Greetings, all.  I've had a chance to spend about 5 hours behind the wheel
with Wipe'Out" and thought I'd post a little mini-review since I haven't
seen anything posted about it.
GRAPHICS
========
Quite simply the most beautiful real-time 3-D polygon graphics I've seen
in a racing game.  I would rate them as arcade quality, with beautiful
high-resolution texture maps and superb color.  The frame rate is a smooth
30 frames per second, only occasionally slowing down (usually only when
you use your shield).  Even the background sky seems to be texture mapped
onto a big sphere, so you are truly immersed in a 3-D world.
Pop-up is minimal, and only occurs on objects so far in the distance that
it doesn't matter.
The tracks are beautifully designed and fun to race.  They are more akin
to high-tech roller-coaster rides than anything else.  I have only seen
the first 6 tracks (there are 15 total) and from what I've heard the
Rapier-class tracks are truly a sight to behold.
SOUND
=====
The music in this game is all ambient-style techno.  It has a cool,
futuristic feel to it which works well the the style of the game.  If you
don't like the music, you can adjust the balance to 100% sound effects, 0%
music.  
The sound effects are subtle yet suitable to the game.  I prefer to play
with the levels set to about 75% music, 25% sound effects (the default).
As you travel around the track, sometimes you enter enclosed areas and
tunnels.  When you do, all music and sound effects have a beautiful reverb
effect applied to them.
CONTROL
=======
At first, Wipe'Out" seems very difficult to control.  The tracks seem too
narrow, and I found myself crashing into the walls a lot, which slowed me
down a great deal.
After a couple hours, however, the control began to grow on me, and I
found that even without using the airbrakes I could exercise precise
control over my ship on even the tightest turns.  In fact, the airbrakes
(used for slowing down or executing tight turns) cause the ship to slide a
little bit, which often ends up crashing in to a wall. 
Take the time to learn to control your ship without airbrakes -- you don't
need them for the first 5 tracks, really.  It's really just a matter of
taking the occasional "lucky move" and making it a seasoned tactic.  Once
accomplished, the control is really quite fun.
GAMEPLAY
========
In single player mode you can practice single tracks (only the first six
tracks are available at the beginning) in racing mode or time trial mode. 
The time-trial mode lets you race without any opponents, and is good for
learning the tracks intricacies.
There is also a championship mode in which you must place in the top 3 of
each race to proceed to the next.  On each track, you have 3 chances to
qualify, then your game is over.  Once you have placed on all 6 tracks in
championship mode, you gain access to the next class, which gives you
access to the next group of tracks.
In two-player mode you can race either head-to-head with no opponents, or
head-to-head with opponents.  Two player mode requires 2 Playstations, Two
copies of the game, 2 TV's and the link cable.  It's a great deal of fun
if both of you are at about the same skill level -- it is less fun if one
person is a lot better, and there is no handicap feature that I have
found.
In all modes of play you have access to certain weapons.  The weapons are
loaded onto your ship at the beginning of the race, but can only be
activated by driving over activation grids on the track.  Only one weapon
may be activated at any one time and you must activate it for each use. 
The grids are placed on the track and change color randomly so each time
you pass over them you can potentially get a different weapon.  The
weapons are:
Missle:  Heat seeking missile -- slows target ship
Rocket:  Unguided rocket -- slows target ship
Shield:  Protects you from weapons
Shockwave: Guided projectile -- causes target to have poor/sticky control
Turbo: Kind of a nitro-burst of speed for your ship
Mines:  Drop behind your ship to slow target ship
In two player mode there are 2 additional weapons:
Reverse Controls : Causes target player to have controls reversed temporarily.
 : I haven't figured out what this does yet, the manual states,
"figure it out for yourself!  Subtle but useful..."
There are also blue arrows on the track which, when you pass over them,
give you an immediate speed burst.  I have seen these in sets of 1, 2, or
3 so far.  3 In a row is a MAJOR speed burst, almost too fast to control.
OVERALL
=======
Overall this is a definite must-buy for Playstation racing fans.  Remember
that it is frustrating at first, and that it will take time for the
controls to become second-nature.  The learning curve is a little steep,
but well-worth the effort.
RATINGS
=======
Graphics:  95%  -- beautiful
Sound:     90%  -- music sets good mood, SFX are sparse
Control:   85%  -- floaty and slow to master, great once learned
Gameplay:  90%  -- difficulty level seems just right, a little on the hard side.
Overall: 90%
Hope this helps out all you potential Wipe'Out" purchasers...
-- 
Patrick Moynihan / Digital Image Production /  2D & 3D CG Development
Fahrenheit 451 Productions/Computer Graphics Consulting / Seattle, WA
senator@halcyon.com                  http://www.halcyon.com/senator/
I am Pentium of Borg. Precision is futile, you will be approximated.