While it may simply be more Wipeout, that was never such a bad thing, especially on the PSP.
Wipeout has always been the Playstation series. Out there before anything else, it often showed what the system could do over the previous generation. Wipeout was nothing short of a flag ship title and little has changed for it’s PSP debut. If you want a game to play on the PSP then this is it, if you want more Wipeout this is it, or if you simply want a fantastic game then this is definitely it.
The game mechanics are pretty much unchanged throughout the series and Pure is no exception. You race around at insanely high speeds, all the while picking up weapons and blasting your opponents. The weapons are varied and all have there uses. You get homing missiles, land mines and much more, including the holy grail of the Auto-Pilot. So if all this is the same as before, what makes this game worth getting? If anything, it is the PSP itself. The PSP design works in perfect harmony with Pure, the controls give you the same level of control as before while having the screen right in front of you serves to heighten the excitement.
While the PSP may suffer in certain titles due to the lack of a second thumb stick, Wipeout never relied on that feature, giving you complete confidence in the games controls and layout. The races are the perfect length while on the go, with more challenging time trials and so on to give you a lengthy game. The feeling of speed that the PSP gives you is immense and is something that the series could not fully capture in its previous iterations. All in all, while the PSP may fail when attempting an FPS or Action title, it excels at Wipeout.
The length of Wipeout is also great for someone who want a titles that is going to last them a while. Wipeout has 5 difficulty levels, some of which must be unlocked by feats of skill in the lower difficulties. The game also has a ranking system based on the number of gold medals you have, the goals being Purist at 180 medals. Of course, with a limited number of tracks, difficulties and race types this should be pretty though, however Wipeout has an ace up its sleeve that while mess up the rankings just so you can get more enjoyment. Wipeout is one of a number of PSP games which offers free downloads. You can almost double the number of tracks available to you and greatly increase the number of ships just by downloading the packs off the Wipeout website or in game. While this means there are more gold medals and hence it is easier to get the highest rank, it also means you have a lot more content to play through.
I mentioned the difficulties before and they play a substantial role in the development of the game. When going up a difficulty setting, it is not only the number of laps and smarter AI that you must contend with. The higher up the difficult settings you go the faster Wipeout gets. So while on the lowest difficulty you may know when you break and accelerate for a course, going up a difficulty changes everything. This is certainly a very novel way of changing the feel of the game to keep it fresh and keep you addicted. Wipeout also features game sharing, allowing you to race against a friend on a single track with a limited number of ships. Although this isn’t a great feature, it allows you to show your friends what all the fuss is about in a demo form perhaps enticing them to pick up a copy themselves. As one of the few titles that has this feature, it is definitely a bonus on top of what is already a great package.
Wipeout will give you a great experience for many hours to come, I have a personal playtime myself of 18:23.03 with only 3 difficulties fully completed. This is with all the downloads of course, which are a must if you like the game. While Wipeout fans will be ecstatic that they have a new title, this is also a dream for any PSP owner. While it may simply be more Wipeout, that was never such a bad thing, especially on the PSP.