I for one, accept Wipeout Fusion. Thoughts?

[SHADOWFOX2]

Wipeout Fusion will always be my home.
I loved everything about the game and still play it on my PS2 because damn it's gud.
Maybe I'm just a huge fanboy when I say I don't see a problem with the gravity bomb?
My brother and I love further defying physics by throwing each other through the level after a jump
And the quake hype was the best, even if looking back on it it may be slightly op
I think we were just too hyped about futuristic racing with loops and amazing ship designs and upgrades and names and logos and weapons that we weren't really digging for any faults, they just equated to "get gud" or "this map is hard lol"
These are one of the games that have influenced me in the music and sounds I do today, so much so that I wish I could just float around in its levels and roam, spectate and appreciate.
And as far as some ships outclassing others, I would expect nothing less than to be able to acquire better ships/cars and weapons as I progress through ANY game really.
Nobody wants to be statistically where they started after they beat the game, but as far as that goes, I think the super weapons balanced out the general racing stats of a ship *coughPiranhacough* and with a bit of skill it's even less of a gap.
NOW I WANNA PLAY IT AGAIN BBL
tl;dr ilu Wipeout Fusion

[Jonny]

I just played it some minutes ago and I see no problem with "Offroad"-Sections. For me the ship behaves like usual.

[BardicSMG]

I find fusion has easier handling, but the offroad sections handle like a typical wipeout game

[Chill]

What turned me on most about this game was the dark heavy and epic euphoric style of it.. Sure the track sucked you down, but there were epic styles to each massive track.. Even the music felt heavy and matched the atmosphere. That was the thing I loved most about it. If I could relate the euphoria to anything, it would be the feeling you get as a kid when an epic thunder storm takes out the power of a city and your left in awe by the bolts of light in the deep massive night sky.

And yes, I got 100% completion some years back.. Along with most Wipeouts..

New euphoria is something that hasn't been around since the first SL installment of Wipeout Pure, it felt as if the sequels were simply extensions as opposed to new games.. That's something I've missed for a while, along with a good backstory that really sets you into that world.

[Ace3000]

New euphoria is something that hasn't been around since the first SL installment of Wipeout Pure, it felt as if the sequels were simply extensions as opposed to new games.. That's something I've missed for a while, along with a good backstory that really sets you into that world.

It didn't help that the ship designs weren't that radically different between games, like how it was up to Pure.

[Chill]

That's true, and the over-all atmosphere seemed to remain the same.. But Pulse broke some good new ground with the skin-editor and online mode.. Really wish the kept those things up with it but oh well..

[shotfan]

I hope nobody minds mining an over-a-year inert topic, but since I already posted what I do not like in Fusion, I want also to share what I think Fusion did right as well, and I did not want to create a duplicate topic.


The best thing: Zone! Got to remember and respect the game that gave us such a genius gamemode.

Next: the courses. Each of them has three variations, and finally can be raced in both directions (what took Psygnosis so long to create reverse tracks?!). I think they positively count as different tracks, as all three courses at the venue branch off for most of the base (1st) course (little is left of the course 1 in other ones - only Florion Height 2 copies almost all of FH1). They also have tons of details, and the locales are interesting and encapsulating enough to race on their tracks only for the vibe they give (Cubiss Float is my favourite, as I like snowy courses). The addition of off-track sections is also worthy a mention, as they are tricky to navigate and offer some more variation in scenery (CF3 comes to mind, as well as Vohl Square 3 that was teased in the game's intro). I liked that Alca Vexus aimed at recreating the beauty of Valparaiso (and came close IMO; BTW, VS2 kind of reminds me of Manor Top... also, do not forget that track section, hanging on a crane in the later part of the course in the background!). Lastly, Devilla! The only point-to-point tracks in Wipeout. Why so? Are only circuits allowed?

As to add to the topic of the track design: shortcuts and the special switch pads associated with them. Made tracks more alive and interesting overall. They also gave an element of tactics to the navigation of the track - is it better to use the weapon on the contender ahead, or hold it to blow up a shortcut blockade, opening a detour that will allow me to pass by him/her the other way? Or do I have enough speed to risk raising the Mandrashee bridge and attempting to get to the trench? I am bewildered why shortcuts never returned. Gravity flip pads were fun to see in action, but they essentially work the same, unlocking new routes.

Graphically, I think the game looked amazing when was released, although it did not have the same style that The Designer's Republic poured into earlier games - less minimalistic and 'rugged', I think? But some cyberpunk is still there (Vohl Square and Katmoda 12 are nothing but this), which is a good thing in my book.

I also like the design of some of the ships. Van-Uber and EG.r look just right, and I have to admit I am in love with how aggressive and armoured my dear LS-59400 looks (but arguably it is more in place of an potential Eliminator mode than ordinary racing).

Soundtrack is not as solid as in the previous games (Wip3out raised the bar REALLY high - how could you compete with Xpander?), but there are still good tracks, like Papua New Guinea, Smartbomb and Down The River. It is still a respectable electronica, IMO. In comparison, the HD's selection is just bland and unrecognizable from one another.

Challenges. The superweapon challenges had Survival Races and Chases, which I would gladly see return as separate gamemodes. Also, the return of superweapons was a nice idea, but they were unbalanced (Seismic Field was rather random in effectiveness, Bio Snare not too good, overpowered Nitro Rocket and Shield Drain).

Upgrades... now I am unsure about this. On one hand, throwing money into your ship to improve its performance gave a tangible extra goal to complete when doing Leagues (alongside Duel Challenges and the Custom League). However, the other ships stat-scaled to whichever you picked, making this a bit of a self-defeating endeavour (other ships should become more advanced in later Leagues). I would prefer a few variations of the same craft, restricted to different events (like in W2048 ).

Upgrade-related thing: ship specifications. A rather minor, but seeing such detail dedicated to describing the stars of the game seemed impressive and immersive to me at the time, like it originated in an actual future racing (I still wonder if mass figures willl be accurate, if AG racing ever comes true...)

Lots of unlockable content, including game art (and cheats hidden on some of it!). This made feel Fusion like a complete package of a game (albeit Time Trial should be available from the beginning).


So yes, I too accept Wipeout Fusion. It innovated and thus made some things badly, but there are also many good decisions. I just wish that more of the good elements of this game remained into later iterations.

[blackwiggle]

I was messing about with my new at the time, surround amp, and using it's video upscaling to upscale the video output of a PSP GO! loaded with the PSP Wipeouts, and using a PS3 controller, so the those games play like on a full console...... it worked quite well, so well I thought I'd try using my TV's 3D processing for a laugh..... well it was playable, but too pixelated really.

But then I thought, hey, why don't I try the same thing with the PS2 and Fusion, so I did.
WOW ! I was surprised at just how well that works, Fusion appears smooth enough to make playing in 3D worthwhile.
The only thing that annoyed me then about Fusion, and still annoys me now is the loading times, otherwise I don't think it's that bad..... not some of my favorite Wipeout tracks, but no real hated ones either - like WO Fury's Modesto

I've since upgraded the PSP GO! to a PSTV unit, the extra processing grunt of the PSTV's VITA engine makes a hell of a lot of difference on how those titles play and look, well worth the effort trying to get one if your a wipeout tragic, plus you can, with a bit of skullduggery, get 2048 to be playable on a TV with a PS3/4 controller as well, so you can have all the Wipeouts playable with a controller on a big TV.

We are starting to see quite a few PS2 titles being remastered for the PS4.
Would I buy Fusion if it was remastered for the PS4?
I think it would end up being a must have title for pretty much everybody at this forum, despite it being a sort of Orphan of the Wipeout series.

[shotfan]

Well, I already have it But surely I would not buy a new console and a remastered version of this game. I never cared too much about graphics. Besides, SL is no more, and I am not too interested in paying Sony directly.

I also recalled another thing I liked in Fusion: unlocking ships. Acquiring them via Duel challenges was a great idea, and definitely felt rewarding. I just wish that ships were more balanced. I suppose that having a selection of balanced teams could clash somewhat with having access to limited number of them at the start, as you potentially could have no access from the beginning to a ship that you would prefer (like being a speedfreak and having Icaras locked). But the crafts are the centerpiece of the series after all, and what greater incentive to win subsequent events there could be, if not getting the new shipkeys? (or shipcard, or... whatever ) Still, I would not mind if only the Old Four (FEISAR, AG-S, Auricom and Qirex) were available at the start.