Gaming Target - PlayStation 2: Wipeout Fusion

Written by Adam Woolcott on July 19, 2002

Full Review: ContenderЕEliminatedЕ

Early adopters to the PlayStation back in 1995 are sure to remember one of the earliest games to display the promise of the console (as well as the humorous/sick magazine advertisement for the game) - Wipeout. Wipeout took a concept started by games such as F-Zero (the futuristic racing parts), and added in a wide array of damaging weapons and power-ups to combine combat with something the developers (Psygnosis) called Anti-Gravity Racing. The concept was different; create a game that's supposed to be a УsimulationФ of a sport that is extremely popular some 50 years in the future, and it worked well and had great graphics, sounds, and gameplay to assure the game would be a hit. Sure enough, Wipeout was a huge hit and spawned a (much better) sequel, Wipeout XL the next year. The game wasn't as successful, but XL was a superior game to the original in every way. A 3rd Wipeout was released in 1999, but despite mostly positive reviews the game was relatively ignored; perhaps due to the long period between XL and 3, perhaps due to the lack of interest in the series despite the excellence of the original game.

Despite that, the announcement of Wipeout Fusion was highly anticipated by the hardcore Wipeout fans. Even though Fusion was to be developed by a brand new team (Sony Studios Liverpool), many felt confident that they'd be able to get the job done. There were many delays in the completion of the 4th Wipeout game, but it finally was released at the end of 2001 in Europe & Australia Ц with no US release date even on the radar. Sony had no interest in publishing the game in America, due to the lack of popularity amongst the masses (Wipeout is very big in Europe). Thankfully, BAM! Entertainment took charge and picked up the game for US release Ц earning tons of respect from Wipeout fans across the country.

So, after numerous delays, we Americans finally had a chance to play the latest installment Ц and it's great. Studio Liverpool did a great job of keeping the traditional Wipeout feel, as well as come up with many things that not only make the game larger, but enhance the gameplay greatly. As probably the deepest Wipeout ever conceived, Fusion will keep you busy unlocking things for months on end Ц it's almost like playing a futuristic Gran Turismo at times. Despite the dated graphics (since Fusion was to be a launch title at one point Ц still they look pretty decent), Fusion continues the legacy of Wipeout Ц such as it is, given how underrated and underappreciated the series has been in the 7 years it's been around.

When you first start the game, Fusion offers 3 main modes of play (besides split-screen multiplayer hijinx) Ц arcade, ag league, and challenge. Arcade is simply just a single race against 16 other competitors. Arcade isn't just for kicks though Ц winning races not only is needed for your completion percentage, it lets you unlock new weapons and modes because of the raising of the percentage complete. At the outset only a few tracks are available, but as you progress in league mode, new tracks are unlocked.

The ag league is a series of tournaments against the other competitors. Win one, and a new series is opened, and possibly a new challenge as well. The farther you go, the more races are in each league Ц at the start each league carries 3 races, but it climbs as you win more and more. As mentioned before, the farther you get into the league, the more tracks available to you in other modes.

Finally, the challenge mode is another option. Challenge mode basically puts a series of events in your face and forces you to complete them with each of the league teams. These events include basic races, time trials, and elimination challenges where you must eliminate a set amount of contenders in order to get a gold medal. The challenges vary by team, but most are the same, just jumbled around a little bit.

Completing a good chunk of these modes will unlock even more things to do. Zone and time trial options are unlocked after getting to the required percentage complete Ц and both are used to increase that completion percentage even more. Zone mode is basically a test of speed Ц really really really really really high speeds. See, the deeper into zone mode you get, the faster the game is Ц the later zone levels get so ridiculously fast that it might be a good idea to keep a barf bag handy if you're the weak-stomached sort. The rush is amazing, however. Time trial is pretty basic, so no need to explain that.

If you've never played a Wipeout game before, the races go something like this. At the start there's 16 racers Ц that number may or may not drop before the end. On the track are little weapon pods, along with speed zips. The pods are random, and whatever color is showing on them dictates what weapon you get to use at the moment. The pods also give you non-weapon items, like autopilot, shield, and a turbo boost. Speed zips give your craft a little turbo boost Ц but usually at the expense of flying into a wall, due to the rough placement of them. However they do come in handy in a pinch, especially if they're placed in a wide-open area.

Fusion's weapon selection is varied; and if you don't want a weapon, it's a simple press of Square to drop it and hope for another. As mentioned prior, new weapons are unlocked as you progress, so early weapons aren't quite as powerfulЕbut do the job nicely. There's basic weapons like a cannon and mines to drop, along with more advanced weapons like a flame thrower (which burns away a shield) and homing missiles, to the big monsters like the gravity bolt (a weapon which slows everyone down to a complete stop if fired at the right moment) and the Quake (sending a ripple way up the track, slowing down the other racers). Plus each team has a unique super weapon, like super missiles (targeting multiple craft), to some sort of evil concoction that launches little droids like in Star Wars and blasts the living crap out of your shield in record time. You'd do best to avoid that one, for sure.

Don't be alarmed at all the violence and think it's at the expense of racing, because it isn't. It's really sort of a means to an end, a nice little advantage to take over the lead when you can. Wipeout Fusion is much more racing than combat Ц thus it's more like Turismo than Twisted Metal.

The different teams in Fusion yield much different racing vehicles Ц everyone's is different. Some are built for speed, others for endurance, and others are evenly balanced for a smoother time. All can be upgraded with credits earned in the league races Ц and can be taken back once you get a stronger ship to use, and applied to the new craft. You can upgrade things like top speed, shield strength, brake power, and stability to keep your ship at maximum capacity. And you will need it, because the competition gets much more fierce as time goes by.

Controlling the ships is fairly simple Ц the only thing Wipeout newbies have to worry about is the use of the brake. Braking is much different here Ц the 2 back triggers on top of the Dual Shock are used as the left and right airbrake; and used accordingly depending on the direction of the turn. Firing and dropping weapons becomes second nature as well. The ships control very well when they're properly balanced Ц if they aren't, they do become somewhat hard to handle. But even then the controls are very responsive and do the job.

Wipeout Fusion is tough Ц if you're looking for a challenging racer that refuses to let you win all the time, even if you replay a series over and over again, this is it. The AI acts like real people, and recognizes when you're nearby. If you pass them up they'll fire a weapon at you Ц but the challenge is actually getting ahead of them. They will fight for their territory until you can find a speed zip or a good weapon to blow them away with. The computer always presents a good challenge, though the learning curve may frustrate some Ц especially those who have never played a Wipeout game before. Still, the curve presents a great feeling of reward when you FINALLY are good enough to beat that last track to win the series you've spent a while working on.

Wipeout's track designs have always been very good, and Fusion's are no different. Studio Liverpool did widen the tracks a tad, giving more room to maneuver. But they all maintain the wild speed areas and challenging turns to test the skills of even the best Wipeout player. The only downside is many of the unlockable tracks are either mirrored or just alternate branches of the initial tracks, similar to what you'd find in Namco's Ridge Racer series. On the upside of that, the tracks do get better and better as you unlock the different sections of the track. A few of them have multiple paths within the tracks and even shortcuts that can push you ahead a tad, but nothing that eliminate a chance of losing.

Where Wipeout succeeds and earns my praise, though, is how all the little things combine to make the game work. Instead of a game that's short in one area, it's well-balanced. The weapons aren't a requirement to win races, though they're a good idea to keep around because you could need one here and there. Yet Wipeout remains a racing game where finesse still wins the race at the end of the day, because racing like a moron will just wipe your shield out (of course, you could just pit after each lap and refuel it) Ц but sometimes you do have to get down and dirty & bust out the weapons. This is not a vehicular combat game Ц it's a racing game with a little twist.

Fusion's one lacking area is the graphics. Since the game is so old (was to be a launch title a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away), Fusion's visuals weren't improved to match some of the PS2 competitors. But that's okay, because the graphics are still decent at worst and in some places are still amazing. The track designs are accented by great looking environments Ц snow falls in the cold areas, and a dense rain falls in the jungle tracks. The draw distance is rather amazing, especially in areas where a huge jump occurs Ц being able to see the entire track area is a cool thing.

The frame rate keeps a constant rate of 60 FPS, and hardly ever gets any slowdown, even in the zone mode. Sometimes a conglomeration of ships, weapons, and mass destruction dips the frame rate down a tad, but it only lasts a second or 2. The rest of the time it's smooth sailing. Perhaps this is the reason why the graphics on the whole look first generation, with some generally average ship detail and lacking textures (as well as some jagged edges) Ц in order to keep the game fast, they had to compensate a little bit. It's possible another sequel will improve the graphics and juice up the speed.

The first 2 Wipeout games were known for their great sound effects Ц and while Fusion doesn't match the legend of Wipeout and XL, it does a decent job. The pulsing techno tunes fit the futuristic theme, and they refuse to relent at all times. With around 20 songs that rotate in the playlist (and can be added or removed at your will), there's plenty of variety as well.

The rest of the sounds are somewhat drowned out by the music, but what you can hear is pretty good. The familiar voices of the weapon-announcer-babe and weird-alienish-guy are here, and the famous (for Wipeout fans, anyway) УContender EliminatedФ is here, letting you know that a contender has met a rather poor end to their race. The different sounds of the weapons is neat too.