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| Source // MobyGames |
When last we saw Wipeout, I said it was awesome and it'd only get better. At the times, others might have argued that the series only appearing on the PlayStation Portable was a sign that it had run its course. Yes, it was technically impressive, but it was lost on a handheld that wasn't bought in huge numbers and showed little sign of life on the consoles it belonged on.
And then an HD blend of Pulse and Pure for the PlayStation 3 was announced, a cheap little download that promised improved visuals and buttery smooth gameplay, and as a fan, you know I bought Wipeout HD in an instant.
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| Source // MobyGames |
Fun Times
Wipeout HD is a no-nonsense game. Released digitally at first, it wasn't a sprawling racer that took you to multiple different countries and dumped hundreds of cars into your lap, but a focused and refined retelling, of sorts, of the PSP games.
A handful of tracks and game modes, a bunch of ships and teams you may well be familiar with, and a progression system that is identical to that of Pulse before it - a hex grid of possible events waiting for you to find a medal in.
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| Source // MobyGames |
The difference, of course, is that instead of awkwardly holding a handheld for long periods, you can sit back and enjoy the high definition imagery screaming into your eyeballs at 60 frames per second using technological tricks that take place quicker than the blistering speeds at which your craft race down and around the tracks.
The controls are the same as always as you zoom over speed pads for a quick burst of forward momentum, and weapon pads for another brief auto-pilot you don't ever use, and that all assumes you've managed to fly over the pads directly, which I continue to find ways to not manage.
My Wipeout knowledge isn't as exhaustive as it could be, but I think the barrel roll is new, where you can roll in the air to reward yourself with a burst of speed upon a successful landing, at the cost of some shields. It's not even technically a barrel roll, but you all know what I mean.
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| Source // MobyGames |
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| Source // MobyGames |
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| Source // Wikipedia |
The Zone mode may impress the most, the tracks replaced by colours you just don't see in racing games, perhaps even in video games in general, as your mastery of the airbrakes is tested over infinite laps that get faster and faster and faster.
When the right music hits and you zone out, gliding through these tracks can be mesmerizing, and probably a cause for concern for opticians. But who cares? Grind out that loyalty for Feisar however you please, online or off, in straight races or circuit-centric dogfights.
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| Source // MobyGames |
Critics can argue that Wipeout HD doesn't really do anything new, you'll know what you're in for if you've played any Wipeout game before, but few can argue with how flawlessly it works under the hood to provide an absolutely lovely looking futuristic racer.
Just under a year after release, Wipeout HD Fury was unleashed, practically doubling the amount of stuff to do and giving the menus a slick fiery retheme to boot. It was, again, an instant purchase. It didn't have to revolutionise racing, it just had to keep looking - and sounding - cool.
Final Word
For whatever reason, presumably related to PlayStation Plus subscriptions, but possibly because of simply deleting them, I've no save data for Wipeout HD on my PS3. On the one hand, it allows me to start things all over again, unlocking races and racecraft in the HD and Fury campaigns, or to just kick back and enter a race of my choosing for some Wipeout fun.
On the other hand, this small problem allows me to look left, and see not only a model of a Feisar FX350 sitting atop my PC speaker, but a boxed copy of Wipeout Omega Collection, a PlayStation 4 remastering of Wipeout HD, and Fury, and PlayStation Vita title Wipeout 2048, and eventually VR support.
As if sitting in front of Wipeout HD for long periods wasn't damaging to my eyeballs enough, now I can strap myself into a virtual cockpit and fly through futuristic cities faster than the speed of sound, shooting rockets and leech beams at my opponents.
If you recall, I decided to not play Rez HD but Rez Infinite instead, knowing that the developer thought it better to experience it in VR than not. I would definitely have done the same thing with Wipeout HD had I read a similar statement somewhere, but I'm not aware of one. But let's face it, VR Wipeout is really bloody cool. 'I might have my evening sorted already' kinda cool.
If you can't find yourself a PSVR for Wipeout Omega Collection, though, you can still enjoy the glorious visuals in Wipeout HD. It's been great to go through video game history to see all these graphical leaps, and Wipeout HD still impressed me, despite knowing it somehow gets even better in the now 13 years since its release.
Yes, it's 'just' a racing game, it doesn't offer tons of content, but as a cheap delight, a budget knock out punch to show how capable your console is, Wipeout HD is fantastic.
Fun Facts
Unlike a certain futuristic bug-ridden RPG that everyone and their dog was hyped about in 2020, Wipeout HD actually failed an epilepsy test before it was released onto unsuspecting members of the public.
Wipeout HD, developed by Studio Liverpool, first released in 2008.
Version played: Wipeout HD Fury, PS3, also via memory.