Wipeout Fusion
Wipeout Fusion was yet another title that I grabbed cheap since I purchased the PlayStation 2 somewhat late in it's lifetime. In fact, I still remember purchasing it at EB and it rung up at about half of the sticker price, which was already only $18 or so. It was easily one of the best deals I've ever gotten next to the pricing error I received on Grim Fandango.
Wipeout Fusion was the 5th addition to the incredible futuristic racing franchise. It was also the first of the series to be released on the PS2. For me, it was a breath of fresh air as I was somewhat disappointed with Wipeout 3 on the PS1. The sense of speed wasn't quite there and although it did continue the trend of a fantastic soundtrack it lacked some of the quality ship designs that populated the majority of the series. Wipeout 64 also didn't feel as full and fleshed out as the rest of the series, as if Liverpool Studios had a hard time running the content which included about a dozen full audio tracks onto a cartridge.
Wipeout Fusion was a serious jump up from the previous Wipeout titles on the original PlayStation. Speed and framerate were no issue and the visuals took a huge jump up in quality. Horizon pop-up was a thing of the past and the tracks themselves were more fleshed out and featured more detail. The soundtrack featured the same choice tracks from various electronic artists and the rest of the audio was considerable clearer and more diverse. It drew me in almost as much as Wipeout XL, capturing easily the same amount of my time if note more.
Fusion added new ships, slightly altered gameplay which included the ability to fire weapons backward as well as upgrade your ship over time. It also added one of my favorite new Wipeout game modes, Zone mode. Available on Wipeout HD as well, Zone mode feels simply synonymous with the entire Wipeout philosophy. In this mode, you start racing on a track, which is rendered in a somewhat wireframe mode, as if it were the VR missions from Metal Gear Solid. You start out slow, flying through lap after lap and as you progress your ship continues to increase it's top speed. The goal is to survive as many laps as possible before you inevitably destroy your ship when you loose control. It's the kind of fun that prevents you from blinking.
Wipeout Fusion came very close to being my favorite in the series until the release of Wipeout HD for the PS3. It had become very perfected within it's own right and easily retained what was important to being a true Wipeout title. It was another exclusive that reminded me how important it was that I finally bought a PS2.
Wipeout Fusion was yet another title that I grabbed cheap since I purchased the PlayStation 2 somewhat late in it's lifetime. In fact, I still remember purchasing it at EB and it rung up at about half of the sticker price, which was already only $18 or so. It was easily one of the best deals I've ever gotten next to the pricing error I received on Grim Fandango.Wipeout Fusion was the 5th addition to the incredible futuristic racing franchise. It was also the first of the series to be released on the PS2. For me, it was a breath of fresh air as I was somewhat disappointed with Wipeout 3 on the PS1. The sense of speed wasn't quite there and although it did continue the trend of a fantastic soundtrack it lacked some of the quality ship designs that populated the majority of the series. Wipeout 64 also didn't feel as full and fleshed out as the rest of the series, as if Liverpool Studios had a hard time running the content which included about a dozen full audio tracks onto a cartridge.
Wipeout Fusion was a serious jump up from the previous Wipeout titles on the original PlayStation. Speed and framerate were no issue and the visuals took a huge jump up in quality. Horizon pop-up was a thing of the past and the tracks themselves were more fleshed out and featured more detail. The soundtrack featured the same choice tracks from various electronic artists and the rest of the audio was considerable clearer and more diverse. It drew me in almost as much as Wipeout XL, capturing easily the same amount of my time if note more.
Fusion added new ships, slightly altered gameplay which included the ability to fire weapons backward as well as upgrade your ship over time. It also added one of my favorite new Wipeout game modes, Zone mode. Available on Wipeout HD as well, Zone mode feels simply synonymous with the entire Wipeout philosophy. In this mode, you start racing on a track, which is rendered in a somewhat wireframe mode, as if it were the VR missions from Metal Gear Solid. You start out slow, flying through lap after lap and as you progress your ship continues to increase it's top speed. The goal is to survive as many laps as possible before you inevitably destroy your ship when you loose control. It's the kind of fun that prevents you from blinking.
Wipeout Fusion came very close to being my favorite in the series until the release of Wipeout HD for the PS3. It had become very perfected within it's own right and easily retained what was important to being a true Wipeout title. It was another exclusive that reminded me how important it was that I finally bought a PS2.
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