The prestigious WipEout series began on the PS1, where Sony had just started its Playstation era. It made quite some noise and wowed the crowds with excellent visuals, sound and futuristic racing gameplay. It was a real showcase for Sony's powerful gray box. The series didn't have the best showing on the PS2, but made a come back with the great PSP games- Pulse and Pure.
HD is Sony Liverpool's latest effort with the series, and it's the debut WipEout game for the PS3. Opting for a downloadable method of distribution (as is becoming increasingly popular these days), HD combines tracks and modes from the PSP games and rolls them into one attractive package. And when I say attractive, I mean it. This beauty runs at no less than 1980x1080p at the much coveted 60fps operation. And it looks stunning with no noticeable framerate or screen-tearing issues, and the loading times are short. And to take snapshots of all this awesomeness, there's an elaborate photo mode- pause the game, play around with exposure and saturation bars and get a cool picture to save on your HDD and use as a wallpaper. So it's very well polished in the presentation department, but what about gameplay?
Well it feels like WipEout really- intense speed, explosive weapons and more tactics than any racing game around. Air-braking and sideshifting feature, both are easy to learn, but difficult to master. You can also barrel roll in the air to give you a speed boost, but it depletes ship energy so use it wisely. Barrel-rolling illustrates the incredible tactical depth in WipEout (for a racing game), and along with the ability to absorb pickups to replenish ship energy- the game really forces you to think to win races.
8 tracks feature (all reversible), and most are painfully difficult when you start out. Cornering on the narrow speedways can get frustrating. This is where the auto-pilot feature comes in. It keeps your ship away from walls so you don't crash as much, and help you with cornering. It's a little too restrictive though and you shouldn't use it for more than a couple races to learn the controls properly, before turning it off and enjoying the game's intricacies.
The 5.1 techno soundtrack accompanies the game well, but if you have something against it, you can use your own playlists instead as the game supports custom soundtracks. Using different music can really change the experience of a game like WipEout.
8-player online races are in, and they work beatifully. You can go for a single race, or set up mutli-race tournaments. There's no lag and minimal server disconnects. If online is not your cup of tea, but you still want to face off against friends- there's two-player splitscreen like in the old days.
Trophies are in too, including a mega-level boosting platinum trophy. Good luck trying to get it though, as some trophies are seemingly impossible like the Zone Zeus trophy, which requires you to complete 75 zones in a single round.
Speaking of Zone mode, it's brilliant. Seriously, this is Rez-level trippy and looks stunning with the 1080p visuals. But it's devilishly difficult, much like the rest of the game. Also featured are speed lap and time trial modes, both will punish you for a single teeny mistake.
Gripes? Well the pilot assist makes the game more accessible, but considerably more boring, so turn it off. The difficulty could be a little much for non-fans or casual gamers in general. And it would be nice to have 1 or 2 original, all-new tracks. Although I'm sure there will be some via the magic of DLC.
Enough, the game is £11.99 ($20.00), has 1080p 60fps visuals and more features than you can shake an AG Systems ship at.... go buy it now and savor the best game on the PSN to date.
Will we ever see more of Sony’s futuristic racing franchise?
I would absolutely LOVE a motorstorm collection. All 5 games in one package.
Motorstorm
Motorstorm Pacific Rift (my favorite)
Motorstorm Apocalypse
Motorstorm Arctic Edge
Motorstorm RC
Ya that would be awesome but highly unlikely, it’s a little messed up while Driveclub started out lousy all the server and updates ended up making one fabulous racer. Developer was able to turn around Days Gone into a pretty good game not sure why Driveclub did not get that chance also
Even better question, what happen to Twisted Metal?
So many great exclusives that I hope Sony bring back for the PS5.
Why get a motorstorm collection that will look like ass when we can get a new installment properly developed that will have brand new maps, vehicles and mechanics as well as legacy ones.
wow imagine if they did a motorstorm with VR compatible like wipeout! Would be insane! With all the dirt and mud flying in all directions and looking to the side or any direction to see the other competitiors while racing around the track and the sense of speed when you decide to hit the nitros! They got to do this!
I should have stated that I already know Evolution was shut down. Despite that, Sony could give the IP to another studio if they wanted. I realize that Apocalypse didn't sell very well, but that was due to circumstances beyond Evolution's control. I feel like Evo should have at least started this gen off with a Motorstorm series remaster before they went on to Driveclub to help get their feet wet with the new hardware. Might have helped them be better prepared in creating Driveclub.
What happened to Wipeout is that the games only logical and natural evolution involves VR. Which Sony has already introduced to test out people’s reaction. If enough people are actually interested, then we will get the next Wipeout. Otherwise I think there are a lot of people out there who remember the franchise fondly, but wouldnt be will to fork out full price for it. Lets see if Wipeout VR will turn the franchise into its glory days when the fast paced racer was a unique offering.
Simple really. Nothing happened to it except time.
The first PSVR experience I had that made me feel dizzy and nauseous, I was pretty gutted about it because it looked amazing and very immersive.
Not everyone needs to care. Not everyone cared about games either. But here we are.
I would love a new Ridge Racer, but the series has fallen off the earth somehow.
Wipeout is in great shape, finally released in VR, the way it was meant to be played.
They also shut down that studio and most of them went to Codemasters that made Onrush which sold horribly.
Aww man, what about the Twisted Metal and Warhawk devs? Are they still around?
I miss Motorstorm too. I miss cinematic racers in general. Split Second, Motorstorm Apocalypse, even NFS the Run. Racing with earthquakes, avalanches, tsunamis, police, bombs etc was thrilling. No everything is a boring sim/semi sim. We ain't allowed fun with racers anymore
Driveclub Developer Evolution shut down because Driveclub didn't make them money.
They were planning on supporting Driveclub while also working on a new Motorstorm. That got scrapped after DCVR update released and the chopping axe came down on the studio.
They went on to become a Codemasters's subsidiary called "Evo"and put out Onrush, which was a spiritual successor to Motorstorm. But it sold horribly and Codemasters shuttered Evo for good.
Bad management from the get go of The PS4 generation. Lead to a great team being liquidated. :(
Have you got a point or is it just a wee trolling session mate?
Just a little bit of trolling, but in all honesty I do love these games and it is a shame they aren't around anymore.
Personally didnt like wipeout, just couldn't get into it, I'm sure if there is a demand a new one will be made, who knows what they have planned.
I loved the collection that recently came out and then coupled that with some PSVR support made it even better.
Glad you enjoyed it man, I hope they make another for the fans, nothing worse than really wanting a game that isn't coming.
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Replies(1)DSOGaming writes: "It appears that the best Playstation 3 emulator that is currently under development, RPCS3, received a new update recently. kd-11 has implemented new Surface Cache fixes to RPCS3 that reportedly improve the appearance of car reflections in Gran Turismo 6, and fix various graphics glitches in other games."
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If someone out there in internet land could make a decent PS3 emulator imagine what Sony could actually do if they put the time and effort in to make this happen for their next console?
It's definitely not impossible as we can see here. It should definitely be done since BC seems to be very important to Sony this next gen. Imagine PS+ free game offerings from Sony that could include the whole catalog from the PS console family..fantastic.
Why waste time and money on it? Some people want to move forward, not go back.
It's not a deal breaker but having the feature would be amazing. I would rather have it than not have it.
Not everyone feels that way and if Sony is making an issue of supporting PS4 games for PS5 why not support their other past games for people who still have them or a means to buy them and play them.
You literally just said some people. So I'd imagine you can comprehend that there's a larger subset of people not in that same "some" group. PlayStation used to be known for backward compatibility. Xbox made a big deal about support for their entire catalog. What's the issue with PlayStation, who has an even more substantial history in gaming, tapping into that market? We don't have this problem on PC. It's only a good thing for consumers to be able to bring their games with them through generations on console.
@kwietstorm
Yes, I said some people. What I said was MY opinion. I'm one of those people that couldn't care less about bc, but im not saying ALL people don't care about it. I think they should spend that time and energy for future features and games, but like I said, that's only my opinion.
Not every body trows their games way every time the new gen cames along, and everybody that likes games like to be able to play their favorite games in the best possible way.
PS: Retrocompatability is the most requested feature in Sony Foruns, even Sony said so.
The question is would the return on investment be worthwhile? Are the number of additional consoles PS3 BC would push be enough to justify the cost of developing the emulation (and it would have to be bullet proof)? I like the idea of having it, but for my part not having it won't effect my purchase decision.
You are asking the right question but the wrong way. For me, the addition of PS3 BC would add value as a customer and make it even more likely for me to buy a PS5. If it is valuable to the customer it is valuable to them.
Also, the way they are doing it would be way cheaper than a program like Microsoft had. The are emulating the hardware. Not the software.
"The question is would the return on investment be worthwhile?"
Sony could definitely make some extra profit selling PS3 games through their marketplace (the same way they have their other classics available). It's not about whether or not it will effect anyone's purchase decision, it definitely didn't do so for the PS4. But as others have expressed, it would be a nice addition to have for PS5 if Sony could open up their whole library digitally and physically to users.
Racing games should be some of the easiest to emulate and they're still not hitting 60fps with it, to say nothing of image flickering and occasional sound issues.
Still gonna be a bit yet before they have it fully up and running, it seems, and even then it may only work for part of the library. :/
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Is it possible to have PS3 emulation on PS5?yes depending on what kind of power it really has.
An i7 9700k is no slouch and the PS4 already has a God of War 3 running much better with less
power required because they converted CBE to X86 which is not something you want to be doing in the long run.
What power would be required to play these games emulated at said PS4 version?.
It's not an easy situation Sony themselves created and ultimately I believe they are happy this way because they
want you to use PSNow,that service is why you will not even get it. (let's not forget that it was a huge investment)
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Alongside the death of the Killzone 2 and Killzone 3 servers, Sony will be shutting down the online services of three WipEout Games in 2018 for PS3 and Vita.
How's this even possible? I thought Sony didn't have dedicated servers according to a certain crowd?
LOL are you somehow trying to blame Xbox fans for this or what? Sony didn't have dedicated servers?
Yeah we blame Xbox fans for Sony not having dedicated servers.
In the future we will also blame them for cancer.
/s.
LOL, what is there to shutdown? Is Sony going around people's homes to shutdown the peer to peer hosted games?
Seems you do have issues with understanding...
The matchmaking software side of things, genius. Matchmaking servers can and have been shut down before, leaving you with no functional multiplayer.
Try researching next time before posting nonsense.
Well, genius, Killzone has actual dedicated servers, not just matchmaking ones. So before calling someone out on doing research, why don't you?
Damn even the Vita gets hit?
Reminds me of the 6th console gen when tons of servers for awesome games got shut down anywhere from 2 to 4 years after they initially launched.
Better enjoy whatever games' online components you can while you can before they get wiped out of existence.
wish they'd rerelease White Knight Chronicles 2 on PS4 so I can play online again. That game was amazing
Wait! Sony exclusive games had dedicated servers?
Killzone 2 and 3 and now WipEout!
We know Resistance 1-3 had dedicated servers as well as GT 5-6 and MAG and Uncharted 2 and 3 and ao on and so forth.
As far as I know non-dedicated servers cannot be shutdown on Sony platforms until Sony stops hosting the game services on the platform. So when Sony stops supporting matchmaking via PSN on PS3 then those games without dedicated servers will be shut down... I did my research UKRsoldja
Good review, mirrors my thoughts, except I think it's easier than everyone makes it out to be (there's no way I'd ever lose a race on the slowest speed at the lowest difficulty, even with pilot assist turned off). Of course the highest difficulties (like phantom class with elite difficulty) are insanely difficult.
There is voice chat. It doesn't work though. But then, I've never got voice chat to work in any games so that's probably not a wipeout issue.
Man my head is gonna explode, so much wipeout today... I'm pretty addicted, the only bad things about wipeout HD is the noob pilot assist. Nothing really new if you played the PS1 wipeouts that i love
Press and hold L1 (default) and speak at will.
If its working, a little symbol will appear right next to your name. Me and some guys from my clan get some game freezes when we use the mic every once in a while though.
Nice review btw, WipEout is amazing!
not to mention that most times your up against some dudes on the others side of the world.
great review hey hey. Do some more, you inspire me to try my hand at this.
but I must admit I love & appreciate everything ps3 & can find beauty in the ugliest beast.
I'm thinking about a eye of judgement review. Wish me luck.