Wipeout Pulse Soundtrack

The game's electronica soundtrack was mostly composed by Welsh video game music composer Tim Wright under the alias CoLD SToRAGE. However, additional music tracks were licensed from more established electronica acts to create the soundtracks for the PAL and Saturn versions of the game, as well as the promotional album, Wipeout: The Music.

According to those splendid websites that go around counting all the review scores, WipEout Pure is the second best game on the PSP. Ever. That's not bad for the seventh game in a clubby racing series that's definitely had its uppers and downers. Lucky number eight, due out for Christmas, remembers to drink lots of water and has a jolly old time too.

At its core, it's still the same old WipEout: pilot your fragile ship around very fast courses over and over again until you know where all the boost pads are and you've worked out how to air-brake through the tight corners without scraping the sides. But thanks to a cleverly reworked single-player game, it's a lot easier to get on with.

The campaign is split into a series of 'grids', which are basically Blockbusters boards of hexagons, where each hexagon is an event. Every time you complete one, it unlocks the hexagons adjacent to it, giving you lots of options. Complete most of the events in a grid to a decent standard and you unlock the next grid. Can I have an 'E' please, Bob?

Best of all, no two pills are the same [surely 'hexagons'? - Ed]. Some are races or race tournaments, where you tussle with seven AI opponents over a few laps, using power-ups like rockets, the new energy drainer or deadly mines to make things easier. Others are variations on time trials - there's one where you have to beat a cumulative time over several laps, while another is about setting an average lap time over seven.

Then there's the old favourite from Pure, called Zone, where the colour scheme switches to a beautifully slick Tron world of whites and greys or reds and oranges and you have to try and stave off damage for as long as possible while your ship steadily accelerates from sub-Venom speeds to super-Phantom. Zone used to have its own specific tracks, but now it's part of the main game, reflecting its popularity.

New to the mix is Elimination, which surprisingly isn't the age-old thing of the loser getting bumped off at the end of each lap, but a sort of race deathmatch, where power-ups are abundant but you can no longer use them to heal your ship, and the idea is to obliterate your fellow racers repeatedly until you reach a target number of kills.

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Initially a bit alarming and frustrating, Elimination actually grows to be rather good, and also serves the useful purpose of teaching you how best to use the power-ups, too. That's typical of WipEout though - a series that has you whimpering in the corner for hours and then snapping out of it and wondering why you were so depressed and nauseous and why is it morning and how did I end up in a police station?

It's not shy about having you redo the same tracks over and over, and you shouldn't be shy about it either, because they're all very good. They have new bits too, like the Mag-Strips, which bind you to the track so you can do loops and go upside down (you can still steer), intensifying the feeling of speed and precariousness.

After a while the game does clever things with them, too, like only putting a Mag-Strip on one half of the track, so you can either zoom over the top of a hill on strips or make yourself go flying up to a special shortcut route that's harder to race but has more boost arrows.

Tracks are also full of tricky hairpins, chicanes and tight corners, forcing you to get on that air-brake, which allows you to pull round dangerous corners without easing off the accelerator. Learning not to scrape the sides is paramount, so it helps that the steering feels tighter than it was in Pure - especially on the elevated sections where they get rid of the guardrails.

Wipeout Pulse (stylised as wipEout pulse) is a futuristic racing video game developed by SCE Studio Liverpool and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation Portable. It was released in December 2007 in Australia and Europe, and in February 2008 in North America. A PlayStation 2 port was released in Europe in June 2009. The game is the seventh instalment of the Wipeout series and serves as a sequel to Wipeout Pure. It takes place in 2207 and revolves around players competing in the FX400 anti-gravity racing league.

The game was developed by Sony Studio Liverpool. Production was centred around focusing on the feedback left by fans regarding Wipeout Pure, and improving on aspects where the development team thought they had failed in with the predecessor. The game features sixteen licensed music tracks from techno artists, including Kraftwerk. Wipeout Pulse received positive reviews upon release. Critics praised the graphics and presentation, although some criticised the repetitiveness and high difficulty.

Gameplay[edit]

Wipeout Pulse is a racing game set in 2207, ten years after the events of Wipeout Pure. As with its predecessor, the game revolves around players competing in the FX400 anti-gravity racing league. Players pilot anti-gravity ships owned by racing corporations (collectively referred to as 'teams' in-game). There are eight teams in Wipeout Pulse, with one ship available for each – although the player eventually gains the ability to change the appearance of their ships.^[1] Each ship has different characteristics; depending on the team chosen, its ship will vary in terms of handling, speed, acceleration and shield strength.^[2]

Every ship is equipped with an energy shield which will protect the player from damage sustained from weapon fire or colliding with walls, although energy is taken away if this happens. If the shield completely runs out, the ship will explode and the player will be eliminated from the race.^[3] In addition, the player's ship is equipped with air brakes which can be used for manoeuvring through difficult corners at high speed.^[4][5] The game features a number of weapons which can be utilised to destroy other opponents or for self-defence. Defensive weapons range from shields—which make the player's ship invulnerable to damage for a short period—to land mines and stationary bombs.^[6] Offensive weaponry vary from machine guns, missiles, plasma bolts, and a 'quake' – which comes in the form of a devastating earthquake that will damage all opponents.^[7][5]

The campaign mode features sixteen grids divided into cells, each containing a separate event which varies from ordinary races to tournaments. Once the player finishes the event in a single cell, they will earn 'completion points' needed to progress to the next grid. Clearing a cell will unlock additional cells adjoining it.^[8][5] Returning game modes from Wipeout Pure include single races, tournaments, time trials, and the 'Zone' mode, which involves the player's ship automatically accelerating to extreme speeds.^[9][5][10] A returning game mode from Wipeout 3 is 'Eliminator', which revolves around a group of competitors attempting to destroy each other the quickest in a set amount of time.^[5]

While the game only ships with twelve tracks, these can be driven both forward and backwards; the race's direction is marked by the suffix 'White' or 'Black' on the race's title (i.e. 'Talon's Junction White') and may show subtle variations depending on which way they are driven.

The game features a number of extras. Players can take screenshots of in-progress races at any time from the Pause menu in the PSP version. Players are rewarded for using the same team's ship over and over via a 'Loyalty' system which unlocks new ship skins. Players were able to create custom skins for any ships at the game's central website using an Adobe Shockwave-based client, which could be downloaded to the PSP by the creator and/or the public at large. Lap times and other records could also be uploaded to the game's website which features a global ranking leaderboard. Both features are no longer available as the site and the game servers were shut down.

A demo of the game was also released on the PlayStation Store on 13 December 2007, which included one track (Moa Therma) and one team (Feisar), as well as Ad-Hoc support for playing with users who purchased the full game (or owned the UMD).^[11]

Expansion packs[edit]

Wipeout Pulse, like its predecessor Wipeout Pure, also has downloadable content packs that include new ships and tracks as well as new campaign grids. A total of four packs were released, each including a new ship, two track variants (i.e. a 'White' variant for a track and a 'Black' variant for another track, and in order to get all variants one has to obtain all four packs) and a new campaign grid named after the downloaded pack. These packs are available to download for the PlayStation Portable version for a price from the PlayStation Store in the European region only. All downloadable packs are already included with the PS2 port.

Development[edit]

Wipeout Pulse was developed by SCE Studio Liverpool. Colin Berry, the lead designer of the game, stated in an interview that the team had received a lot of positive feedback from Wipeout Pure, and was willing to use parts of the feedback to 'help shape some elements of Pulse'.^[12] According to Berry, some people had felt that the previous game was too difficult; the ships were considered too fast and the artificial intelligence (AI) too advanced, whereas others thought that the game was too easy and they wanted 'something more challenging to keep them coming back'. The development team also took steps to decrease the feeling of repetition, which was often cited as one of the main complaints of Wipeout Pure. In addition, the team altered the game's difficulty settings so that players were given the choice to change the speed of the game at any time, in the event that they 'got stuck'. Reflecting on this, Berry said: 'We want the people who buy it, to see all the game, we do not want to lock them out'.^[12]

During development, the team decided early on to focus on creating new content rather than bringing back old race tracks which were featured in previous Wipeout games. Berry, however, acknowledged that classic tracks 'went down well' and sought out the possibility of introducing them through future downloadable content (DLC).^[12] Berry stated that by the end of Wipeout Pure, Sony Studio Liverpool had designed almost 100 tracks as potentials to include in subsequent games, although the team were only satisfied with 32 of them. The remainder of the tracks were either disregarded or amalgamated into other games.^[12] Berry reflected that the tracks using the same 3D computer graphics software as its predecessor meant that certain repetition appeared and caused the team to 'dry up on ideas'. The developers recognised that track design was an important aspect to the game, and also accepted the difficulty in designing a track that is both memorable and enjoyable. Berry felt concerned that the team were starting to repeat design features, and thus decided to create new variables to the track design: as a result of this, the team conceptualised the 'mag strip' – a section of a track which would feature artificial gravity so that a player could safely circumnavigate loops, steep slopes, and upside down sections.^[12]

After the release of Wipeout Pure on the PlayStation Portable, rumours circulated that a port was in development for the PlayStation 2.^[13] In January 2009, Sony issued a statement saying: 'There are over 9.5 million PS2s in the UK and we will continue to support this large userbase with software on an ongoing basis'.^[14] The PlayStation 2 version was released exclusively in Europe in June 2009, featuring enhanced graphics, two-player splitscreen mode and all of the DLC.^[15]

The game also features sixteen licensed music tracks in addition to customisable soundtracks from techno artists, including Aphex Twin, Kraftwerk, DJ Fresh, and Skream.^[16]

Reception[edit]

The game received positive reviews upon release. It holds an average score of 82 per cent at Metacritic, based on an aggregate of 40 reviews.^[17]

Critics unanimously praised the game's visuals and presentation. Jeff Haynes of IGN stated that the game was 'Wipeout at its purest', praising the visual presentation of the courses, cities, and other environments.^[5] Gabe Graziani of GameSpy thought the graphics were beautiful and also commended the design of the tracks.^[18] Eduardo Zacarias of GameZone stated that Wipeout Pulse was a 'very visually pleasing game with some solid visual effects', and also praised the detailed tracks and ships.^[19] A reviewer from Game Revolution considered the game's level of detail to the tracks and smooth frame rate to be 'staggering' on a handheld. The reviewer also praised the 'meticulously constructed' backdrops and 'incredibly styled' presentation.^[20] Guy Cocker of GameSpot said that the visuals were 'superb', though he thought that many aspects were similar to its predecessor, Wipeout Pure.^[10] A reviewer from Edge described the visuals as 'even smoother, brighter, and sharper than Pure's'.^[22]

The various aspects of gameplay were mostly praised, although some reviewers criticised the game's repetitiveness and difficulty. Tom Bradwell from Eurogamer praised the new 'Elimination' mode, stating that it was initially 'alarming' and frustrating, but admitted that it 'grows to be rather good'.^[21] Cocker enjoyed the new tracks, the difficulty levels, and the promise of downloadable content, although he noted that it had not been made available in the United States at the time of his review.^[10] Game Revolution's reviewer surmised that Wipeout Pulse was a more refined version of Wipeout Pure, stating that despite all of the solid and reliable gameplay, the game did not revolutionise the series.^[20] Regarding general gameplay, Zacarias opined that Wipeout Pulse 'doesn't deliver' despite the variety in the game modes and 'racetrack front'.^[19] Haynes similarly gave a negative opinion on the gameplay, stating that the repetition of tracks and balance of weapons for the AI was disappointing.^[5] Graziani criticised the game's difficulty, saying that it was 'extremely challenging to the point of being impenetrable for the uninitiated'.^[18]Edge's reviewer described the game as simply another instalment of Wipeout.^[22]

References[edit]

Citations

1. ^Sony Studio Liverpool 2007, pp. 4–6.
2. ^Sony Studio Liverpool 2007, p. 9.
3. ^Sony Studio Liverpool 2007, pp. 10–11.
4. ^Sony Studio Liverpool 2007, p. 11.
5. ^ ^abcdefghHaynes, Jeff (12 February 2008). 'WipEout Pulse review'. IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
6. ^Sony Studio Liverpool 2007, p. 13.
7. ^Sony Studio Liverpool 2007, p. 12.
8. ^Sony Studio Liverpool 2007, pp. 6–7.
9. ^Sony Studio Liverpool 2007, p. 14.
10. ^ ^abcdCocker, Guy (1 March 2009). 'Wipeout Pulse for PSP review'. GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on 1 March 2009. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
11. ^'WipEout® Pulse Demo Official PlayStation™Store UK'. web.archive.org. 28 September 2018. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
12. ^ ^abcdeShea, Cam (14 June 2007). 'Wipeout Pulse AU Interview'. IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
13. ^de Matos, Xav (27 January 2009). 'Rumorang: WipEout Pulse for PS2 still in development'. Engadget. AOL. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
14. ^Bramwell, Tom (27 January 2009). 'WipEout Pulse may be heading to PS2'. Eurogamer. Future plc. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
15. ^Goyon, Frederic (19 June 2009). 'Test Wipeout Pulse sur PS2'. Jeuxvideo.com. Webedia. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
16. ^Yoon, Andrew (20 June 2007). 'Complete Wipeout Pulse soundtrack listing'. Engadget. AOL. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
17. ^ ^ab'Wipeout Pulse for PSP'. Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
18. ^ ^abcGraziani, Gabe (11 February 2008). 'GameSpy: WipEout Pulse review'. GameSpy. IGN. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
19. ^ ^abcZacarias, Eduardo (17 April 2009). 'WipEout Pulse review – PSP'. GameZone. Archived from the original on 17 April 2009. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
20. ^ ^abc'Wipeout Pulse Review'. Game Revolution. Crave Online. 2 December 2008. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
21. ^ ^abBramwell, Tom (21 November 2007). 'Wipeout Pulse review'. Eurogamer. Future plc. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
22. ^ ^abc'Wipeout Pulse'. Review. Edge. No. 182. Bath: Future plc. December 2007. p. 90. ISSN1350-1593.

Bibliography

• Sony Studio Liverpool (2007). Wipeout Pulse instruction manual. Sony Computer Entertainment. pp. 2–22.