WipEout HD

[Cigol]

Well it was (finally) released today on PSN for the princely sum of ~ £11.99/$20 and from what (little) I've played so far it's an enjoyable and nostalgic trip back to the nineties with better graphics and stuff. I can easily recommend it to those with a passing affection for the original.

It feels fresh despite the obvious similarities and a quick bash in multiplayer was promising if also a little demoralizing, as I had forgot getting ahead of the pack usually results in several missiles up your arse. Motion controls are workable but probably too much like hard work in the long run, and best left to just pitching (up & down). I really like the clean interface and superfluous options like the photo mode are surprisingly fun to fiddle with too.

Ignoring the difficulty of navigating the tracks at speed it's a very pick up and play sort of game with fast loading times and no complications. Trophies, multiplayer and online leaderboards (which automatically filter out and display your friends times) mean it has some grinding potential too. It's worth bearing in mind however that it apparently borrows a fair bit of content from a couple of PSP spin-offs I've never played, still for a tenner you can't really complain.

Well technically I suppose a certain someone could, and I can also imagine the frustration he'd feel playing this so I'm going to pre-empt it and put in a Toblix Complains tag just to be safe.

[n0wak]

I'd love to play it but, for now, have to settle for WipeOut Pulse (which is quite good). But all the tracks in HD are old tracks in high res, right? Aren't a lot of the ones from the PSP games? There's some good tracks in those games but I'm curious as to how they translate to high-definition.

[Cigol]

That's my understanding. They look great on the PS3 so either it's good track design combined with high-resolution textures or they've taken those track layouts and tweaked & improved them for the new version... or both. I wouldn't know because I've never played the PSP games

I think I've read they will be releasing add-on tracks in the future so hopefully they are original designs. I wouldn't mind some non-generic track layouts either, especially with its multiplayer capabilities.

[Ben]

Motion controls are workable but probably too much like hard work in the long run, and best left to just pitching (up & down).

Yeah, motion control is worth it and in the long term it's definitely the way to go.

[Nachimir]

Yeah, motion control is worth it and in the long term it's definitely the way to go.

Was I supposed to laugh? Because I did...

Really looking forward to trying this out. 2097 through my stereo used to be my fave on the PS1, and have a much better setup nowadays

[Ben]

Was I supposed to laugh? Because I did...

Heh, depends how you interpreted it I suppose. I was speaking in terms of WipEout HD only, not motion controls in general, if that makes the comment any less hilarious to you. If not, well... keep an open mind .

I've been playing the game for quite a while, and though it seems difficult at first the motion controls are a really good control method for this game in terms of the subtlety of control afforded. I think if you've played the original a lot and become used to controlling the craft with the d-pad it will be hard to move away from that, as it was for me.

[Cigol]

It is a very good implementation of the sixaxis motion control, and it can also run in tandem with the traditional controls so I'll be sure to give it a try at some point. What sensitivity do you have yours set at though?

I should say I had my second ever PS3 crash playing this. Launched into a multiplayer game, got onto the starting grid and found I had to (surprisingly) hard-reset the machine as it had locked up. The only ever time it's done that in the past was with... World Championship Snooker.

Hopefully just one of those things.

I've been playing the game for quite a while

Indeed. You've also been playing some Japanese game with trophies, what is that?

[Nappi]

Haven't played a Wipeout game since 2097 so I decided to give this one a go. The game looks very neat (full hd monitor, but only 24 inches) and the gameplay is quite fun. I hope it's just a lack of practice, but the game proved to be quite difficult. I already have problems with some of the events in the third cup thingy. In a way, it's quite refreshing to actually have some challenge, though.

There doesn't seem to be a whole lot of tracks to unlock so hopefully the content updates won't be too expensive.

Also, I just got a 2097 style hud - cool.

And BTW, in case you haven't noticed, some guys at NeoGAF have made a custom soundtrack for the game. Haven't tried it out yet, so I don't know if it's any good.

Edited September 26, 2008 by Nappi

[Nachimir]

Heh, depends how you interpreted it I suppose. I was speaking in terms of WipEout HD only, not motion controls in general, if that makes the comment any less hilarious to you. If not, well... keep an open mind .

It is a very good implementation of the sixaxis motion control, and it can also run in tandem with the traditional controls so I'll be sure to give it a try at some point.

I'm pleasantly surprised, and looking forward to this even more now. I can see how it would work, but still have reviews of Lair echoing in my head.

[Cigol]

Had a second crashed PS3 with this earlier today. Something isn't right - and I don't have anywhere near 50 people on my friend list so that isn't the problem (which has been suggested elsewhere)

[Scrobbs]

I started playing this again last night - it had been languishing since I bought warhammer, but after a stinging comment from my g/f, ("Since you bought that bloody warhammer, you haven't touched wipeout...and you went on about it for months and months...").

The playing hiatus has somehow made me better...whether the reflexes to deal with the sheer speed have matured while not playing or what...I'm not sure...but I'm beating gold times by 2-3 seconds, when previously I could only get bronze.

Still, superb game, and I'm glad I've picked it up again. 3 points from unlocking Speed Freak...

[miffy495]

Bought it. Played it for a bit.

...don't get it. Why is this game such a big deal? To me it feels like they took some of the speed out of F Zero and added slightly dodgier controls. I'll probably give it another go sooner or later, but my impressions after finishing the first cup (grid? hex thing? whatever) were mostly of confusion. Can anyone give me some reasons to get more pumped about this game?

[Thrik]

WipEout HD starts on the lowest of four speed levels, the last of which is literally two or three times the speed of the first. WipEout always has been and still is the most mental racing game, to the point where I just can't play it on the fastest — it's too much.

I believe you can skip to the highest levels (or any between) by using multiplayer or the quick race thing.

As far as the game's appeal, what's not to get? It's classic WipEout:

1. Insanely fast racing
   
2. Mario Kart-esque weapons
   
3. Great multiplayer
   

For like £12 it delivers excellent value. If it's not your thing, I guess that's OK.

[Cigol]

I've not played it much recently either, partly because I'm playing some sports titles (online) but mainly because of the crashing that occurs occasionally and requires a hard reset. Have they even got around to patching that yet - I've not heard anything.

It's a good game, especially considering how much it costs, and I personally enjoyed the singleplayer - it would have been easy to have omitted that campaign mode and got away with it. Maybe an appreciation for the original helps but I think you just have to perservere - are you actually playing the game, or just 'fudging it' (for lack of a better expression ).

[miffy495]

I'm not sure what you mean by fudging it?

[Nappi]

Have they even got around to patching that yet - I've not heard anything.

http://www.ps3fanboy.com/2008/10/10/euro-wipeout-hd-patch-fixes-freezing-for-popular-players/

I can't believe that you actually have to delete your save file. Seems pretty ridiculous.

EDIT: Nevermind.. Apparently if you have the freezing problem, the save file might be corrupted.

[Cigol]

http://www.ps3fanboy.com/2008/10/10/euro-wipeout-hd-patch-fixes-freezing-for-popular-players/

I can't believe that you actually have to delete your save file. Seems pretty ridiculous.

EDIT: Nevermind.. Apparently if you have the freezing problem, the save file might be corrupted.

Damn, I didn't enjoy the singleplayer that much Mind you, I hadn't played it since the crashes started so it won't affect me.

I'm not sure what you mean by fudging it?

Did you put your heart into it, give it the time of day, or did you just fumble your way through a couple of laps and think this isn't for me and hard-wired your brain to hitting the reset button.

[miffy495]

Like I said, I went through the entire first cup. I'd say that's a fair shake. Something like 9 races or so.

[Cigol]

I went through the entire first level of Deus Ex and thought it was rubbish. It wasn't until some years later when I borrowed it from a friend that wouldn't stop harping on about it that I quickly changed my mind and now thought it was the best game I'd ever played As another example, many pirates download a lot of games but have a lessened sense of appreciation because they didn't go to the trouble of buying it.

...still I'm not going to force you to enjoy the game. That would be difficult

You hate Wipeout, and by extension me. I get it.

[miffy495]

Brace yourselves.

I WAS WRONG.

Yeah, so Thanksgiving weekend with the family, I has the PS3 over and was playing GT5 with my mum's boyfriend. We played for a while, but wanted to try something else out so I busted out WipEout. Fun times. This lead to me playing a ton more when I got home that evening, now finished the first 3 cups, with almost all gold medals. Really addictive and fun. Just had to get a feel for it. You win, Cigol. This is in fact a really rad game.

[Scrobbs]

Yay! That's great news! It gets pretty hard pretty quickly though...some of the speed laps, not only do you have to hit every speed pad, but you have to get racing line AND barrel roll whenever possible to get gold.

It makes you sit there until you do it though, the mark of a great game

[Thrik]

I have to say, it's really good at keeping you hooked. I've never seen myself as much of a 'keep trying until you do it' kind of player when it comes to arcade-like games such as this, but I've tried some of the races in WipEOut so many times it's beyond belief.

One tip I learnt during my blood and sweat is that you should definitely experiment with the vehicles. I initially thought there wouldn't be much in them and just stuck with one I had at the beginning, but after examining the stats and choosing one more appropriate to my playing style I suddenly found myself smashing through first/second in some races I was stuck on rather than seventh/eighth.

[miffy495]

Yeah, I found that after switching from whatever I was using to the Assegai ship I went from struggling and fighting to get bronzes to getting at least a silver each time. Of course, this means that my girlfriend chuckles at me every time the TV speakers blurt out "Assy guy!" but some sacrifices must be made.

[Scrobbs]

I'm an Icarus pilot most of the time. Its as fast as the Pirahna, but handles nearly as well as the Assegai. Accelerates poorly though.

[n0wak]

Man, I've been able to get in on this now that I'm back home (blarggh) and own a Playstation 3, finally. It's completely awesome. Unfortunately, apart from the 1080p resolution, I've seen it all before as I played WipeOut Pure and Pulse quite a bit. Still, for $20 I can't complain.

Although that "Beat Zico" trophy... :frusty: