Gadgets Control

Wipeout Pulse is Sony’s latest lighter-than-air racing effort on the PlayStation Portable. The game is still about two weeks away from its official release date, but some near-finished review code showed up at my doorstep a few days ago. Read on to find out whether you should get in the anti-gravity race or stay off the track.

I first got a look at Wipeout Pulse back in December during Sony’s Spring 2008 Preview Event. At the time, there wasn’t much for me to say about the game, because I didn’t spend terribly long with it. But now that I’ve run through the game, I have a much better idea of what the series is about and how this game fits into it.

Graphically, Wipeout Pulse looks futuristic, and each part of the track glistens and sparkles more than the next. It’s not the most visually impressive game on the PSP, because many of the features that make it look good are repeated over and over again in the title. Still, it looks outstanding, and I don’t think anyone could fault Sony’s effort in this one. Even the load screens are awesome. Gamers will most appreciate how smooth the framerate is.

Considering how good the game looks, the sound is nothing special. Actually, I’d say that the techno vibe is repetitive and frustrating. I know not to expect the vroom of the engine exactly, but I’d like something more than ootis-ootis with the occasional donk when my vehicles smashes into one of the sides. Actually, much more than occasional, while I was getting used to the Airbrake. Luckily, those with discriminating musical tastes can play your own MP3s if you have any loaded onto a memory stick.

The main thing to focus on in Wipeout Pulse is the racing itself, and in this area, the game is a major success. The controls are pick-up-and-play easy, and it’s fun gliding around the twisting, shiny maps. You hover through the courses, and as you drive through lit-up gates on the track, you hit speed powerups and get to use different weapons. There’s a special magnet feature, which keeps the racers on the track even through out-of-this-world loops that would ordinarily see the vehicles flying off the course. Rollercoaster-like pretty much sums it up.

You’re going to need some serious skills for this title, because it’s challenging even on Easy. Hairpin turns force you to quickly become an Airbrake master. I expected it to be tougher with enemies shooting things at me, but I still had trouble even in the Time Trial mode.

I didn’t get a chance to mess around in the multi-player modes, but if the robust single-player mode is any indication, then there’s nothing to fear.

A couple things bothered me about this otherwise excellent title. There are loyalty bonuses for using the same vehicle over and over again, which basically takes care of any desire for me to experiment with other cars. I also question the inclusion of track descriptions in this mostly word-free title. They’re basically written in gibberish, as far as I can tell.

All told, Wipeout Pulse is a solid racing game, through and through. I would have liked it to have been a little easier, but I understand why it’s not. This series has been out for awhile, and it had to be a step up from the Wipeout that was one of the first PSP titles to come out. 3… 2… 1… GO!!!

Tags: camera, Gadget, cameras, DAB

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