WipeOut Pulse - Review

Gameplay:
Well it’s been a good couple of years since Wipeout: Pure was released on the PSP and it has finally come time for a sequel. Wipeout: Pulse is more than just a fine follow up for the franchise, it actually offers up a superior challenge to Pure. In Wipeout: Pure the AI opponents just raced around the track and didn’t appear to be too aggressive, but this has changed for Wipeout: Pulse.

In Pulse the opponents want you dead and will do their best to accomplish their goal. It’s like racing around with a bunch of T-1000’s on your tail. In one race I dodged a couple of rocket attacks only to get nailed by a Quake attack which put my health at almost nothing after the second lap. Right after I crossed that line they sent a rocket down my tailpipe. After watching my vehicle erupt in a plume of smoke I shouted out, “these f**ker’s don’t mess around!”

Because of this added aggression it makes every race nail biting. You start wondering will I survive this lap or will I fall to the wayside. The mechanics of Wipeout are still at its core the same as it’s always been. This may be a turn off to long time fans, or it may not be because something about it has kept them fans of the franchise.

If you’re new to the Wipeout franchise it’s known for fast paced anti-grav racing. Though it can definitely be likened to the F-Zero franchise it changes it up by offering weapon power ups. What I’ve noticed is that the balance is seems to be on the side of the computer. I say this because there are times when you are constantly under attack. Whether you’re getting rammed or getting a rocket shoved up your exhaust you’re always the victim. It’s not foreign to have your lead stolen from you by the over aggressive AI. Since when you’re hit your speed drops it kind of infuriates you to get attacked 5-15 seconds before a race ends (I am not exaggerating either). It also feels like the computer actually gets more attack items than you do. For the most part I get a shield or turbo more than I get Quake and rockets. Also the computer will throw a bomb or a minefield on every lap.

Since the game warns you (sometimes too late) about a mine or bomb it will be quite common for you to hear, “bomb, bomb, mine, quake, rocket, rocket, mine, mine, mine, mine” within the span of 20 seconds (yes there were times where it got that bad). I think during one of the worst high-speed deathmatchs I went from about 89% shields to energy critical in the blink of an eye. Also in my biggest “WTF” moment I had two bombs waiting for me at the finish line. When you actually get power ups you have to use them strategically at times. You can either use it to slow up the opponent or opponents in front of you; or you can hold on to it to replenish your shields to continue the race. To somebody new to the franchise that decision can sometimes cost you the race by either using it at the wrong time or by not using something to replenish your shields.

How long your shields last depend on two things, your skill and the aggressiveness of the AI. It’s not uncommon to just pinball off the walls for two minutes or fly off of an unwalled section of track. The game revolves around track memorization and quick reflexes. There are several times where you will feel like that turn just came out of nowhere and you have to slam on the air brake hard to take that turn. After a couple of moments like this you know to anticipate the turn. Also every car (I have no clue what the technical name is for these things) handles a track differently. At first I stayed true to one vehicle, but then later I discovered that this other one became more advantageous on this other track. At first I stuck with the AG Systems, but later on I started using the Assegai vehicle, but every now and then I switch to the Feisar. All of them handle a track differently and sometimes the differences are beneficial, so it pays off to actually experiment instead of religiously just using one.

Though there is an incentive with sticking with one vehicle. There are loyalty points for using a vehicle; the more you use a vehicle the more these rack up. By earning more loyalty points you’re awarded with different vehicle skins. Though I must admit it takes far too long to actually just fill up one bar (it’s about 3600 per bar) and there are about sixteen to twenty something bars per vehicle.

Pulse didn’t stray too far from Pure, but the game is still entertaining and fresh enough to warrant a pickup. I must say though that the tracks are a lot nicer than Pure’s, but there still aren’t enough of them. Over time you’ll notice that you tend to race the same tracks over and over again and it gets a little repetitive and that’s even with the mirror tracks.

Animation / Graphics:
The track design is pretty stellar and the vehicles are pretty detailed for a PSP game. You will hit the brakes and see the flaps shoot up. I will admit that the vehicles look better than they did in Pure, since the first game was pretty nice looking three years ago it’s nice to see that they cared enough too overhaul the graphics. The tracks seem to have more of a metropolitan theme than they did in the last game. There are a lot of tracks that are pure eye candy. Shooting through the vertical loops while watching the opponents decimate each other is a blast. And what really helps the experience is the smooth frame rate.

Music:
The Wipeout soundtracks have always been techno infused and they are always enjoyable. I can kind of imagine some this music being used at a rave or something. Because just hearing it made me want to get some glow sticks and drop some LSD (not condoning drug use). Aside from the pulsating techno beats hearing a Quake weapon rip through the track and hit your opponents is devastating, the sound of thruster fire is great too. The only thing that kind of got on my nerves was the voice of the announcer that gives you track details at the beginning of each race. Since I’m able to skip it I’m not going to nitpick over it.

Replay:
Unlocking each of the 16 grids should take some time and if you ever get bored with that you can always play the game online. The game supports Infrastructure so you don’t have to worry about knowing other people with the game. Given the fact that Pure was supported with a good amount of downloadable content it’s only a matter of time before one is released for Pulse. You can also make your own vehicle skins so if you’re pretty talented you can mess around with that as well.

Overall:
There’s no better way to make time fly during a commute than Wipeout: Pulse. It offers a great sense of speed and its reflex heavy and nail biting and brutal racing is great. At times with the onscreen carnage is just daunting, but that’s what makes it entertaining and challenging. SCEE didn’t try to re-invent the wheel, but if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.