I just picked this up Friday and have only spent about three hours with it, but thus far I am extremely impressed. The cars handle as well as ever though its worth noting that in regards to wall scraping collision Pulse is less forgiving than many of its predecessors. Colllision doesn't necessarily bring one to a dead stop (unless one hits the wall head-on) but it slows one up so much its almost inevitable that someone will blow by you.
Speaking of which, the AI is really something. There isn't rubberbanding and the AI racers are as enthusiastic about taking each other out a they are about taking the player out (I've seen up to two guys taken out during three laps of an 8 vehicle race). Its also worth noting that weapon absorption (as opposed to dedicated pit stops) has returned from Pure.
Via a computer, one can customize the appearance of ships and then save the new skins to one's PSP. Also, one can download other people's skins directly vi PSP (I went for the second option since I am not an artist).
There are also options to play people both in-person and over the internet, but I haven't messed with either of those options yet.
Its also worth noting that the visuals are superb, the track and vehicle design is really slick and at any time during the race one can pause and take screenshots (when one pauses, when can choose a camera angle and zoom in and out). The music is the catchy electronic stuff typical of Wipeout, but one can play one's own MP3s and strike out any of the native songs one doesn't like.
The only downside is that the post-release content which was free for Pure costs money for Pulse (though I don't think the new content has hit North America yet). Still its a good deal for 30 bucks and it should be a must-buy for fans of futuristic racers (which are a lot rarer than they used to be).
Log in to comment