Wipeout, for those of you who have lived in a cave for the last six months, 
is a racing game. Rather than being a car racer, this is an antigrav racer,
with vehicles I can best describe as 'fighter planes with the wings chopped
off' racing round tortuous, toboggan style courses which turn, dip and rise
like a roller coaster, using various weapon power ups to delay and evade other 
racers. There are four teams each with a different vehicle design, each of 
which requires slightly different techniques to do well in, and six tracks 
to race round, from arboreal garden tracks to ice caverns.

The vehicles, which I will call cars for convenience, hover a short distance
over the track, and move in a convincing way. They dip and tilt with turns, 
and bounce when you land after a jump. Did I mention the jumps? DON'T play 
this game if you have a fear of heights.  Most tracks have at least two 
jumps, some of which are barely noticed, but others of which require a 
perfect line and top speed to avoid falling short and having to be 
unceremoniously rescued by drones, losing precious seconds on the other racers. 
They slide more than a road car would, and this difference makes mastering 
them not a short term task. Even once one car has been mastered, three
others, each with different levels of speed, acceleration and
maneuverability remain.

Even so, the fact that you can't slam the car round the track in record time
immediately doesn't detrack from the gameplay, if anything it enhances it. 
Each time you feel you almost made that corner, almost hit that power up
or speed arrow, and next time, next time you'll get it right.

This slow release hit addictiveness is a rare quality in a game, and
Wipeout oozes it. What's more, the graphics and sound effects make the
rewards obvious. The first high speed turn you manage feels like a turn
should. The first time you manage to run through a tight tunnel at full
power, with the walls virtually blurring by you is a real high. The first
time you hit the guy ahead with a long range rocket shot and see him
cartwheel out of control as you burn past is a sweet moment.  

In fact, speed is Wipeout's main plus. Neither Ridge Racer nor Daytona give
the sheer feeling of speed you get in Wipeout, for example during a tunnel
run. At times it gets downright scary. But even though at the beginning you
may bang through the tunnels like a pinball, soon enough you will be slicing
through them like a missile, intent on first place, guided missiles locked & 
loaded. Wipeout is an immersive, engrossing game in the way all classics, 
from time immemorial onwards, have been. The best way to illustrate this is 
with an example...

One night I had taken my PS and Wipeout over to a friends house, and the setup
was one person sat on the floor in front of the Tv playing with three people
watching him play sat on a couch behind. I came in from the kitchen after 
making a cup of coffee and ALL FOUR were swaying into the turns, much as you
might do on a bike or roller coaster. Enthralling the player to this degree is 
one thing, but an audience too? The crazy thing is, even now, after I have
more or less mastered driving an AG racer, I STILL catch myself leaning
into corners at times. It is astonishing to note too that this is only in the 
'beginners' class of vehicle, the Venom class. Once a championship title in 
this 
class is  attained, you then move into the faster (apparently about twice as
fast) Rapier class, racing again at a new level. Apparently (although this
is unconfirmed as far as I know) should you become Rapier champion, a
further secret course is then available, which is even faster...

One further point must be made. My assessment so far is based purely on the
one player game. Wipeout's link facility, either playing alone against an
opponent or in a full 8 car race, promises to extend its life greatly. Most
of the recent 'hit' games have all shown that playing against another human
being increases the fun of a game, and Wipeout will probably be no different. 
The fact that this is by two machine link rather than split screen is probably
a decision not to compromise speed and graphic quality as much as anything 
else.

Graphically, Wipeout up there with the best. A high quality rendered intro sets 
the scene, with small robots fussing over a long, sleek racer before it is 
hoisted onto the starting grid and the countdown begins. Standard menu screens
are decked out in futuristic font styles and logos, supplied by English design 
consultants The Designers Republic, smoothly rotating in lightsourced 
tmapped 3d.

Extensive options exist, including the usual controller config and memory card 
management, along with mixer settings between  SFX and music. It's just a pity 
you can't have both full on at once. Actually, you can. Put the arrow on half 
way and turn your sound FULL UP. In race, graphics are smooth and surprisingly 
glitch free, with the tracks optimised such that the minimal pop-up there is is
with trackside objects rather than the oncoming line, so as not to spoil the 
racing view. The two views are equally good, each having it's own plus. The 
in-car view is perhaps the best racing view, but the 'chase' view shows off the 
graphics more. The chase view is actually usable, as the cars are shown small 
enough so as not to obscure the oncoming track. The separate tracks have 
distinct character in the scenery and billboards, and also have a different 
feel in terms  of how windy or erractic they are. The first track is all 
wide arcing bends, the second is fast chicanes and the last is all hard 
airbrake turns and U bends.  Weapons have wonderful semi-transparent smoke 
trails and explosions flash almost luminescent. Overall, Wipeouts graphics 
usually match the best any other home racer can give, and all running at a 
subjective speed no other can match.

Finally, we must mention the sounds. Sound effects first. Throttle noise is 
good, but nothing you didn't expect a throttle to sound like. Hitting the 
track gives a realistic clang, and weapons have good high quality sounds, 
from the whoosh of missiles to the boom of a shockwave to the low, throbbing 
pulse of the shield. Even better, strangely enough, is the menacing computer 
voice that announces when a weapon has been targetted at you. After a while, 
the only reaction to hearing the deep tenor boom informing you someone has
locked a missile onto you is mixture of rage and fear, pushing you on to
squeeze that much more out of the next turn in the hope of escape.

The other part is the soundtrack tunes. Much discussion has been made of
the decision to use known British techno artists on the soundtrack. Techno
may not be your thing, but then you can always turn it down. If it IS your
thing, then the PAL Wipeout is possibly the best soundtrack ever, matching
the seminal Tempest 2000 in a swirl of pulsing rhythms. It is an indication
of their general quality that, when Wipeout isn't in my PS, it is usually to
be found in my CD player instead. While only 3 tracks have been supplied
by 'name' musicians (Chemical Beats by The Chemical Brothers, Afro Ride by
Leftfield and Wipeout by Orbital) the Psygnosis produced tunes are not pale
imitations, they are just as good. The unknown status of the NTSC versions
of Wipeout mean that it is unlikely these three tunes will make it onto
other versions, and given the rumour is that the PAL and NTSC versions are
virtually identical in terms of speed and border size, if you are a fan
then the PAL version is the one to go for. If not, it's unlikely you will
be dissatisfied with the NTSC version's music. But it's a shame that music
industry licencing stops this sort of thing happening more often.

In conclusion, wipeout is possibly the first classic original game for the
PS. Unlike Tekken or Ridge Racer it has no immediate ancestors, and even
those games it bears a passing resemblence to fail to capture anything like
its' quality. Combining top quality graphics with sound and music a whole
step beyond anything else currently available anywhere, with playability to
back it up, Wipeout is a true classic game, and has already become the de
facto standard against which all racing games are measured in the british
gaming press.  Psygnosis's 16 bit output was famed for having great
presentation but lacking in real, deep down playability. Wipeout belies this
reputation, offering long term challenge no current racer can match. It is
truly a large boot in the face to those who claimed it would be as the
Psygnosis games of old, 'all mouth and no trousers', as we say. No better
example of this could be the fact that everyone I have spoken to is
surprised to find that the hover cars 'act the way you think they should',
even though you don't know what that is. The playability of wipeout is
instinctively right, and that is what makes it more than just another 
racing game. Right now, More than Daytona, or Ridge Racer, wipeout is THE
racing game.


Graphics	9/10 full speed and high quality, but there is some popup. 
			Consistent design feel helps to create atmosphere,
			and a clear instrument panel helps a lot.  

Sound	       10/10 Good meaty soundeffects plus simply the greatest music
			track ever heard in a game. The NTSC version may
			get one less if you are a fan of the bands, but is
			still of superlative quality.

Playability	9/10 While Ridge Racer feels more fun initially, after a
			little practice Wipeout shows it a clean pair of
			heels. Fast racing with weapons, varied courses and
			vehicles, what more could you ask for?

Lastability	10/10 Each course offers a tougher challenge than the last,
			and once all are mastered at one level, a whole
			upgrade in speed is offered to test you further.
			Computer racers act intelligently, and the two
			player link up offers a great boost. I cannot
			actually think of a way it could be improved in the
			PS.

Overall:	9.5/10 A classic in the making. A great looking and sounding
			game with true staying power, this is possibly the best
			game yet on the PS.  
------------------------------ ----------------------------------------------
"The moonlight; casts no shadow for me to hide.": 'Breakdown' One Dove
J White, Dept. Psychology, Bolton Institute, Deane Road, Bolton, BL35AB, UK
JW4@BOLTON.AC.UK