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REVIEW: WipEout Pulse

By Michael Pugliese - February 27th, 2008

Developed by Sony Studio Liverpool and published by SCE for PSP.

One of the games I brought home with my sparkling new PSP system back in 2005 was WipEout Pure, the newest entry at the time to a highly-regarded series I had never played. It turns out that as an introduction to both the series and new handheld, I couldn’t have chosen a better title. It sported fantastic visuals, an awesome soundtrack, and great pick-up-and-play gaming that I kept going back to long after its release. Fast-forward to 2008 and a new WipEout game, WipEout Pulse. After many hours of playing this new installment I was happy to find some fantastic visuals, another awesome soundtrack, and most importantly great pick-up-and-play gaming that keeps me going back.

I am continuously surprised at the graphics that talented development teams like Studio Liverpool can squeeze out of Sony’s handheld. Everything about WipEout Pulse is stylish. From the menus to the vehicles and tracks, things are clean and crisp. Bright colours bring the 12 different tracks to life and really look as I imagine race tracks in 2207 may very well look like. What really is astonishing is the sense of speed portrayed during each one of the races, even in the slower speed classes. WipEout Pulse is definitely a title to be used for showcasing the PSP’s graphical prowess.

Accompanying the pretty pixels that move so quickly across the screen during each race, the soundtrack shines as another of Pulse’s high-points. Featuring bass-heavy techno, break beat, and house tracks from artists such as Aphex Twin, Loco Dice, Stanton Warriors, and Kraftwerk, the music perfectly sets the tone for the fast-paced futuristic action happening on screen.

The racetracks themselves are designed with only speed in mind, and speed is definitely a difficult thing to control at times. This isn’t a bad thing mind you, but some tracks will require a few attempts to make it through alive, let alone in a qualifying position. Controlling the ships through the many hairpin turns scattered throughout each level can be a daunting task, and often requires the player to memorize these trouble spots to make it through unscathed. I often found myself repeating a race once or twice before learning the track well enough to place well.

There are 12 tracks contained in this package, and often times in the early levels you’ll repeat the same one a few times before moving on. There are reverse versions of each track, but it would have been nice to have more variety, especially since each track is so well-designed. Fortunately this seems to be being addressed by way of downloadable content (download packs have already been made available to gamers in the UK).

Despite the small selection of tracks, there’s no shortage of things to do. As I mentioned, there are reverse versions of all levels to race over in many different modes. My favourite of these modes has to be the newly introduced Zone, which is essentially nothing more than doing as many laps as you can before your ship becomes a smoking wreckage. The catch? The track is broken up into zones, which after passing through have the effect of slightly speeding up your craft. It’s not a problem early on in the race, but quite quickly things will speed up to ridiculous levels, making it difficult to stay on track. For the truly hardcore, there are different medals to be won across the three difficulty levels. Make no mistake, there is a hefty challenge to be found in WipEout Pulse that is definitely not for the easily discouraged. A photo mode has been included to capture all your great victories (or failures in, my case), and allows you to take pictures at any point during a race for you to share.

To ensure no one is left out, a full suite of multiplayer modes has been included. Both online and ad-hoc infrastructures are available for you to get your race on in up to 8-player races. Setting up single races or a tournament was a breeze. Without much effort I was off to the races (literally!) and losing as only I could against some seasoned WipEout pros. I couldn’t even blame my humiliating performances on lag, as things ran very smoothly throughout my whole experience.

I was really looking forward to WipEout Pulse, and was far from disappointed. There is plenty to try and accomplish in this beautifully stylish look at futuristic racing. Gorgeous visuals, good tunes, and challenging gameplay can all be found here, and should be experienced by any racing fan into the whole anti-gravity thing. If nothing else, Pulse should prove to make us all better candidates for the high-speed racing to come in the year 2207. It looks like that may be just enough time for me to get good enough to put up a challenge. See you there!

Posted in PSP, Reviews |