WipEout® Pulse

Fast familiar

Studio Liverpool have fine tuned WipEout Pulse on PSP® (PlayStation®Portable). Find out what new features they've brought to the classic.

What is there to say about WipEout? It's been a PlayStation® stalwart since its PS one® debut; its tried and tested formula delivers one of the very best racing experiences in videogames, with a mix of gameplay that is challenging yet rewarding, addictive yet energising.

Offering the same sleek anti-gravity racing as its predecessors, WipEout Pulse continues the trend. As the saying goes, "If it isn't broken, why fix it?" and this is the sentiment Studio Liverpool embraced while developing it. They've kept everything that makes WipEout a classic, instead working on providing new features and options without changing the core essence of the gameplay experience.

Musically WipEout would not be complete without a stunning line-up of artists and DJs. Their talented endeavours add a dimension to the races and eliminator heats that can't easily be quantified. If slick, anti-gravity racing is the bones of WipEout, the music in many ways is its soul. With the likes of Kraftwerk, Noisia, Aphex Twin, Booka Shade and DJ Fresh to name drop a few, WipEout Pulse is a musical cornucopia.

Multiplayer is where Studio Liverpool has implemented the biggest change. They've brought WipEout Pulse online via Infrastructure Mode, letting you and up to seven of your peers battle it out at beyond breakneck speeds.

Another feature of Pulse's new online offerings is leaderboards, which can be viewed at the official WipEout community site, where you can upload your race profile to the online database. There is also a ship customisation tool that lets you design and then download your own liveries, which can be used in both the race campaign and online.

Race Campaigns are now based around a Grid system, which gives you far more freedom. One race doesn't simply lead to the next anymore but instead unlocks the surrounding events on the Grid, while points earned unlock further Grids to explore. A new Racebox feature also allows you to create your own Grids to race and share with friends.

With each Grid consisting of a variety of events, you can pick and choose what to play in order to advance. This freedom is carried over to the new Racebox feature, a tool which enables you to create you own challenging Grids to race and share with friends.

Challenges on the Grids range from Single Races to Tournaments, Time Trials to the deadly Eliminator matches and cover all speed classes, while Zone racing, where your craft continues to accelerate at ever greater speeds, has been opened up, now being available for all tracks. Each track is also available as either a White or Black run, meaning you can try your hand at it either clockwise or anticlockwise.

A new feature of the tracks themselves is the Mag-Strips, sections of a circuit that clamp your ship down to the track. It has enabled the designers to create tracks that twist, invert and loop upside down, defying the laws of physics.

One of the best ways to view these amazing designs is using the Photo mode, which lets you become a budding future-sports photographer. The gravity-defying action can be either captured in-game, as it occurs, or in the slightly more sedate victory laps after a race.

WipEout has been at the forefront of racing on PlayStation® and WipEout Pulse on PSP® proves to be no exception to this rule. It offers a racing experience beyond that of reality, which has been fined tuned to perfection over the years, letting you take the helm of an anti-gravity racer, hurtling at speeds in excess of 600mph. What is not exciting about that?