The game that saved my PSP. I've never thought of any game I've played before as "perfect", but...
For a quick synopsis of what the game is about, it’s an anti-gravity racing game that takes place in the year 2197 under the newly formed FX300 Racing League. Basically, you pick a ship, a game mode, and well, race. The game modes are the typical racing game modes you would expect to find, single race, tournament, time trail, free run, etc. There’s also an interesting mode called “Zone”, where you’re put on special tracks, and your ship will continue to accelerate faster and faster until you explode from crashing into things. It’s basically a survival mode, and even though short, is pretty intense. Progression through the game is pretty standard stuff too, though somewhat open ended since you don’t really have to do much in order other than the tournaments. Winning tournaments unlocks new tournaments, and ultimately, new classes, where the ships are faster and the competition stiffer.
Graphics really don’t make or break a game for me, but I must say that I’m very impressed with them in Wipeout Pure. Everything is put together and colored in such a way that nothing seems farfetched. Everything is crisp and clear, it’s not at all difficult to see what’s ahead of you even at the higher speed classes. What’s even more impressive about this is that this game was released not long after the launch of the PSP, and yet the graphics are still better than what I’ve seen on more recent titles that I’ve played. I have nothing to complain about here.
The sound is incredible, everything sounds just right. From the hum of the ships at a standstill, to the rushing wind sound of flying over a speed pad, to the firing and exploding of rockets, nothing is out of place. This is also one of those extremely rare games that come along once in a blue moon where I can leave every music track turned on, and not get sick of any of them. Not only do I not get sick of them, but I enjoy listening to them as I’m buzzing around in my Feisar. Even the looped menu tune is notable. The music goes with the game very, very well, and really enhances the total experience of playing it.
Control is a huge part of any game, and is usually what makes it a total hit or total garbage. I will admit that the control on Wipeout is pretty awkward at first, but when you think about it, it feels just right for what the game is. Most of us are used to being stuck to the ground with tires and having a quick, direct feel to our steering controls. In Wipeout, the control feels more floaty. Well, that’s what you’re doing, floating. It took me an hour or so to get used to it, and once I did, I really liked how it handled, and was able to control my ship with a decent amount of ease. The more I practiced, the easier it became, and the more I liked it. The controls as a whole are simple, with a couple advanced tricks you can do to go faster, but not to the point where it goes overboard or becomes difficult and/or confusing.
The overall gameplay is excellent. The AI isn’t stupid by a long shot, and will try just as hard as you to get the edge in a race. The difficulty of the game is at a perfect level. Winning is difficult, but not overly difficult to where it’s ridiculous, and where you have to restart every race 15 times before you beat it, and getting the wins is rewarding. One of the biggest things that I like about this game that seems to be a rarity in the videogame world, is that the AI isn’t cheap. Everything that they can do to you, you can do right back to them with a little skill. I’ll be honest here, I’m the type of gamer who will get really tweaked at the AI in a game, and possibly bust her controller into tiny little pieces while screaming obscenities at her television. For some reason, I have a hard time getting overly agitated at the AI in this game. Oh sure, they’ve blasted me with missiles while I was leading the race, and planted bombs right in front of me when I was closely trailing an opponent, but likewise, I’ve done the same exact things to them. I more so get upset with my own performance than anything with this particular game, which is something that’s normal for me no matter what I’m playing anyway.
You can tell that the developers spent a lot of time on Wipeout Pure and weren’t about to release a half finished game. An interesting and nice touch to Wipeout Pure was how much they put into conveying the life of the “Wipeout world”. Just by looking at the galleries that you unlock in your progress menu by obtaining gold medals in races, you really get a feel for the environment of the game and what it might be like to live in it. There’s also a big back story to everything in the game and how it came to be at the official game website. (wipeoutpure.com) As finished as the game is in its normal state, this is also the place where a ton of extra downloadable content can be had, which can be saved onto your memory stick. A plethora of extra courses, a few extra ships, extra menu skins, and even extra music tracks are available here that all tack on a lot of extra hours you’re going to spend having fun with this game.
The Cons section of my reviews is usually the part I have the most fun writing. I’m really tough on my reviews and have a good time complaining about things I don’t like. I get to be a jerk and bash the developers for ruining a good concept of a game with poor execution, or for releasing a flat out dumb game, and I get to nitpick at everything. Well, I honestly don’t have any complaints about this game, which is something I don’t think I can say for any other game I’ve ever played, ever. There’s just something about this game that strikes a perfect vibe for me. That’s really all I can say about that. The closest thing I can come to a complaint, would be that, I believe it’s the first Classic Pack download, which contains the Goteki 45 ship and I think a couple extra courses at the official site appears to be broken. Though this isn’t much of a problem, as I’m sure if I scrounged around the intarweb a little bit, I would be able to find a working download from a secondary source.
There’s quite literally too much good about this game for me to discuss in this review. Unless you have some sort of phobia of videogames, this is worth your time. People who aren’t even casual racing fans should at least give it a rental opportunity. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna go cryogenically freeze myself until the year 2197.