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The origins of the WipEout franchise can be traced back to the mid-90s, and was developed by the same English studio that created the classic, Lemmings. Flash forward over a decade later and Psygnosis has since been dissolved into SCE’s Liverpool studio, but the WipEout name is still racing along. Following up Pure, one of the launch titles for the PSP, WipEout Pulse changes little to the overall formula, but will excite both fans and newcomers alike.
Like any good futuristic-based title, Pulse ditches our contemporary realization of racing on flat race courses with pit lanes, for races that take your craft upside-down and all around. Just like any other WipEout title, in the future, wheels and the act of simply racing to the finish are passé, as hover technology and weapons are at the pilot’s disposal.
Pulse doesn’t do much to vary from the launch title of a few years back, but this necessarily isn’t a bad thing. New tracks, a few new teams, and a couple of gameplay tweaks offer enough new content to keep things fresh and still very much addictive.
Broken up into 16 Grids, the Race Campaign is subdivided into varying amounts of events. As you progress through the Grids, the speed at which you race increases; making for an experience that does well to introduce newcomers to the style of gameplay. Veterans of the previous handheld game—and overall series—may feel a bit bored in the early stages, but as the events get faster, they become more challenging and more interesting with a few new event types.
There are your standard race types which return from the last game (Single Race, Zone, Tournament, and Time Trial), but to keep things new, a few events have been added: Speed Lap, Head-to-Head and Eliminator. Each new event offers exactly as the name suggests, with Eliminator making a return from the earlier WipEout 3. The Eliminator event really separates the gameplay between the two handheld titles, and offers a dynamic where the in-race weaponry takes center-stage. By shifting the attention from who can race faster, to who can take out the other racers quicker, Eliminator events are an enjoyable break between the white-knuckled race stages.
However, at the heart of the game is the racing aspect, and it’s as crazy as ever. Boost pads and weapon grids are spotted throughout courses, and are essential in winning races. For each race, and especially for multiplayer matches, it becomes paramount to memorize the locations of both on-course power-ups. There are a total of 12 tracks to memorize, but with reverse variations, that number technically doubles to 24. However, just like with Pure, downloadable content is scheduled to add additional courses to go backwards and forwards on.
Ultimately however, by simply switching the track the other way around, it feels more like a copout than anything else. Ideally, 12 other different tracks would have been preferred.
New tracks aren’t the only downloadable content available with Pulse. Like the previous game, additional teams will be available via the Playstation Store. Also, players are able to download user-created vehicle skins from the game’s site, as well as upload photos taken in-game with the new Photo Mode.
The Flash-based skin creator feels a little like using Paint and is fairly simplistic, but user-created content is always a welcomed functionality--especially when it’s as accessible as it is for Pulse. Also, with the new Photo Mode, being able to show off your art and send it to others is a fun, easy-to-use addition.
Photos also show just how great the game looks. Textures may be a little simple, but for a handheld game, everything pops with color and is a great showcase for the system’s power. Technically the game runs well, as even while zooming around races online with 7 other players, there is no noticeable lag; there are instances where frame rate will drop with a lot of weapons being deployed and explosions around, but they aren’t prevalent enough to interrupt gameplay.
Also, the soundtrack for the game is fits extremely well with all of its techno beats, but just incase you don’t dig the music, you can always supply your own from MP3s stored on your memory card. Aside from the soundtrack however, in-game audio is a little sparse and feels like something is missing—of course, not having revving engines may make for the more empty feeling.
Rounding out the new features is a loyalty system where points are awarded for completing races with teams to unlock new ship skins. It’s a nice replacement of the older medal system, and creates an incentive to hone your skills for a particular team. Although, with the ability to customize your own skins, unlocking additional skins feels moot.
Outside of the Race Campaign, you can take to the internet or play ad-hoc games where playing against other humans jacks up the strategy required to win races. Also, you can create your own Grids for a fully customized race experience.
Fundamentally, WipEout Pulse is nearly identical to the older Pure, but changes things up enough to keep things feeling fresh. The game really caters to fans of the series, but also is accessible enough for newcomers to the antigravity racer. Although it would have been nice to see a greater variance in track selections and teams, expansion packs ensure there to be a good amount of lifeblood for the title. By remaining a technically well functioning game, that’s colorful and entertaining to boot, there’s really no reason to miss out on this sequel.
Gameplay: 8.5
Graphics: 8.5
Audio: 8.5
Lasting Appeal: 8.5
Overall: 8.5
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