WipEout HD Hands-on Preview

Sony’s benchmark racing game Wipeout has a significance to gamers that is still felt today by players who rarely even go near a racing game. It is credited, along with the original PlayStation console for which it was a launch title, with making gaming something over-18s could do without feeling they were wasting their time playing with toys for children. Of course adults played the odd game before Wipeout, but with its pounding dance music soundtrack and intense club-land visuals, it spoke to a new kind of gamer who could proudly return to their childhood obsession, and many of us are still playing with the same passion today.

The poster boy of PlayStation culture is back, this time as a PSN download, and though there are plenty of humble but well-considered new features, the real emphasis this time around is on the technical quality of the new Wipeout; a game that wowed gamers when it first appeared on the scene some 12 years ago.

For the first time, Wipeout runs at 60 frames per second in full 1080p on a Full HD TV and, viewed in the right settings, it certainly looks very nice indeed. Of course, sleek, angular hover ships cruising through streets overshadowed by clean, smooth buildings from the future are easy to make look good on a modern games console. Indeed, the landscapes you pass are largely influenced by years of futuristic graphics, meaning they are almost designed by games rather than for, but still Wipeout HD impresses.

Much of the eye-catching style has good design to thank as much as technical prowess on the developer’s behalf, but everything from the lighting to the textures are superb, even in the early preview code provided. The tracks themselves will be familiar, as they are all taken from previous editions of the long-running series, though their reworking is clear, meaning for aficionados Wipeout HD will be a real treat.

There are also new elements to the tracks, such as the new mag-strip device that locks your vehicle briefly to a path, making things a little easier. Yet for those concerned about a dumbed-down version of their favourite futuristic racer there is no need to worry, as Wipeout HD is as testing as ever. Despite the fantastical setting, the driving models for the various ships are fairly well-developed, leaving a game that is anything but pick-up-and-play. Instead, it takes some time to click into Wipeout’s rhythm, though once you have; again it is a wonderful experience.

As of yet the Sixaxis control is not available to try, and while there have been several noteworthy examples of poor motion sensitive control on the PlayStation 3 in recent months, it does seem a natural fit with Wipeout’s loose, floating feel, though for now, the input technique’s functionality is pure speculation.

Other original additions to the game include three new weapons, a new pack-based AI system, and the option to customise race rules to make a Wipeout with a feel of its own. Of most interest, though, will be the new online multiplayer elements, which thankfully are substantial. Allowing for eight-player races in single race, tournament, elimination and team vs. team modes, the online elements of the game will also be supported by a web-based community tool. The as yet unnamed site allows players to upload and share profiles, stats and information, and download new content for the game, which should mean skins, and hopefully new tracks.

For now, this evolution of a classic is looking like it will offer PSN customers real value for money, in a game with the visual splendour of a full price title and the proven gameplay of a classic series. It might not be revolutionary, but a new injection of high-end gaming will do PSN no harm at all.