Wipeout (the original) is F'ing Brilliant!

[Anthony1]

Man, I was just playing some Wipeout on the PS1, and I must say that this game is definitely a bonifide classic, that should go down in video game History as a true classic and a representation of one of the best games that 1995 had to offer.

To think that this was a launch game is just silly. I mean, it really is an absolutely top notch game, and to think that this game was the first crack at the PS1 by this development team is just baffling to me.


The playability of the game is very, very good. The only downside to the game is that the tracks are a little too narrow, and when you hit one of your enemies with a missle, it's very hard not to crash into them after you hit them. But other than that, the playability is fantastic.

The graphics are amazing. Especially for a first generation game on that system. This is the game that basically killed the Saturn, because when people saw this game in motion, they knew that the Playstation was the clear cut champion when it came to handling 3D.

The sound. Wow. The sound is sweet. I'm not really a big fan of this type of music, but the quality of this music makes me a fan whether I like it or not. I would like to get this music on CD for my car! And it's not just the background music with this game. The sound effects are amazing too. When going through tunnels you get a totally different sound, and all of the various sound effects are top notch. I'm pretty sure this game is in Dolby Surround Sound.


The original Wipeout is fantastic, and I know that many people prefer one of the sequels, (I think Wipeout XL is considered the best) but the original is just so damn special.

Whenever I come up with my all time top ten Playstation games, I know that Wipeout has to find a place somewhere on that list.

That is going to be a very hard list to make, but Wipeout definitely deserves it's recognition in the top 10.

[shvnsth]

ive loved the series since i got wipeout 3 for $3, and i would have to say that my favorite is between 3 and the one for psp. never really played the original that much, have to try it out.

[petewhitley]

A defining moment that really brought me back into gaming was around the launch of the PS1. A locally owned gaming store had a big projection-style TV (probably 60 inches or so) running Wipeout. The owner of the store just looked at me and grinned as a customer raced his way through a course. At the time it was such a radical departure from the SNES/Genesis games I had back at my dorm room, I didn't even consider it something I could get in to. I was almost in a state of shock. I came back a day or two later and picked up the system along with Wipeout and Twisted Metal (another defining game of the early 32bit generation).

[Neil Koch]

The sound. Wow. The sound is sweet. I'm not really a big fan of this type of music, but the quality of this music makes me a fan whether I like it or not.

The soundtrack is what really got me to get a PS1. I'm not a big techno guy (more of a metalhead) but I bought the game when I was working at Target and would crank it up while I was working in the stockrooms... eventually, I had to get something to play the actual game on LOL

[evildead2099]

Does Wipeout play along the lines of Super Mario Kart? It looks cool, and I've heard nothing but good about the series, especially Wipeout XL.

[petewhitley]

Does Wipeout play along the lines of Super Mario Kart? It looks cool, and I've heard nothing but good about the series, especially Wipeout XL.

Probably the only similarity is the weapon-based racing, though to be fair you can actually perform pretty well in Wipeout without using the weapons to a significant degree. The Mario Kart series pretty much owes its life to multiplayer, while the Wipeout series has never really put much of a focus on that (though Wipeout 64 made a bold attempt at four-player matches). Wipeout is the kind of game you play with headphones on, a Red Bull by your side, and wake up four hours later bemoaning the fact that you live in the 21st century and work a desk job.

[AlexKidd]

The first wipeout is definitely one of the best games on the ps1 in my opinion. One of the few 3d ones that is still playable and good looking today. I also enjoy the psp version and you can unlock some of the levels from the first one.

[anagrama]

Welcome to 1995.

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

Or 1974 (http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=&game_id=10453). ;)
Ain't I just a stinker?

[Kroogah]

Welcome to 1995.

Good point. We should only be allowed to talk about brand new video games here at the Retrogaming Roundtable.

[anagrama]

That's not what I was meaning, as you well know. It's just that it seems every time Anthony1 plays a new game he instantly has to rush over here to clue in all us poor uneducated plebs who had no idea Wipeout was a good game.
I mean, hell, it was only one of the biggest and most heavily promoted games on one of the biggest and most heavily promoted systems ever. I bet "Wipeout = great game" is a stunning revelation to everyone here, right?

[petewhitley]

That's not what I was meaning, as you well know. It's just that it seems every time Anthony1 plays a new game he instantly has to rush over here to clue in all us poor uneducated plebs who had no idea Wipeout was a good game.
I mean, hell, it was only one of the biggest and most heavily promoted games on one of the biggest and most heavily promoted systems ever. I bet "Wipeout = great game" is a stunning revelation to everyone here, right?

Here we were having a smurfingly good discussion about one of the more smurfbreaking games of the Playsmurf 1 era when you had to smurf in and smurf it all up with mucksmurfing. Smurfdamnit, let's get back to smurfing about Wipeout and how much it kicks smurf.

[anagrama]

OK, sorry for shit-stirring, I'll back off and shut up now.

(Don't say I didn't warn you when we get the "Hey, have you guys heard of this game called Tetris? It's actually quite good fun" thread though... ) ;)

[Oobgarm]

:D

EDIT: Oops!

[kainemaxwell]

Wipeout XL and Wipeout 3 take everything good and add so much more to it- cooler music, cars, etc.

[eden]

What are the differences, mainly, between Wipeout 3 and Wipeout 3: Special Edition. I only have the special edition so is it worth my while buying the original too?

Darren

[Gamereviewgod]

The original is good, but the sequels are far better. The mechanic in the original to flip you when you hit a wall killed it for me since I play my racers from the "bumper" view. It's completely disorienting.

[Jive3D]

Yes, Wipeout is an excellent game. I firmly beleive that it was the only game of the Playstation launch titles that really has that "this is the future of gaming" quality to it.

Wipeout was also released on a little system called the Sega Saturn. I have both versions, but I have played the PS version more simply b/c I like the controller better (though I never attempted to play it with the NiGHTS 3D-pad)

The music is excellent. It's all created by a dude by the name of CoLD SToRAGE (aka Tim Wright) much of his game music (including tracks from W1P30UT & other games) can be downloaded from his official site at http://www.coldstorage.org.uk

I'm heavily into electronic music, and the wipeout games have served it up pretty well over the years...

To follow up with more info on the music - Wipeout XL (aka Wipeout 2097) instead of having a custom made soundtrack, used popular tracks from hot electronic artists at the time, including The Prodigy, Chem Bros, Underworld & Fluke. Wipeout XL actually has a custom soundtrack that was made by Tim Wright for the game, but for some reason it was not implemented into the PS1 version, maybe those tracks were used in the PC version, I've never played it, so I dont know - but I do have the Soundtrack CD to Wipeout XL and it is all original tracks created by Tim Wright (yes there is another soundtrack CD, which is way more common, that has all the songs that are actually in the game, as well as songs 'in the vein' of the game like Daft Punk's "musique" which was not in the game but is on the soundtrack for some reason.)

Wipeout 3's soundtrack was mixed and compiled by Sasha (aka Alexander Coe) Sasha is one of my favorite DJs regardless of his work on Wipeout 3's soundtrack, but he did a great job selecting and remixing tracks from artists like Paul van Dyk, MKL & Orbital - he also wrote a few tracks specifically for the game such as "Feisar" & "Auricom."

Wipeout Fusion is the bastard child of the series, and I like it the least, regardless of the fact that it has more in common with Pod Racer, I'm sticking strictly to the soundtrack here - the soundtrack might as well have been the soundtrack to SSX, it was electronic, but it was not electronic with the calibur necessary for a wipeout game.

Wipeout 64 is mostly a remix of Wipeout XL, but there are a few additional race tracks & options (4 player split screen goodness!) as well as songs that don't appear in Wipeout XL such as 'Bang On' by the Propellerheads...

Wipeout 3 SE is a UK only released, since it's PAL only, I've never had a chance to play it to find out all of the extra bells and whistles that it has. but I do know that it contains a few classic race tracks from Wipeout 1 as well as some extra music tracks.

The PSP version, Wipeout Pure really put Wipeout back on the map, the music in my opinion is just as good as Wipeout 3, but it does not sound (slightly) dated as the Wipeout 3 soundtrack now does. And it sure helped that it doesnt suck anywhere near as much as Wipeout Fusion.

In the end, my favorite game is still Wipeout 3, I dont understand why some people like XL over 3 - I think 3 has a much more streamlined minimalist look and feel to it - the Designers Republic really hit the nail on the head. I find Wipeout 1 to be a little bit hard to deal with now, simply b/c the series has advanced so much in years after the release of the first game.

There is also a very interesting article in a recent issue of PSM about Wipeout (though they have errors in their article a little bit) It's the issue with the orange cover and the drawing of some space age looking guy holding a PSP. I'll get the issue number later...unless someone knows it now...

[Xexyz]

EDIT: Nevermind, I'm thinking of a different game series who's name I can't seem to remember. :embarrassed:

2nd EDIT: I was thinking of Jet Moto 2 :embarrassed: :embarrassed: It was a good game too though :)

[Anthony1]

That's not what I was meaning, as you well know. It's just that it seems every time Anthony1 plays a new game he instantly has to rush over here to clue in all us poor uneducated plebs who had no idea Wipeout was a good game.
I mean, hell, it was only one of the biggest and most heavily promoted games on one of the biggest and most heavily promoted systems ever. I bet "Wipeout = great game" is a stunning revelation to everyone here, right?



eat me

[digitalpress]

In the end, my favorite game is still Wipeout 3, I dont understand why some people like XL over 3 - I think 3 has a much more streamlined minimalist look and feel to it - the Designers Republic really hit the nail on the head. I find Wipeout 1 to be a little bit hard to deal with now, simply b/c the series has advanced so much in years after the release of the first game.

Excellent post, Jive3D!

If I had to rank them from best to worst, I'd do the following:

1. Wipeout XL (It's CLOSE to 3 but the soundtrack to XL is my favorite among ALL videogames)
2. Wipeout 3 (like you, I find this title is underrated and plays at least as good as XL)
3. Wipeout Pure (AHHH... a top-notch Wipeout title in the current gen! I played this all the way from NJ to Los Angeles and back again on my recent E3 trip)
4. Wipeout 64 (I should like this more but it feels clunkier than XL to me for some reason)
5. Wipeout (agreed that this was the best of the launch titles but mechanically topped by just about every other version except...)
6. Wipeout Fusion (it's clear that this one doesn't belong. It LOOKS like Wipeout, but it sure doesn't PLAY like Wipeout)

[Gamereviewgod]

I didn't mind Fusion too much, it just tried to be different by opening up the courses so you're not constantly banging against a barrier. It's probably the most accesible of the group.

Pure is probably my fave as I played it more than any other entry. Three is a close second.

[ClubNinja]

There's a lot of Playstation talk in here, but humor me for a moment when I say that Wipeout is the reason I bought a Sega Saturn. Initially, I had Wipeout on the PC, which was lovely until I lent the disc to a friend who mangled it. I couldn't find a replacement PC copy at the time, and I had wanted to get a Saturn for some other games anyway, so I picked up a Saturn and Wipeout. Mmm, Wipeout....

[NE146]

I've posted about this before on an older Wipeout thread but I'll post it again.

I remember this very clearly, but have yet to encounter anyone else who has seen it. I distinctly remember seeing a Wipeout arcade game! This was maybe late 1998-1999 while on vacation in the Bay Area and was at the Great Mall of Milpitas (they had an arcade room there which is now gone. Now they have a Dave and Busters on the other side).

Anyway, this was a red sit-down game and I think the seat might have moved while you played as well. I didn't play it but I stared at the screen for a while. I remember I never saw the word "Wipeout" (actually from what I recall I never saw a name at all and thus I thought it was weird). But it was definitely Wipeout! It was right at the entrance to the arcade.

Now before you start rattling off a couple of possible arcade racers it might have been, let me just say that I'm no noob to the arcade games scene and games in general.. and what I saw was most definitely some version of Wipeout.

Everything was a step above the Wipeout 1, and I even remember the weapons matched the ones from the first psx Wipeout like the shield, mines and shockwave. However what was strange was the sit down cabinet as well as the game itself seemed almost generic (as if it was some pc game). The game played a demo mode, but I didn't really see any words or attract mode etc. It was as if the whole game was sort of a "kit".

Anyway, after checking it out for a bit and wondering why I hadn't heard of a arcade Wipeout game and why I couldn't find a name. I had to leave. I eventually left the Bay Area and that's the last I've heard or seen of the game. Now whenever I bring it up, all I get is "There was no Wipeout arcade game" or "Maybe it was <insert futuristic arcade racer here>" .. But I swear to god as a game veteran.. it was Wipeout! And if it wasn't.. it was one heck of a clone racer.

Anyone else seen this?

[petewhitley]

I've posted about this before on an older Wipeout thread but I'll post it again ... Anyone else seen this?

Damn, that sounds like an incredible find. Let's hope someone can fill us in with some details on what it was.

[Jive3D]

The April 2005 Issue of Official Playstation Magazine (Issue 91) had a great article on the beginings of the first Wipeout Game. From Conception to creation. They do mix up a few facts and they also use the Logo/brand guidelines images taken from sheets used for Wipeout 3 - but it's still a great article. Extremely rare to find an editorial about a great (and rather old now, wow) game thats two pages long!

Page 134 & 135 - it's the Free Issue that someone else on the DP board posted here a while ago that if you signed up to get the free COLD WINTER demo, you actually got an issue of OPM and the disc - that's how I got it.

[CreamSoda]

I've never played a Wipeout game! @_@

Yes I'm serious, ok so maybe I'm missing out... But what is a good game to start me on the series???

Oh and how is the Saturn version?

[Anthony1]

I've never played a Wipeout game! @_@

Yes I'm serious, ok so maybe I'm missing out... But what is a good game to start me on the series???

Oh and how is the Saturn version?



Start with the original, and go with the Playstation version.


The Saturn version of wipeout actually isn't that bad at all, but Wipeout is all about the Playstation. You have to understand that in late 1995, the most state of the art game in the world was Wipeout, and the most state of the art system was Playstation. This game was a dream of all dreams in 1995. It was earth shattering. People saw Wipeout and knew that they would be playing a Playstation for at least 5 years.

So start with the Playstation version of the original. Then move on to Wipeout XL, then Wipeout 3, then try the Saturn version of the original, then try Wipeout on the N64, then try Wipeout Fusion, then Wipeout Pure.

[kainemaxwell]

Really a tossup or depends on my mood if I like 3 or XL more. Though I have put in more time with 3 racing the different tracks to get the different ships and some the medals. I should play a quick round before I go away this weekend!

[anagrama]

Start with the original, and go with the Playstation version.


Why start with one of the weakest iterations? Unless you want to play them all to be able to appreciate the evolution of the series, why not just jump in with one of the more recent ones which improved on the original in just about every area?

[sharc]

wipeout 3 is my favorite of the series as well - it really feels like the culmination of everything studio leeds had learned in their past versions. the difficulty level, tracks, and graphic design were all fine tuned to a level i thought was perfect for the series. it's just a pity that fusion kind of ignored all that progress. :/

one element i hate that showed up in titles like f-zero and the first wipeout is the rigid way the teams/crafts are structured. you have the beginning mediocre craft that's ok in everything (feisar, blue falcon), and you work your way on up to the expert craft that handles like a brick but drives fast as all hell (quirex, fire stingray). once you mastered the brick rocket, there wasn't a reason to ever go back to the "lower" crafts, save for stylistic choice.

wipeout 3 had more thought put into the team design than any i had seen before. it seemed more like each of these teams was supposed to be an entity in and of itself; capable of winning races and not occupying a permenant, unchangeable slot on the ranking ladder like they wound up doing in prior installments.

i think what really did this was the boost function, aside from just making a more even stat distribution among the teams. adding in a turbocharger that fed off of your shields was a great way to give the slower crafts a real chance at winning. just being able to take hits doesn't matter in wipeout - sure you can survive a missile or three, but if you're in a slow craft you still come to a near dead stop and get passed by everyone. but with that boost, you can just sacrifice some of your shield and come roaring back up.

each of the ships had enough talent in the right areas that there was a viable strategy to win agaisnt anything if the pilot had the skill. i really haven't found that kind of even balance in many other classic arcade-style racers. i can win virtually any race in any league with any craft (some of the races in the fastest league seem near impossible for me to do in the goteki, sadly), and it's never really frustrating. when i loose in wo3, i can usually say it's because i didn't use the ship's traits properly.

doesn't hurt that the assegai is my favorite craft in any racer ever, either. that thing is just flat out awesome.
:-P

-sharc

[Gamereviewgod]

How could we all have missed the N64 port? It fixed the main problem I had for the original: The flipping when you hit a wall. That's my fave version of the orignal, at least that's how my memory is working.

[digitalpress]

I've never played a Wipeout game! @_@

Yes I'm serious, ok so maybe I'm missing out... But what is a good game to start me on the series???

Oh and how is the Saturn version?

I posted my list in order of preference above. I'd go with that! Wipeout XL or 3 are the best games to start with. They're not as rough on the n00b as the first game. Work your way down that list!

[digitalpress]

How could we all have missed the N64 port? It fixed the main problem I had for the original: The flipping when you hit a wall. That's my fave version of the orignal, at least that's how my memory is working.

Who all missed it? It was on my list.

[Jive3D]

How could we all have missed the N64 port? It fixed the main problem I had for the original: The flipping when you hit a wall. That's my fave version of the orignal, at least that's how my memory is working.

Who all missed it? It was on my list.

Mine as well. I think that the 64 version is really worth playing if you find yourself in one of the following two situations -

1.) you want to do wipeout multiplayer and don't have two PS1s, two Copies of Wipeout & a link cable - then play the 64 version!
2.) you've got your 64 setup and not your PS1 - well then play the 64 version! It's solid, not my fave, but solid.

[mezrabad]

The Original Original Wipeout. 1972.

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-9/829368/1972Wipeout.jpg

This is on the Magnavox Odyssey. Player Spot One, the Driver, races around while the other player spot sits perched on that left icon which looks like a clock. While The Driver follows the convoluted path of the track, Player Two, The Timer, is hitting the reset button on the Driver's controller to send the Ball Spot from the right side to the left side to bounce off the Player Spot on the clock icon. This oscillating Ball Spot acts as a "timer" for Player One's race around the track. For every oscillation, Player Two subtracts a "lap" from Player One's lap count, which starts at 30. The idea is to get around the track before the lap total evaporates entirely.

Another way you can "lose laps" is for your DRIVER player spot to collide with the ball spot while you're racing around the track. If the TIMER wishes, they can choose to become, in essence, the SHOOTER, instead of the TIMER, and try to hit the DRIVER with the timer spot. It wasn't easy to do, but its definitely an alternative strategy.

So the question to ask is what is the lap count for? Is it just a score?

Well, there's also an off-screen gameboard that goes with this game. The gameboard supports four lanes (for up to four players) and various passing, no passing and pit stop zones. When the player finishes his race on the screen, he uses the number of laps left from that race to move his little car token forward that many spaces on the board.

The Pit Stops on the board let the player draw a card from the Pit Stop deck which gives directions like "Good Cornering! gain 2 spaces." or "Tire Change! lose 4 spaces." or even meta directives like "Lady Luck! use to cancel any pit stop card you pick."

To win the game you have to move your token to the end of the gameboard track first, by using the lap counts you earn from racing around the screen track and by maneuvering your car into the no passing zones to prevent your opponents from passing you.

Complicated? Not really. Fun? Well, yeah. During our playthrough of the game, I noticed my 7 year old son exhibiting signs of genuine enjoyment. He got very excited and jumped up and down at certain points. He usually refers to Odyssey games as "crap games from hell", so this was a good sign. One of the problems we did have was that we really weren't hitting the Pit Stop spots as often as we'd have liked so that "random" element ("Bad Skid! Lose 2 spaces") that adds the flavor to the game was kind of lost. That's just the luck of the draw I guess. Maybe we'd learn to time our lap counts so that we'd hit those Pit Stops more often.

The things I really enjoyed about the design: I liked that player two had to use player one's controller simultaneously with player one. Not a convention that took hold, fortunately, but an interesting idea regardless. I also liked the use of the Ball Spot as a timer and as a collision device.

Though it is more board game than video game, I'd just thought I'd point out that there was another Wipeout and tell you about it.

[Anthony1]

Start with the original, and go with the Playstation version.


Why start with one of the weakest iterations? Unless you want to play them all to be able to appreciate the evolution of the series, why not just jump in with one of the more recent ones which improved on the original in just about every area?



You have to start with the original to appreciate the whole breadth of this franchise. You have to play it, and you have to consider what it would have been like to play it in 1995.

You don't need to play it forever, and totally beat it, and spend weeks and weeks with the original. But play the original first, and then move on.

The original started everything, and showed the wave of the future, you gotta play the first one.

[NE146]

The original started everything, and showed the wave of the future, you gotta play the first one.

I wouldn't say the original PSX Wipeout started everything... (well, yeah maybe the Wipeout series ) But I think what started everything was of course.. SNES F-Zero! ...Obviously the inspiration behind Wipeout :) That's where futuristic high speed racing started for most of us I think. When Wipeout came out much later, it just felt like a really good F-Zero knockoff. And you know what... It was.

My gripe with Wipeout by the way is a common one: The way you slow down to a stop once you brush the sides. That clears up with skill of course.. but it's still annoying at first :P

[digitalpress]

You have to start with the original to appreciate the whole breadth of this franchise. You have to play it, and you have to consider what it would have been like to play it in 1995.

Good God.

Why play one of the weakest versions of the game FIRST? Aren't you trying to turn people ON to the series?


You don't need to play it forever, and totally beat it, and spend weeks and weeks with the original. But play the original first, and then move on.

In your own words Anthony, "it's a question of time". If you're NEW to this series and want to see what it's like, jump into the best games first. You can explore the history of the game later, if you have time.


The original started everything, and showed the wave of the future, you gotta play the first one.

Why not just go back to Night Driver then, and experience the wave of the future as it looked in 1976? I don't see the point in doing a historical study until you've seen the best the series can offer. Many can argue about the best in the series, but the first Wipeout will rarely be among the contenders in that argument.

Just do Wipeout XL. Trust me, I've been playing this series since day 1.