for Wipeout is steep, but if you have the determination to succeed, you will reap the rewards.
Wipeout is harsh. Make that very harsh. The demands it puts on the player are high, it expects you to make few mistakes on the track. If you do, it will punish you. While replaying Wipeout for review, I found myself swerving all over the track, from barrier to barrier. Any time your craft clips the sides, you stop dead. Now I like to think of myself as a fairly decent Wipeout player, but finishing in seventh place humbled me somewhat. I realised it was merely a lack of refinement on the game's part, and that the sequels had improved on this foundation (but let's save that for another time).
However, it is a decent foundation. The basic principle of Wipeout is sound (race floating craft around futuristic tracks while shooting at other racers), it just needed a bit more playtesting. For instance, the weapons do little more than slow down your opponents, and lack any kind of excitement. It does feature a decent two player mode in the form of system link (if you can find a mate with their own PS, TV and copy of the game), the dance soundtrack and graphics fit the tone and the tracks themselves are pretty good. It just doesn't help that your craft handles with all the grace of a three-wheeled shopping trolley.
Despite all the complaints that run throughout this review, Wipeout still has its place in the annals of gaming history. It was a very important release for Sony, it ushered in a new era for gaming and it laid the groundwork for what was to come. Its problem is that it's a product of its time, and it has lost most of the magic it had upon release. Is it worth playing now? That depends on your patience.
If you have the time to dedicate yourself to a blurry, cumbersome PSOne title and can overlook its flaws, you'll get something out of it. I think it is worth owning for the completists among you, and perhaps even those who want to see where it all began. It's available to download on PlayStation Network for around £3.50, but it may be best to wait for 2097 to make its way to PSN and buy that instead.
5/10
Written by Dan Gill
Thursday, 18 October 2012
Wipe3out Review (Playstation)
We're now back on the main path of the Wipeout franchise, where we come to the hardest-to-pronounce game in the series (Wip-three-out isn't even in the dictionary, I checked). With Psygnosis now fully owned by Sony, the series began its exclusivity here. Another notable aspect of the game is that development duties are handled by Psygnosis Leeds, and not the Liverpool studio that developed the other titles in the series. It's also the last title to feature input from the Designers Republic.
As soon as it's loaded, it's clear there have been a few changes. Everything is so crisp and the menus are very minimalist with clear lines of grey and blue replacing any 3D track previews or craft models. There are also more options, some of which (such as Challenges) are transferred from Wipeout 64. This time the courses are hosted in one city rather than the globe trotting nature of previous entries. From the shopping utopia of Mega Mall to the peaks of Manor Top, everything feels more down to earth than the sometimes laboured futurism of the first three games (there are no bright orange skies or lunar surfaces here).
Backed up with an advanced game engine, the higher resolution gives everything more definition and the game moves along at a zippy pace. It stands as one of the PSOne's finest looking titles, even today.
It plays well too. By bringing analog control to the table with the Dual Shock pad, finding those tight racing lines becomes a joy, and demonstrates the perfect marriage of software and hardware. The weighty feel of Sony's sticks suit the handling of the craft more than Nintendo's pad did in Wipeout 64, and the Dual Shock rumbles as a Quake Disruptor is unleashed or a missile hits. It's a common feature in games now, but Wip3out stands out as one of the first titles to get it right.
The gameplay itself has also been tweaked, with some strategy added through the use of a 'hyper boost'. This – as its name suggests – grants a speed boost at the expense of your shield. It adds a nice touch of risk/reward to play, and keeps things fresh. A handful of new weapons have been thrown in too. Some return from the N64 instalment, but are no longer team specific (such as the Energy Drain). The more interesting consist of the Force Wall (clue: it's a wall which stops craft dead) and the Reflector (I don't think an explanation is needed). Rather than being hugely devastating weapons, they prove to be more non-violent and depend more on a lack of attention or slow reaction from your rivals.
Of course, trying out weapons on your friends is preferable to a CPU opponent. Finally, there is now a split screen multiplayer mode. The bad news is that it only caters for two participants but, with the limitations of the hardware and the new engine pushing the system as it is, it's understandable why the cut has been made. It's good too. There is minimal slowdown, and it still looks great. Wip3out ticks pretty much all the boxes. It's smooth, cool, fast, full of options, has a great soundtrack and effective multiplayer mode. The one thing it doesn't have is accessibility.
Those who are new to the series probably shouldn't start here, as the learning curve is pretty steep. The tracks can be tough and require extensive use of the airbrakes and careful use of the analog stick. If you are looking to pick it up, consider hunting down Wip3out: Special Edition, as it adds a few tracks from the first two games. Also, you'll need a Playstation or PS2 to play it, as it crashes on the PS3 (Sony, patch please). For the brave newcomer or the seasoned Wipeout player, Wip3out is a blast. This is still an essential game and a superb follow-up to 2097.
9/10
Written by Dan Gill
As soon as it's loaded, it's clear there have been a few changes. Everything is so crisp and the menus are very minimalist with clear lines of grey and blue replacing any 3D track previews or craft models. There are also more options, some of which (such as Challenges) are transferred from Wipeout 64. This time the courses are hosted in one city rather than the globe trotting nature of previous entries. From the shopping utopia of Mega Mall to the peaks of Manor Top, everything feels more down to earth than the sometimes laboured futurism of the first three games (there are no bright orange skies or lunar surfaces here).
Backed up with an advanced game engine, the higher resolution gives everything more definition and the game moves along at a zippy pace. It stands as one of the PSOne's finest looking titles, even today.
It plays well too. By bringing analog control to the table with the Dual Shock pad, finding those tight racing lines becomes a joy, and demonstrates the perfect marriage of software and hardware. The weighty feel of Sony's sticks suit the handling of the craft more than Nintendo's pad did in Wipeout 64, and the Dual Shock rumbles as a Quake Disruptor is unleashed or a missile hits. It's a common feature in games now, but Wip3out stands out as one of the first titles to get it right.
The gameplay itself has also been tweaked, with some strategy added through the use of a 'hyper boost'. This – as its name suggests – grants a speed boost at the expense of your shield. It adds a nice touch of risk/reward to play, and keeps things fresh. A handful of new weapons have been thrown in too. Some return from the N64 instalment, but are no longer team specific (such as the Energy Drain). The more interesting consist of the Force Wall (clue: it's a wall which stops craft dead) and the Reflector (I don't think an explanation is needed). Rather than being hugely devastating weapons, they prove to be more non-violent and depend more on a lack of attention or slow reaction from your rivals.
Of course, trying out weapons on your friends is preferable to a CPU opponent. Finally, there is now a split screen multiplayer mode. The bad news is that it only caters for two participants but, with the limitations of the hardware and the new engine pushing the system as it is, it's understandable why the cut has been made. It's good too. There is minimal slowdown, and it still looks great. Wip3out ticks pretty much all the boxes. It's smooth, cool, fast, full of options, has a great soundtrack and effective multiplayer mode. The one thing it doesn't have is accessibility.
Those who are new to the series probably shouldn't start here, as the learning curve is pretty steep. The tracks can be tough and require extensive use of the airbrakes and careful use of the analog stick. If you are looking to pick it up, consider hunting down Wip3out: Special Edition, as it adds a few tracks from the first two games. Also, you'll need a Playstation or PS2 to play it, as it crashes on the PS3 (Sony, patch please). For the brave newcomer or the seasoned Wipeout player, Wip3out is a blast. This is still an essential game and a superb follow-up to 2097.
9/10
Written by Dan Gill
Wednesday, 17 October 2012
Remembering Psygnosis Studios
Retro101 takes a look at the contribution of recently disbanded Sony Liverpool. Better known to many as Psygnosis, creators of Wipeout and G-Police.
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