Game: _Wipeout XL_ (USA release)
Developer: Psygnosis Ltd.
Price: $59.99 @ Software Etc.
Format: Sony Playstation


	I think it would probably be an understatement to say I liked the
original _Wipeout_, difficult learning curve and all. I loved the graphic
layout and design, I loved the concept, I loved the head rush in Rapier
class, and I loved the intensity. Well, guess what, peeps: _Wipeout XL_
is all that plus a barrel of SexHurt that would make J.R. "Bob" Dobbs' third
nostril convulse in exogasm. Well, OK, maybe it isn't THAT stimulating, but
I'm sure it's damn close. It's *that* intense.
	First off, some play comments: Yes, the control is *easier*. "Improved"
may be considered tantamount to coppin' a feel up the Pope's smock in the
Church O' Wipeout (tm), but it certainly isn't worth complaining about, O
afficionadoes. Now, when making a collision with a wall at a vector of less
than 45 degrees (approximately) to the wall, you don't come to a complete
halt; in _XL_, you scrape along the wall, kicking up some funky looking
sparks with only a mild speed decrease. Of course, slamming into a wall at
a perpindicular angle still equates to a full stop, but, well, you know, DUH-
-uh. Control is also a little less floaty, and the Qirex is actually 
somewhat steerable.  Actually, the Feisar is no
longer the optimum choice, as you'll find your finishes are a little too
close for comfort in the Rapier class races with this slowpoke, even desipte
its brutally precise handling. It's a toss-up between the fast and reasonably-
-maneuverable AG Systems or the slightly-more-sluggish but well-rounded
Auricom (The Auricom just looks so...so...TRON!). I prefer the Auricom
because I tend to whale on the ol' Turbo Boost whenever I get it, so I need
that extra shield for those moments when I find myself ping-ponging through
a narrow stretch with four craft all jockeying for position. Speaking of
which, the avid Wipeout-oid will notice a pleasant improvement: packs! Yes,
that's right: you can actually find *more* than two craft in a given
stretch of track!  Actually, you can find up to four, five, or even more in
a given stretch, just *begging* for raging plasma death or the spoo-inducing
Quake Disruptor to scatter their worthless tin-sided air-jalopy frames all
over the place - glorious! You really need the more precise and forgiving
controls of _XL_ to make it through situations like this if you DON'T have
a weapon - trying to push through a pack of front runners without getting
brpadsided back to 11th place can take a bit of skill on the Rapier level,
and you'll want all the help you can get.
	As for the graphics, well, what can I say? They're *fast*. They're
colorful. They're intense. You've probably seen the pics, so you know about
the translucent trails and gorgeous explosions, so I'll try to describe how it
looks in motion. There are tons of animated background effects, including
rotating cameras and signs, rushing monorails, thunderstorms, gorgeous
weather effects on the Tibetan Vector-class track and the British Rapier-
-class track, and all sorts of flashing signs/lights. Light-sourcing abounts
in great, luminous quantities, adding a very profound sense of depth. The craft
are better textured, and there is MUCH less pop-up and very few of those
annoying lines that crop up on the edge of textures in older Playstation
games. All of this at a *fairly* consistent 30 fps - I did catch a half-second
or so of slowdown when I took a hairpin amid 3 other cars at Phenetia Park
and threw up a Quake Disruptor so I could jet into the lead. That's forgivable.
The crew at Psygnosis has the PS pegged: I haven't seen a racing game on ANY
home system yet that has this level of speed and graphic intensity, at this
frame rate. It's truly *visceral*. Contributing to this is the signature
consistency of style and presentation that is a hallmark of Psygnosis: they
understand that suspension of disbelief comes from keeping an artistic
style that has little or no internal deviation. Everything has that sleek,
futuristic, Designer's Republic look that contributes immensely to the level
of immersion, with no awkward bitmaps or textures, or out-of-place designs.
The only other person/company that seems to understand how vital this is 
is, of course, the inestimable Shigeru Miyamoto.
	Sound is, as advertised, techno from popular European techno groups.
Not knwoing much about the techno scene, I really can't say much other than
that it's, well, *techno*. It fits the game, but is still a little too
ambient for a hardcore thrash freak like myself. My gf, who is a big techno
fan, says the music kicks and is worth getting the album for, so, if you
like techno, I guess I can say you'll love the soundtrack. Sound effects are
also fairly ambient, but the explosions have punch and the weapons sound
quite keen.
	Now, a bit about the structure of the game itself: _XL_ is, initially,
partitioned into three classes, each with two tracks, and all of which are
immediately accessable. As you complete each track in 3rd place or higher,
you'll get a trophy in the menu on the course select. When you have these
all filled up with gold trophies, I guess something magical happens? I dunno.
I haven't even placed on the Odessa Keys track during the four hours I played 
it. You have four craft you can pick from intially, being, of course, the
standard four models from _Wipeout_. There is now an additional rating:
shield strength. The Qirex has the highest shield strength, followed by the
Auricom, the Feisar, and, at the very last, the AG Systems. Believe me,
peeps, when the firefight breaks out during the second stretch in the British
track, and the guy who fired the Electobolt at you is making your car shake
like a Pentecostal after a Jolt Cola enema, you'll be GLAD you had a kickin'
shield when the 'tardboy leading you rolls five little highly-explosive
friends into your driving path. Whew! Blowing up is very nicely light-sourced,
but *frustrating* when it happens for the umpteenth time. The weapons, in fatc,
look much cooler than the original, and look LIGHT-YEARS beyond those weak
atrocities in the Saturn verison of the same name. (What? I just shot a
*paint pellet* at my enemy? It's called translucency; USE IT.) Off the top
of my head, I can recall the following devices of glittering death: the
Rocket, which is actually a three-way forward-firing salvo now; the Missile,
which locks onto your enemy with a cool spinning, cycling targeting reticle,
the Electrobolt (shockwave), which also has that funky reticle, kicks up
a trail of lightning, and makes you enemy shake and spark like no white boy
ever could; the Plasma Bolt, which charges up and fires a lucent stream of
DOOM at your opponent, crushing his shields and oft times killing him outright,
the familiar quintet o' Mines; the stunning Quake Disruptor, which sends
a ripple up the track flinging craft right and left; and the Bomb, which you 
drop behind your vehicle and detonates in an expanding hemisphere of white
energy, sorely damaging all those in its radius (excluding yourself). Less
deadly but equally useful are the Autopilot, which guides you around tricky
corners, and can thankfully be aborted; the Shield Regeneration unit, which
returns a portion of shield ebergy; the Turbo Boost, which thrusts you forward
at vertigo-indusing speed; and the old, trusty, translucent Shield which now
flashes golden when you whack into a wall, opponent, or get nailed with a 
weapon. You can, at any time, drop the item you have without discharging it
so you can possibly pick up something more preferable - a nice addition.
	All in all, I think it's safe to say that I'm roundly impressed by
this title. I had big expectations, after the outstanding original, and,
despite the reduced difficulty, I'm very pleased. More the numerically-
-oriented, the score breakdown is as follows:

	Graphics: 9.5  (The best of seen on a home console, and I'm buying
			an N64. Sorry, _Wave Race 64_ is great and chock-fulla
			crunchy technique, but it doesn't LOOK like this.
			Eeeeeyaaah.)
	Animation: 8.5 (Everything seems so dynamic and alive compared to
			the old, more static original.)
	Sound: 7.5     (If thecho's yer thang, this is yer game.)
	Control: 8.5   (Easier than the old _Wipeout_, but there's an arseload
			more maneuvering to do - the precision is *needed*.)
	Playability: 9.0 (I WANT MORE. MORE MORE MORE.)

	OVERALL: 9.0

	If you like racing, you WANT this game. On Rapier, it makes Ridge Racer
look dog-slow. It also has far more visceral, eye-imploding special effects
than ANY racer I've seen out there, home OR arcade. I recommend this title to
anyone who likes pure, naked, trauma-inducing SPEED.

	Enough babbling. Go buy the game, or I'll park my Qirex on your dog.
(Hey, I got it *used*; ya know, the thing isn't actually *useful*.)



------
Douglas L. Erickson --- douglas@mailhost.ecn.uoknor.edu 
ECN does not endorse the rabid blathering I call my opinions       
"All's well my butt! Gimme something to eat!" - Zenki-sama