Wipeout HD Fury Hands-On

By Guy Cocker, GameSpot UKPosted Jun 3, 2009 11:32 pm PT

Wipeout HD is set for an "imminent" expansion according to Sony Europe, and we got to play it at E3.

We really love the original Wipeout HD here at GameSpot, and even now we're frequently taking the game online to play the masses. Thankfully, a brand-new expansion is set to be released any time now according to Sony, and the publisher had advance builds of Wipeout HD Fury at its E3 09 booth.

Wipeout HD Fury is an expansion pack, so you'll need to own the original game to play it. Once it's installed, though, you'll notice that the menu system has been given a dark and moody overhaul, although you can revert to the original if you prefer. The biggest changes come with the four new tracks, which are playable in reverse and have zone variants. They are called Tech De Ra, Modesto Heights, The Amphiseum, and Talon’s Junction. They've all been seen in other Wipeout games before, but Sony claims that building new tracks would take them "much longer" than the nine months it has taken to work on Fury.

The pack also contains three new game modes: Eliminator, Zone Battle, and Detonator. Eliminator will be familiar to anyone who has played the PSP Wipeout games before, but you are now able to flip your ship around by pressing the L1 button. The HUD now shows you the position of the closest enemies behind you, allowing you to unleash your weapons before turning around and zooming away. It's a very cool touch that should prove to be exciting online.

Zone Battle is slightly confusing to explain--it's effectively a multiplayer version of the Zone mode, but when you boost forward, you leave a devastating barrier for anyone who's floating right behind you. Detonator is another Zone variant and is playable only in single-player. You have to use your cannons to shoot down the mines that are dotted around the track. If you miss any mines, they reappear on the next lap, but if you can keep hitting targets, you can build up more points. Detonator mode also features different ships, which are smaller and more agile than the standard hover units.

The final piece of the puzzle is new music, which Sony promises will be darker and moodier than in the original game. We're promised a preview version of the game any day now, so we'll bring you more on Wipeout HD Fury shortly.

20 Comments

  • mike12431

    Posted Jul 28, 2009 7:43 pm PT

    this expansion is just awesome

  • break5

    Posted Jul 25, 2009 1:42 pm PT

    Awesome game, the new multiplayer deathmatch modes are wicked.

  • ESGC82

    Posted Jul 25, 2009 1:59 am PT

    Man, this DLC is the best ever. Anyone who likes/loves WipEout HAS TO acquire it.

  • lordgodalming

    Posted Jul 24, 2009 12:07 pm PT

    Picked this up last night. Loads more content than I expected. 80 new medals, compared to 87 in the original Wipeout HD. Excellent.

  • beekayjay

    Posted Jul 15, 2009 10:55 pm PT

    I cannot wait, this has got to be one of my all time favourite racing titles.

  • fazedjb

    Posted Jul 8, 2009 7:31 am PT

    I`ve only just (finaly) got this game, can`t wait for the exp as am loving it. loved the ps1 original to bits and this is that with bells on.

  • moej88

    Posted Jun 14, 2009 8:54 pm PT

    graphics are fantastic

  • retospectre

    Posted Jun 11, 2009 9:58 am PT

    i live this game ha ha xbots

  • DanieltheDead

    Posted Jun 7, 2009 4:03 pm PT

    Sweet!
    I'm totally with CarbonX on the virtual cockpits-they had a cockpit POV in Wipeout 3, and although it wasn't a fully rendered cockpit, it still made the gameplay insane.
    I also agree with lizard1192, the hyperthrust/shield exchange mechanic in Wipeout 3 was brilliant, and really added another strategic element to the game.

  • CarbonX

    Posted Jun 5, 2009 2:48 am PT

    My wishlist for this game has one item... VIRTUAL COCKPITS.

  • MAshmore

    Posted Jun 5, 2009 2:37 am PT

    Can't wait!!! I don't care that these are all remake tracks... I never played the PSP versions... So they are new to me!
    I just think its a shame that there has been no word of them fixing the craft airborne pitching dynamics!

  • DaMiGi22863

    Posted Jun 4, 2009 10:15 pm PT

    Frakking cool!!!, I'll definately be getting this!!..

  • pakhair

    Posted Jun 4, 2009 6:09 pm PT

    Great..........

  • guynamedyeah

    Posted Jun 4, 2009 8:36 am PT

    are they going to add stereoscopic gameplay soon
    there was a wipeout demo of 3d gaming btw...

  • neopulsar08

    Posted Jun 4, 2009 8:27 am PT

    Wooooooooooot!
    Though, would always be nice to get some truly new tracks at some point. Given that these are all based on previous ones, and with how nice of a job they've done on restoring them to HD, I can only imagine what they'd pull off if they decided to make something brand new...

  • jumpy46

    Posted Jun 4, 2009 5:52 am PT

    Eliminator!! My favorite mode returns!!

  • mooooo99

    Posted Jun 4, 2009 2:26 am PT

    sounds exciting. i look forward to this. any news on when its going to be released?

  • lizard1192

    Posted Jun 4, 2009 2:10 am PT

    This will be brilant I love Wipeout HD but my only real complaint about it is that there isnt really enough tracks in it.This will sort that slightly...
    One thing I would really like to be brought to wipeout HD is a Wipe3out style hyperthurst option instead of a turbo pick up which could be turned on or off and at least tryed by some people.

  • MagicPigeOn

    Posted Jun 4, 2009 12:44 am PT

    Finally, eliminator is here! Definitely worth getting once it comes out!

  • aerobie

    Posted Jun 4, 2009 12:35 am PT

    Awesome. To me, this is the greatest news to come out of E3 so far!

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