More irrepressible Wipeout action. The same awesome game at its core, with several new deal-sweetening features.
As this review focuses primarily on the ways in which Wipeout has evolved from Pure to Pulse, series newcomers may find themselves disoriented by what they read hereon in. Suffice it to say: if you have any interest in streaking through futuristic tracks at break-nerve speeds, you'll find nothing finer than Wipeout Pulse (or, to be fair, Wipeout Pure). Get one or the other or both.
In Wipeout Pulse, the core game remains essentially the same, with a smattering of tweaks, nips and tucks made here and there, if not all for the best, then at least for the different and never for the worst. Graphics have been upgraded, and everything looks more smooth and sexy: the ships, the explosions, the tracks. Handling of the ships is tighter overall, but this comes at a price as hitting the rails in Pulse decelerates you more than in previous games. Precision counts more here than ever.
12 new reversible racetracks provide players with a double-dozen new ways to whet their mettle. And this mettle can be whetted sideways and even upside-down with new mag-strips, sections of track that keep cars clung-on as you pull corkscrews, wall-riding sessions, and full loops--a vertiginous experience the first few times. (One track makes especially brilliant use of these mag-strips when, while zooming down a portion of track, you can see competitors overhead, soaring by upside-down in the opposite direction. Now that's awesome.)
Next, armaments. The control-screwing disruption bolt from Pure is gone, and in its place are some new offensive delights: The cannon arms you with 30 rapid-fire rounds to chip away at the competitions' shields, or the spinning shuriken can slice right through them. The repulsor blast knocks nearby ships off course or--if used at the right time--right off the track. Finally, the vampiric leech beam sucks away at an opponent's shield and uses that sapped energy to regenerate your own. Beware.
Rather than being organized by individual mode (e.g. single race, tournament, time trial, and the survival mode: zone), Pulse is presented as a series of grids which combine all of the game's seven modes in a hodgepodge of racing events. New modes to the mix are the two-racer head-to-head, speed-lap, and battle-centred eliminator modes. Successfully completing one event on the grid will unlock access to further events-as well as new tracks and additional grids over time. You are even able to build your own custom grids which can be uploaded for sharing with others.
Which brings us to Pulse's online features: The single greatest leap forward in Pulse is its fuller exploitation of infrastructure mode. Along with uploading and sharing custom grids, you can also design new skins for any of your ships, using the (somewhat clunky) skin editor on the newly-launched Wipeout-Game.com site. This site is a hub for all Wipeout activity, with leader boards, downloads (which will soon include new tracks and ships like last time), and news items pertaining to all forthcoming Wipeout titles. But the ultimate in news is that Pulse's infrastructure mode now offers online multiplayer. At last, with a free PSN account, you can Wipeout against players all over… well, the EU, Australia, and New Zealand for now until the game gets wider release, and it runs as smoothly--as purely liquid--as it does in single-player mode.
Although Wipeout's requisite electro soundtrack is still present (need you even doubt it?) it is less gripping and distinct this time around (with the absolute exceptions of Kraftwerk's apt 'Aero Dynamik' and Noisia's visceral 'Seven Stitches'). However, Pulse fully compensates for this dip by, finally, offering gamers the choice to create their own custom MP3 soundtracks. Ever wanted to AG-race to Daft Punk, AC/DC, or opera? Now's your chance.
And if that's not enough, then Pulse even includes a photo mode for you to take PSP-sized shots of your racing action, at any time, from a number of dramatic angles. Capture all your most glorious moments and then share and boast as appropriate.
In the end, building up to the release of Wipeout Pulse, the worried question of every Wipeout series fan has most certainly been: Will Pulse surpass Pure? Well, by this reviewer's judgment, in a head-to-head race between the long-time champion Pure and newcomer Pulse, it ends in a photo finish… but without Pulse, you won't have the photo mode to take that photo… or the custom skins to look good in that photo… or any custom soundtracks … or online multiplayer… or dizzying mag-strip loops… and so on.