Wipeout HD Review

Wipeout HD's first add-on offers new game modes, music and courses, practically doubling the content of the original game.

When Wipeout HD first launched on the PlayStation 3 last year, it was a little disappointing. Sure, the game looked amazing and played brilliantly, but all the tracks, game modes and music had already appeared in PSP versions of the game. Wipeout HD Fury is much more novel--a £7.99 upgrade for the original game that adds a whole host of brand new, never-before-seen content to the game. This includes three game modes, six new music tracks, and eight tracks; and while the circuits once again originate from the PSP games, they bulk out a new single player campaign that's as long as the original game's. All this adds up to a package that's not only incredibly good value, but one that offers something genuinely new for fans.

Check out Wipeout HD Fury's Eliminator mode!

The most noteworthy additions are the new game modes, which manage to shake up the original gameplay while remaining true to the Wipeout universe. The best is Eliminator, which originates from Wipeout Pulse on the PlayStation Portable, but has its own twist on the PS3. You score points by hitting enemies with weapons, with even more points awarded for a kill. The PS3 upgrade is that you can now flip your ship 180 degrees using the L1 button, allowing you to fire directly into oncoming traffic. Being head-on makes it easier to hit enemies with most weapons, but this is balanced by the fact that a stationary target is also easier for other people to hit.

The other two new game modes take place in 'zone', which those of you familiar with previous Wipeout games will know gives the game a Tron-esque visual makeover. Zone Battle introduces multiplayer to this mode, and while it's fun, getting your head around the rules can be difficult at first. Each zone becomes progressively faster, and your aim is to make it to the last zone before anyone else. You do this by running over the coloured patches on the track which build up your boost bar and allow you to jump to the next zone. Your boost also leaves behind a barrier that other players may crash into, so there's an element of risk and reward choosing the right time to use it. Zone Battle is fun once you understand these rules, but it's too complicated to become a classic Wipeout mode.

Detonator is much more successful take on zone. In this mode, bombs are placed over the track in sets of threes, and you have to shoot them down to score points. If you take out five or more bombs without missing a shot, then you get a bonus, but this is tricky, and your ammo is limited to 20 shots before you have to perform a painfully long reload. If you miss any bombs, then they appear on the next lap, but you can also collect EMP grenades to clear a path in front of you. After a few laps, navigating through the bombs, accurately aiming, and timing your reloads becomes incredibly intense, and overall it's a great new take on the Wipeout formula.

Wipeout HD Fury also includes a new Zone Battle mode.

Fury's tracks aren't new--they're all from Wipeouts Pure and Pulse on PSP, and include Talon's Junction, The Amphiseum Tech De Ra and Modesto Heights. The lack of truly new tracks in Wipeout HD was annoying, and the complaint remains the same for Fury--anyone who's played the PSP games will definitely still yearn for some new courses to master. That said, they really are a different breed when viewed in 1080p, and even more has been done to jazz up these tracks for their PS3 appearance. There are loads more animations going on in the background, from cheeky ad boards for the in-game racing teams to air traffic flying overhead, making this a gorgeous game to see in motion.

That said, we did notice some slowdown, and some resulting screen tearing, when playing these new tracks. It's not enough to affect the gameplay at all, but it will annoy anyone who marveled at Wipeout HD's seamless 60 frames per second presentation. The music is also wisely assembled--a mixture of grungy house and drum 'n' bass sit far more appropriately than the ambient tunes from Wipeout HD. Of the six artists, The Crystal Method is the only one that will be familiar to mainstream music fans, but the tracks are all excellent.

Wipeout HD Fury doesn't just add to the original game--it betters it in every way. The new game modes are really well executed, the soundtrack fits perfectly, and while the courses aren't completely new, they help form a new single player campaign that's at least as long as the original's. There are minor complaints, such as the slowdown and the complicated nature of Zone Battle, but as the new game modes are compatible with the old tracks, this is still incredibly good value for money. It will be interesting to see if Sony release the game on a Blu-Ray now that the entire package now costs around £20, but if you've ever been a fan of Wipeout or futuristic racing games, this is well worth checking out.