Wipeout Pure Content Pack Impressions

Since Wipeout Pure will almost certainly be one of the most popular European PlayStation Portable launch titles come September, it came as no surprise to us that a relatively large area was devoted to the game at SCEE's pre-E3 conference in Los Angeles this afternoon. We're already very familiar with the North American retail version of the game, of course, which is why we were excited to get a brief look at the first free downloadable content pack for the game, which we expect to be made available in the next week or two.

The upcoming pack is the first of three that Sony plans to release for the game, and we can report with no degree of uncertainty that the new content will be well worth the minimal effort required to download it. In addition to a cool new skin based on the Feisar team logo, pack one will include a new version of the Vanuber ship from previous Wipeout games and an all-new circuit named Sebenco Peak. We didn't get to play with any of the new content ourselves, but after watching a Sony representative play with it, we can report that respectable lap times on the new circuit come in at around 40 seconds and that all of the new content looks every bit as good as that included in the original game.

We can also report that the new content slips seamlessly into the game, meaning that you can select it in exactly the same way as the stuff in the original game, without having to visit any additional menus. When you've downloaded all of the requisite bonus tracks, they'll also get sorted into new tournaments automatically. You'll even be able to unlock and view a bunch of new concept art from the developers when you win races on the new circuit.

Ultimately, Sony plans to release at least another 12 circuits for Wipeout Pure, along with additional ships, more team skins, and (in case you didn't already do the math) another 144 pieces of concept art to unlock. The company has some other plans for Wipeout Pure as well, some of them involving the game's soundtrack, but if we were to talk about them in any detail right now we'd almost certainly get our wrists slapped.

We'll bring you more information on what the future holds for Wipeout Pure as soon as we can. In the meantime, those of you planning to purchase the European version of the game on September 1 might be interested to know that it will ship with playable (and shareable multiplayer) demos of both Fired Up and MediEvil: Resurrection.