Reviewed: February 2, 1999
Reviewed by: Mark Smith
Publisher
Midway
Developer
Psygnosis
Released: November 3, 1998
Genre: Racing
Players: 4
ESRB: Everyone
9
7
6
8
7.7
Supported Features:
Unless you have been living in a cave for the past 4 years, you almost certainly have heard of WipeOut. It was one of the very first games to be released for the Sony PlayStation; in fact the day I took my PlayStation home from the store, WipeOut and Ridge Racer were the two titles I took home with it. I still remember being dazzled by the smooth graphics and fast action of this hovercraft racing game and when the sequel came out a year and some odd months later, I was first in line to buy it.
WipeOut XL (or WipeOut 2097 if you live overseas) wasn't much of a sequel. It had a few new tricks up its sleeve, but it main offering was new tracks, new music, and arguably worse control than the first. I tolerated these faults so I could enjoy the new tracks and when the 3D accelerated version for PC CDROM came out in 1998, I got that one too.
The PC version offered crisp graphics (almost twice the resolution of the PSX) with all the 3D special effects and great CD-audio techno music that the PlayStation offered. While there wasn't anything new in the PC release, it was still a great game that the non-PlayStation crowd could now enjoy. You would think that after 4 years, 2 platforms and 2 versions later I would be tired of racing these flying "arrowheads" around devilish tracks competing against inhuman AI, but when I heard that Nintendo was creating a version of WipeOut for the N64 I couldn't resist.
Psygnosis has breathed new life into the WipeOut saga with the recent release of WipeOut 64. Not only have they redesigned the game from the ground up; they have created 7 unique new tracks and rendered them in some of the most beautiful colored lighting you will see in a racing game. Somehow they have managed to include some really great techno music on this cart that rivals the previous CD releases.
First; for the three of you who were actually living in that cave for the last four years; WipeOut is a high speed racing game where you pilot wedge-shaped hovercraft through twisting courses at blinding speeds. You race for one of five teams or corporations, and each team has four classes of craft to choose from for varying difficulty giving you 15 variations for each race. You compete against a field of computer opponents, the clock, or other human players.
Each ship comes pre-loaded with a small arsenal of weapons and new for the N64 is a Super Weapon, which is unique to each craft. These weapons are inactive until you fly over a power-up pad on the track at which time one of the onboard weapons will arm itself. You can either fire or disengage the weapon, but the trick is, you can only have one active power-up at a time, so knowing when to save a Turbo Boost or trade it for a Shield or Guided Missile involves a bit of strategy.
The menus in WipeOut 64 are a breeze to navigate and you will be racing in minutes. One to four players can race, and if there are only two of you, you can pick the way you split the screen - always a nice feature. Each craft is represented by several bar charts showing its strengths and weaknesses, allowing you to make a quick informed decision without having to read pages of ship data in the manual.
Once you are racing, you will marvel at the accuracy of the controls; especially if you have played any of the previous versions using a digital game pad. The analog stick provides quick and accurate response making this by far the easiest version of WipeOut to control. Chase or first person views are both available and the chase view is actually playable in this release due to the accuracy of the analog stick.
The tracks are all very well designed and challenging, but I do miss some of the larger jumps that the original game offered that would send your ship airborne for several seconds making you search for the track below so you could safely land your craft. The overall atmosphere of the tracks is also lacking. While the earlier versions of WipeOut had bright outdoor tracks with various weather effects, all of WipeOut 64's tracks are dark and moody and all have a heavy industrial theme. While the darker environments are good for showing off the advanced colored lighting, it just gets depressing after awhile.
Another minor annoyance is the fact that you never really see more than two or three other opponents at any time. This must be a limitation of the N64 because the PC and PSX versions would always show the entire field at the start of the race and as many ships as you could keep up with during the race. Of course the objective is to win which means you should never see anybody in front of you anyway - right?
Despite the "darkness factor" I mentioned earlier, the graphics are stunning and easily equal the quality of the accelerated PC version. Weapon effects and explosions are brilliantly displayed, and the tracks flow by at a constant and almost sickening frame rate. Even splitting the screen into two or four view ports doesn't seem to affect the consistently great frame rate of this title, making this one of the few multi-player N64 games I can actually enjoy when friends comes over.
Sounds are as good as they have ever been, yet they lack the Dolby Surround the PlayStation version offered. The music was what really surprised me though. When I bought my N64 I resigned myself to the fact that I would always sacrifice CD-quality music in trade for better graphics, but WipeOut 64 proved me wrong.
The thumping techno tracks in WipeOut 64 are incredible. In fact one of the tracks is right off my "Lost In Space" soundtrack, so I popped in that CD to compare and couldn't tell the difference. Even though the quality is there, the quantity is a bit lacking and the music will get repetitive after a few hours of racing. No matter though; just turn down the music level and enjoy the great sound effects.
The N64 version sweetens the pot by adding even more variations than the previous releases. You now have three Challenge Modes to choose from, each consisting of six races. Win all six races on all three Challenge Modes to unlock the bonus track and bonus hovercraft. Other advanced weapon power-ups are also available if you are good enough to earn them.
There is a very steep difficulty factor to overcome in WipeOut 64. After four years I will admit that I am pretty darn good at WipeOut, but WipeOut 64 had me racing over and over again dozens of times praying for a Bronze Medal (3rd place - the lowest you can get and still advance). Since I now have the control I have always wanted, I can only conclude that they have seriously beefed up the AI in this new version.
WipeOut 64 is the third reincarnation of this racing title, and I will have to admit it is definitely the best. The few areas where it is lacking are easily compensated by the incredible control offered by the analog stick, the new tracks, great graphics, and the quality music.
If you've never played another version of WipeOut then this will certainly be an eye-opening experience, and if you are a Anti-Grav Racing Veteran like me, WipeOut 64 will offer you countless hours of racing enjoyment with the control you have always dreamed of.
