Wipeout HD for the Playstation 3 has been out for a few months already, but the game has only been purchased by me within the last few weeks. I played a bit of Wipeout back on the original Playstation and although I liked it, I was quite young and I found it too difficult at the time to really have fun on.

I have come to understand the game is essentially a remake, bringing back various elements from the previous versions (particularly Wipeout Pure and Wipeout Pulse on the PSP) and adding a few new features on top. What I have to say, is that Wipeout HD is a beautiful game. The image below was taken in game using the photo mode.

The game is one of few that has an output of 1080p and runs smoothly at 60 fps. The visuals are sharp and the colours are vibrant. One of the game modes (which features audio equalizer visuals) actually caused the game to have a release delay earlier in the year, due to failing an epilepsy testing. Although it was toned down as a result, the final version is still enough to give my mum a headache. It is impressive stuff.

It also supports a Dolby 5.1 surround soundtrack. If the audio tracks don’t do it for you, you can make your own playlist on the PS3 harddrive, as Wipeout HD supports custom playlists. Although the soundtrack is pretty good, nothing beats trying to achieve Zone Zeus whilst listening to the favourites in your own collection (I’m finding The Prodigy or Pendulum go quite nicely).

The gameplay is as you would expect from a Wipeout game. If you are new to the Wipeout series, I can tell you it is an anti-gravity racing game and can be very, very fast. The tracks are narrow and the weapons are lethal. Burnout Paradise may have traffic to evade, but nothing gives an adrenaline rush like dodging missiles at 900+ kph.

The ships (or ‘teams’, similar to say F1) and tracks are brought across from previous Wipeout games. The ships feel incredibly retro, since the design of them hasn’t changed since the initial release, but this is probably a good thing. It wouldn’t be Wipeout without the distinctive ships and tracks. The tracks are varied enough in aesthetic design, as well as shape, to keep you interested. They also all have the reverse versions of themselves to mix it up a bit.

Wipeout may be beautiful, but it is also very hard, particularly in the latter part of the campaign and can be very unforgiving. I can’t imagine many games have had to be patched to include easier difficulty levels like Wipeout HD did.

Regardless of the patch, the latter races in the campaign are incredibly tough due to the increase in race speed. Once you hit Phantom, you start to appreciate those 15 minute breaks your doctor told you about. It doesn’t matter how tame the AI are on Novice difficulty, if you are going to spend your first lap bouncing off the barriers and then explode.

That said, if you have Pilot Assist On, the game suddenly is friendly to anyone. Pilot Assist stops you from hitting the sides of the track so hard, which really can be the difference between DNF and coming 1st place in competitive split-screen races against friends. In my house, if you win with Pilot Assist On, it doesn’t count.

Although the lack of new content may come as a disappointment to fans of the series who were looking for something new; a next-gen remake of a classic at the price of £13.99, ready to download straight from the PSN Store, complete with offline and online multiplayer, should be music to any fan’s ears.

Also, with the promise of extra downloadable content, in the form of ships, tracks and music, it is hard not to see Wipeout HD as the definitive version.

Wipeout HD is currently available for download from the Playstation Network.

Royzy