Wipeout XL
PlayStation Preview by Nils Jacobsen

Changes...

Finally! Ever since I was told Wipeout XL was in the works, I've been eagerly awaiting this testdrive. The sequel to my favorite PlayStation game of all time, Wipeout. After testdriving it at E3 in LA in May I was all excited to try a more complete version. (As mentioned, I'm a Wipeout addict, so thus this preview might be ever so slightly biased...)

First of all, there has been some changes to the gameplay itself. No longer are you invincible! Now you have a shield that drops for every hit you take and every barrier you hit. A warning tells you when your shield gets low, at which time you can only hope you'll make it to the pitlane. If you do, you'll be completely recharged, with virtually no loss. (If you're on someones tail, you'll still be when you exit the pitlane.) No problem if you just watch your shield. I've played dozens of times and only exploded once, which was the second or third time I played.

Then there are the checkpoints. If you're too slow and don't make it to the next checkpoint in time, you're history. The last ten seconds are indicated by a really annoying escalating sound. If you've played Wipeout at all, these should never be a problem, except maybe for the first couple of tries on the last two tracks. Again, this has happened once to me, on the next to last track.

Weapons

The weapons are some new, some old, 7 in all. Rockets are the same, except that now when you fire, three are released side by side. Mines are the same. Electro Bolt is almost like Shock Waves, but now with some added visuals. (Sparks, to be exact.) Thunder Bomb is new. When it goes off the screens flashes, and all visible enemies takes a heavy hit to their shield. Very handy! Plasma Bolt is new. It's mostly useful at close range because it takes a while to charge before it fires, and it only goes in a straight line. It is VERY effective. As far as I can remember, every time I have hit anyone using the Plasma Bolt, it is always followed by a cool "Contestant Eliminated" ;-) But by far the coolest weapon is the Quake Disruptor. As the manual currently states it:"...will make you laugh like an idiot for days." The whole track ahead of you waves forward, throwing any enemies in the air. Not extremely powerful, but dang cool to watch!

In addition to the weapons, you can pick up the standard Shield and Turbo Boost, plus two new items. The E-Pak will boost your shield when fired, and the Autopilot will steer your craft for you for 3 seconds or until your ship is level after sharp turns. The latter comes in VERY handy in the last couple of tracks!

Tracks

The tracks are all new. At first, 6 tracks are presented to you. In the first two you'll be using the Vector class, in the next two the Venom class, and in the last two the Rapier class. I'll list them in order:
  • Talonis Reach. 3.2KM long, 74M high. The first, and by far the easiest track. Set in an Industrial area, nothing fancy.
  • Sagarmatha. 4.3KM, 158M. Features more turns, making it much harder do see whats coming next. It is snowing on this track, BTW, great effect.
  • Valparaiso. 3.9KM, 220M. Lots of surroundings! Set in a semi-jungle area, features birds and a waterfall. Has a cool drop into a short tunnel. Turns are steadily getting sharper and harder.
  • Phenitia Park. 3.8KM, 137M. Got some cool turns, but apart from that is rather generic. One of the two tracks shown at E3, and featured in our E3 Video (Which, BTW, is still available).
  • Gare D'Europa. 3.5KM, 179M. The other track shown at E3. Now we're moving really fast and the turns are very sharp. Really cool track. Set at night, with a city backdrop. It is raining, complete with lightning, followed by thunder. Has some cool jumps, and a moving mono-rail.
  • Odessa Keys. 4.4KM, 121M. Longest track, also set at night. The track itself moves slightly up and down in a couple of places, funky effect. Hard.

Racing Setup

The racing setup is different from the original game. Now you race one track and when you're done you're asked if you want to replay it or go back to the menu. And thank goodness, if you choose replay, there is no reload. (Loading, BTW, is much faster and looks much more interesting.) Once you get gold on a track, you move on to another track. Save in between, you can play them in any order. Once you have placed first on all six tracks, you're faced with "Challenge I". Now you'll have to play every track non-stop in order, all using the Rapier class. You have three tries, if you get Silver or Bronze on a track, you can replay the same track without losing a "try". Only Gold advances you. Once you win this "tournament", you'll get access to the Phantom class and two more tracks. Needless to say, the Phantom class is FAST!!!

You can race the standard Arcade and Time Trial modes, and the same 2-player modes as in the original game. (Linked, if course, no split-screen.) The Time Trial mode has a cool addition. A "ghost" ship will appear on the track racing your previous fastest race, so you'll always know where you're at compared to your old record. Nice touch!

Graphics

Very nice! As mentioned, this time around there are additions like snow, rain, thunder and lighting. Billboards are now animated, in addition to other bits of animation here and there. There is much less pop-up and polygon tear, although there is still some joint-jitter on a couple of the tracks. (Hopefully this will be fixed before the final release.) As with the first version, us S-Video users will notice a slightly grainy look to the textures, no biggie, once you start the race you don't care. The ships now have an ion(?) trail behind them, a nice enhancement in my book. I like the new track designs, nice variety to layout and textures.

Sound/Music

Excellent! Great music by The Chemical Brothers, The Prodigy, Underworld, The Future Sound of London, Fluke, Phorek and Cold Storage. Same industrial type as in the original, perfect for this type of game. The sound effects seem a bit sharper this time around, complete with an all new announcer. Courtesy of the Amiga 1200, now a computer voice tells you when you're about to be hit by mines or a rocket etc. Cool!

Gameplay

I never had any complaints about the gameplay in the original Wipeout. Maybe it was a bit hard to get used to, I'm not sure. Anyways, this version is much more forgiving on your "driving". Hitting the barriers in a turn might just give you some screeching sounds and slight slowdown. The addition of shields adds more strategy to the game, so does the checkpoints. (At least for the beginner.) Racing is a bit more crowded than last time. Now there are 12 ships on the track, all doing their best to keep you from winning, of course. Once you get close to the #1 spot the "Rocket, rocket, mines, electrobolt" (all within one second) gets a bit annoying ;-). The Autopilot is great for the latter levels. If you enable it just before the pitlane, it will always enter it and thus recharge with no penalty. Wipeout XL plays absolutely great with the NeGcon. In fact, I haven't used any other controller...

In the preferences screen you can now set your default view, internal or external. You can center the screen, and set the default name to be used for highscores and fastest times. You can also turn the weapons grid on and off. The Load/Save screen now shows the complete contents of both cards, making Memory Management much easier. (And in doing so, makes quick saving a bit more cumbersome...)

Overall

A great game! Should have enough enhancements over the original to satisfy most Wipeout fans. If you haven't played Wipeout before, now is the time to start. Wipeout XL is an excellent racing title, really showing off the power of the PlayStation. Should keep you busy for a while with the increasingly difficult levels and "Challenges". Another winner from Psygnosis. Five out of five stars! Great job guys, thanks again. Now hurry up and release it!

HomeThis review is (C) 1996 Nils Jacobsen and may not be re-distributed in any form, including news groups or other web sites. If you have questions, email Webmaster@vidgames.com.