posted on 28. 07. 2009 by Lori in PSN, PlayStation 3, Review 

Review: WipEout HD Fury

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Review: WipEout HD Fury

“WipEout HD” is probably the single best game the PSN has to offer — some would argue, it is the best game on the entire system.
For about $ 9.99, the newly released “Fury” expansion adds a lot of content to the already generous offering, but will that content satisfy your cravings for high speed racing action?

Buckle up and find out after the break. Not that a safety belt would help at speeds past 400 miles per hour.


The new “Zone” tracks are well trippy.

Before we start getting into the meat of the game, it has to be said that “Fury” not only adds content to the game, but also a few new problems. Tearing and slowdowns have made it’s way into “WipEout HD”, but they are relatively rare, and the sheer amount of eye-candy can make it hard to notice, still it’s worth noting and getting out of the way.

Now as far as content, there’s a lot of bang for your buck here. All the ships included in the main game have now been redesigned with 2 additional skins that can be unlocked. 4 new regular tracks are included as well as 4 tracks that are exclusively used in zone-based gametypes, of which there is 3 now — speaking of which, the modes “Eliminator”, “Detonator” and “Zone Battle” have been added to the sorely lacking line-up, bringing up the total number of modes tho a (for a download only title) whopping 7.


Modesto Heights as seen from the eyes of an ant.

There is nothing at all wrong with the “new” tracks (they’re re-makes from the PSP versions of the game), and the new ship designs make the old ones look like your grandfather’s racing cars — but that was to be expected, so as far as the added content goes, Studio Liverpool certainly didn’t mess anything up. The upgraded ships also have gotten a +10 stats boost in the various areas, which make these the logical choice to race with. Let’s just say the old ones have been spending their days in the garage ever since “Fury” hit.

As far as modes go, a lot of WipEout fans are going to be happy to know that, finally, “Eliminator” has made it’s way into the franchise’s HD brethen. Basically, your main objective is to make as many contestants go ka-boom as you can. It’s just as much fun as it sounds. L1 can now flip your ship 180° so you will be facing your adversaries head on with some triple-rockets in no time. Contender eliminated, indeed.
The only draw-back of this mode is, that quite like Mario Kart, your success highly depends on which pickups you are dealt. Like a game of cards with a major skill component and less pokerfaces, then.


The crafts you control in “Detonator” all look the same: awesome.

“Detonator” on the other hand is all skill, Armed to the teeth you get to drive around any of the tracks and blow up some bombs. They’re quite good if you like points. You can charge up your EMP by driving over the what once used to be boost-pads and/or use your laser gun to do so. Sounds easier than it actually is. It’s very hard, really. Due to the insanely trippy graphics and the pretty explosions an instant home-run of a mode though.

The last addition is the “Zone battle” mode, which pits racers against each other in a race for Zones. One has to hit as many speed pads as possible and then convert the acquired points into either advancing zones by boosting, or, should you be nearing destruction, to repair your craft. Simple enough, and extremely addicting. Boosting makes zone barriers appear that will then slow down the competition and take away from their “points”, for the lack of a better word.

As far as DLCs go, “Fury” is truly out of this world, and anyone who owns WipEout HD should give it serious consideration. It’s not perfect, but as far as futuristic racing goes, it’s as close as they come.

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