This brilliant and beautiful futuristic racer is one of the best the PSP has to offer.
+ The graphics, from environments to ships look outstanding
+ A wide variety of modes
+ The gameplay is a blast
Negative
- Starting position in races is always last
- Narrow lanes and sudden corner slow higher speed events
Wipeout Pure may be remembered for being a PSP launch title back in 2005, but you won't be forgetting this stunning visual showcase and excellent futuristic racer once you have this game in your hands. This unique, extremely challenging racer has so little flaws that very rarely you'll be hampered by them, and everything else in Wipeout Pure is just about stellar.
The Wipeout franchise is a series set in a distant bright future, and Pure is set in year 2197 but all of this is irrelevant and unnecessary since the game offers no kind of story or the chance to familiarize with the beautiful environments other when racing. But there is a fine selection of modes, both single and multiplayer. Single-player experience includes single races, tournaments, and time trials as standard races. Beating tournaments unlocks newer tracks to progress and higher difficulties which not only increase the AI's difficulty but also the speed and pace of the ships. Initial difficulty is Alpha, progressing onto Beta followed by Flash and with each difficulty increase, the races become much, much faster and extremely hard. The sense of speed becomes truly a marvel but limited maneuvering space hinders that fabulous speed a lot. Anyhow, Zone is another mode which isn't affected by such progress. It's a mode on its own where here you'll be riding an insanely fast ship around a track for as many laps as possible until your ship is destroyed due to all the damage. The game rewards you on how many laps you have done. The game's level of challenge escalates quickly. But the time trials for example are far, far too difficult for novice players and each minor error is unforgivable even in the very beginning.
The racing starts very slow, almost lacking in fire power but as you unlock higher difficulties, the speed increases a lot. First of all, you ride wheel-less awesome looking futuristic racing ships. The sense of speed is excellent and despite all that speed, the frame rate rarely suffers. The AI is incredibly fair and despite the fact that they drive so fancily good it's tough to swallow in later races, they admittedly offer a sizeable challenge that doesn't border on frustration. Power-ups are available to help you gain the upper hand. Pretty looking explosions take place when launching missiles or other types of bombs. Your ship can receive a substantial amount of damage and once your meter is depleted, your race is over.
Gameplay wise, Wipeout Pure is very good. But the inspiring nature of the tracks is quite something. Each track is expertly designed, but not quite fitting for the game's high speed. Each track has a narrow lane and extremely tight corners which kill your furious pace. Some turns literally mean press the square button to break and with the help of superb controls you can use the shoulder buttons for better turning. These track decisions are Pure's main problem, aside from the unreasonable fact that your starting position is always last, on every event against the AI.
Whatever problems encountered in the actual racing, it can be easily forgiven when looking at its visuals; the visual quality is a masterpiece. This is a truly stunning, astonishingly awesome looking title especially on a handheld and a title released on the PSP's launch date. The tracks are brimming with careful details and perfect colors and some outstanding ship designs to follow. Even weather and weapon effects look terrific. It's an awe-inspiring example of how a PSP should look. Unfortunately most of that greatness doesn't exist in the sound design. The race soundtrack is good but not really my type (it comes down to preference) and the menu soundtrack is too standard and unexciting for a game of this caliber.
WipEout Pure is a fine example of a bright future for futuristic racing games. It is an incredibly visually stunning game in every aspect and the racing is fabulous once you learn the curves. Little issues, such as the tight track design do little to no damage to the experience because this is the best launch title for the PSP and to this date an enviable game that should be top priority for racing fans to play.
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Graphics = 9.6
A stunning looking game, with breathtaking level of detail in basically everything. So not to be confused, this is a 2005 game.
Sound = 7.8
The electronic soundtrack is good and the best part is that it fits the game's style quite well.
Presentation = 9.0
One look at the game and you'll know you found something impeccable.
Gameplay = 8.2
Coming from my first experience with a WipEout game, the fast-paced, challenging racing was hampered by tight corners and sometimes unreasonably good AI. But it plays well, like really well.
Modes = 8.9
There is no story, but there are quite some mode and increasing challenging difficulties to keep you around.
OVERALL = 87 / 100
This brilliant and beautiful futuristic racer is one of the best the PSP has to offer.