Wipeout Fusion - Is it REALLY worth buying?

[Shem]

I ask you this as a Wipeout saga fan. I started to wonder if I should buy this game for the sake of it (or at least for the Zone Mode), or spend the money on something else...
I know WF is a state of art when it comes to bugs, bad ship design and all these things that have been mentioned on "10 things I hate about Wipeout Fusion" topic. ...... But it's still wipeout.
As a fan, a huge fan of the series I stand in front of a tough decision:
- To buy WF, play some time....leave it (but be happy to own a complete collection of Wipeouts)
- To buy a better game....(but not to own every Wipeout released on Playstation (1 & 2)...being not so satisfied with it..)

I'm confused, so any help will be appreciated. I wouldn't be even bothered by this problem if I had a steady income, but since I don't...

[infoxicated]

I would say no if it were the last ever Wipeout, as it would forever tarnish your impression of what the series was originally about.

But since Wipeout Pure will be infinitely better :D I say you should pick it up, armed with the knowledge that the series will return to its roots at some point.

For me, the game is worth playing for a few reasons:

~ Reverse quakes - looking back and firing one away at the pack is cool.
~ Mandrashee 2 or 3 with a fully upgraded ship... faster than anything else.
~ Zone mode - I'm not a big fan myself, but it is good fun to see how fast you can go.
~ The jump at the end of Florion Heights 3 - it has the whole weeeeeee! thing about it.
~ The inverse loop drop on the moon track - your heart will skip a beat first time you do it, and probably the next few times too.

You'll probably be able to get it dirt cheap now, too, so go on - complete your collection. :)

[piranha wiper]

its an alright game for £15 (purchased at hmv)
if you get bored of it you can always cheat on zone and try and chase a quake :lol: (you need infinte health and weapons) upgraded ships and super weapons add extra variety and more skill,

[Shem]

So it's for WF then. Thanks for your help. I guess I'll aim at the latest Gran Turismo as well, but Wipeout will always come first. No matter how ruined, and spoiled WF is, it's still Wipeout....

[piranha wiper]

you do have a point i bought fusion twice now just becouse its wipeour and it was £15

[science]

If you can find it super dirty cheap, go ahead and buy it. Otherwise, rent it.

[piranha wiper]

you could buy it for at about £16 max new and about a fiver for second hand do a kelkoo search thats good for finding games i bought my first fusion at £15 then again in april for a tener so if you have money to waste then go and buy it but dont expect any thing special mind you

[R3rr0]

Hi to All!

I always had WO from the first edition, and for me WO Fusion is not so bad like many people here on the zone says... Yes, is different and you can like it or not, but I think that every chapter of this game, has more or less something different from the others. The point for me is: it's always wipeout. And, in my opinion, is even more amazing. The personality of the pilots and the teams are more defined, the super-weapons that you can only get with challenges in many specialities, the AG-leagues, that give you the opportunity of earning money and upgrade the ships, and the zone mode... But yes, the driving feel it's slightly different... :wink:
So for me: go and take it.

[G'Kyl]

Welcome to the forums.

Hmmm, lately I had the amazing idea of renting a PS2 and Fusion from a blockbuster to at least get an idea of what the game is about. Anyway, R3rr0, aren't the feel and mechanics of the flight engine what Wipeout mostly is about...? ;) There are many other racing games out there and they all, more or less, try to recapture some of what became popular with the initial installment, none however have so far been able to recreate the feel of the WO series. Which is why I already feel bad about Fusion without ever having played it ;) - they should always stick, for the larger part, to what WO is about, but after what I heard seem to have failed in that.

Ben

[R3rr0]

Well, I say it's slightly different, not that is like playn' World Rally Championship or F1 sim! :D :D :D But doesn't matter, try it and judge by yourself, for me remain a good game, hope that will be another soon (but not for PSP! I don't want to buy it! :( )!

[DaMiGi63]

I fully agree with you on that one,I probably won't be dropping even a nickel towards a PSP,hopefully,they'll have sense enough to bring a new Wipeout to the PS 2 :D or even the PS 3 :wink:

[Leftism]

Sorry to drag up an old topic again but Toys R Us do Wipeout Fusion for £4.99

[Sausehuhn]

Buy it!

You have a PS2, like the WipEout series and want the complete collection of WipEout and a very good racing game, too? Then buy WipEout Fusion. This is not a promotion for this game, it's my opinion (yes, really!!)

You have many things in this game, and I would say it's the best WipEout ever. The flying style is differnet to the others, but it's not worse. Some people at the zone here say it's not a WipEout game, but I can't confirm that.
The modes, the ships, the weapons (at this point many wiper stand up and will say "There are too many weapons!!") and the whole game is a thing you should have. And it's cheap.
In zone mode you can fly the fastest ship ever (woohoo, get zone 67 on florion height 3), the multiplayer mode is the best of all games. You can change the laps, oponents, weapons, energy and a lot more there.
And not just in this mode. The game has so many good, new things. For examlpe the grafics.

So, buy that game. And if you really say "Argh?! What's that?!" you can sell it in Ebay.

At least I will quote myself:

>>The game is too easy, that's the only thing that makes the game worse...<<

[pac666]

I got it for £4.99 from Gamestation. As a long term Wipeout nut having read the reviews I avoided this first time around on PS2. Not the best but I've had my £4.99 worth.

Looking forward to PS3 on-line version......>

[TMoney]

This is the worst Wipeout EVER, and shouldn't even be called Wipeout.

Bad front-end
Bad controls
Bad design
Not fun

Should you pick it up? No.

[terrabeam]

Really not that bad.

I am not really a fan of the wipeout serie. I first played it as demo on psone and was not amused. I finally rented it at gamecrazy and I must say it was fun.I have played other racing games before like gt3 and other rally games but this ones diffrent.First of all the music is awesome(I turn up my V3 powered spekers and subwofer at the start of the game) and the enviroments are great.
I looked on the boards expecting it to have recieved a high rating but was suprised that everybody hated it.From my findings it was because it was not what they had come to expect in the wipeout series and also because some of the originasl production team was absent.From my opinion I don't think that's how to rate a game.I think wipeout fusion is a great game for all it's worth and I think video game players showed stop playing games expecting to get the same experience all over again(that's why it's called wipeout fusion and not wipeout 3). and I don't think wipeout pure is gonna look like wipeout fusion either. thank you.

[infoxicated]

There was much more wrong with Wipeout Fusion than just the handling being different from the earlier games in the series. Nobody was expecting the same experience all over again, we were expecting a better one on the new generation of console, but instead it turned out to be a flawed title and a poor relation to its predecessors.

[Mobius]

Don't get me wrong. If this was a wipeout clone it would've probably be the best. (I havent played quantum redshift so i couldn't talk about that)

But as it is from the heritage of wipeout it was as shambles compared. It was very ambitious - i seriously loved the inverted circuits there were but because of that the physics engine was scrapped. :( I loved the mass of weapons and the firework displays yu endured while playing untill i realised that i never went any faster than 60mph. I am proud of what was achieved. The huge environments and the brillians effects were amazing to me. It came up with a lot of ideas but even though most of them weren't successful. It does mean there wont be a chance of that happeneing again.

I have had about 75 hrs of playtime on fusion - on major reason was i didn't realise that turning of the console while it save swipes you memory card - twice :? A few months ago i picked up a copy of 3:se and never looked back since.

My verdict: buy it cheap - but don't expect miracles.

[Chill]

I thought the expectations for this game were just way too large. The look of the graphics, it's official site (or at least that only effected me), and the game comming out in the new PS2! What could be better!! It's gotta have wonderful flight and huge speed right?! Wrong! It had slower speeds and was hard to fly! And when reaching the higher speed classes, um, where is the competition. I could overlap the other racers twice in a race!! Where's the speed and competition mixture?!! I love competition at high speeds, not at slow speeds. It's just incredibly boring to me. I need competition at high speeds, and the tracks shouldn't be so large!! If it would be that large, there needs to be more competition, so I only like races where the craft race closer together. WF feels way too much like a cross country race, not for Wipeout!! Their's more where that came from, but I'm done. Allrighty?!! :D Welcome to the Zone!! :wink:

[rejj]

If you can find Fusion for (very) cheap, buy it and play until you unlock Zone mode... then just play that. It's the best bit of Fusion by far.

[UncleZeiv]

My verdict: buy it cheap - but don't expect miracles.

I agree. I do think that playing Fusion until 100% is worth the trouble... The problem is just that you are not going to play it again, EVER :D

[eLhabib]

true. from the moment I was through the hole game, I haven't touched it once.

[JABBERJAW]

I'm sorry to say this, but someone can't honestly say the controls are bad on fusion and great on pure. The bad thing about fusion was the wall scraping was way too fast resulting in needing no skill to do well. otherwise, they are quite similar. Now pure is more floaty off bumps, which is why I like it better, but as far as the left right turning and brake useage and pitch control, it is easily just as good and quite similar. It is just implemented better by the one fact that hitting the wall slows you down.

[eLhabib]

I just put in Fusion for the first time in over a year just to test the handling, and no, it is nothing like purE. actually fusion doesn't feel like AG-racing at all, it feels like driving a car where the lowest part is just invisible, that's all. purE on the other hand, feels very much AG, especially with the new physics engine. For me, purE is what w'o'' was always meant to be. I still can't understand why you don't like it Al...

[JABBERJAW]

I'm getting a tad agitated that you keep saying I don't like the game. I like it alot. The wall scraping is much better than fusion, and off bumps you get in the air. That is why it is better, oh and a better sense of speed on regular races. The left right movement and the braking is very close to being the same, braking slows you down alot in both games. If fusion had the same scraping off the wall as pure and allowed you to get in the air off bumps, it would be just as good. Now it doesn't have that, so it's not, but the regular turning on the flats is not much different at all, and neither is the braking. Fusion has some great points to it. Very good graphics, some pretty good courses(vohl sqaure, temtesh bay in the caves). Basically what I'm saying, is that it was one designer(one who would at least make it more floaty and better wall physics) away from being good. Now I don't play it anymore because of these problems, but don't tell me the turning is that much better.

[eLhabib]

sorry for upsetting you, to me it just sounded like you were saying purE's and Fusion's handling are pretty much the same, i.e. bad, which I don't feel they are.

[JABBERJAW]

upgrade a fusion ship all the way play on a turny track(use xios or piranha). Make the turn correctly without hitting(on a sharp turn and flat part of the track), and that is the part of the game I am talking about that feels alike. Not any of the areas with bumps, where your ship comes up, that is very different, but not considered handling. Try pitch the nose of your ship up in pure and take a turn. I don't think this has any effect whatsoever, whereas in fusion it slows you down a little, but really doesn't help you make the turn. Go over a jump and try to change where you are going to land, this is also very much like fusion.
I think the main difference in the games(which makes pure alot better), is the floatiness off the bumps and slower wall physics, that is really it.
My question to you would be is this

if fusion had the air physics of pure, and the slower scraping, would you like it?

[Sausehuhn]

Yep.
Imagine Florion Height 3, the jump :)

...but the slowdowns should be WipEed out

[Chill]

I honestly don't think I would like Fusion all that much, simply because of the track designs and the chosen music, they really don't do anything for me, sorry to say. The music doesn't really feel techno enough, and it needs some more of that sort of mysterious or eerie feeling, it just comes at you, bam, with all kind of bass sounds and hiped-out music, even though it is good, it just doesn't seem like my kind of Wipeout, and the tracks don't seem to have sharp and off-tracking enough turns. I would be sure that if the crafts had bouncier physics, I would be happy, but then the races would be sooo much easier. Their aren't any turns that throw me off all that much like in Wipeout xl and 3 (and mabye pure). bouncier means lighter, meaning easier turns, also meaning easier control. Wipeout xl and 3 are close in, so it's harder for such easier turning and bouncing around such sharp corners and bumps. Do you know what I mean?

[JABBERJAW]

yes absolutely. The speed would need to be turned up about 30% to make the turns feel much harder. The turns aren't quite as sharp as previous versions, except for in that tunnel on temptesh, and a couple other places. The extra speed would make it difficult though, and with the slower wall riding physics, it would make a difference not to hit.

Oh, sausehun, How much have you played pure? It has a lot of choppiness(mainly at the beginning of races), more than fusion actually.

Here's another question

would you rather have slowdown, or keep the speed moving making it choppy?

I choose slowdown because in xl when it slows down you still have control, where in, lets say exteme g(which I know is severe), you cannot fine tune your turning because it's jumping through the track.

[Dogg Thang]

Well often in both Fusion and Pure the slowdown issues are due to too much weapons fire so, rather than have slowdown or choppiness, I'd rather the weapons fire of the AI was regulated so that the chance of them using weapons would depend on how many other craft are on screen.

The craft in Fusion were vicious. In Pure it's not as bad but because the craft don't space out like in the first WO games, they can bunch together and cause mayhem - mostly, as you said, at the beginning of a race.

[Sausehuhn]

@ Zoolander
I haven't played Pure yet, but I know Fusion would feel better with a more WipEout like handling. Fusion with a Wip3out handling would also be good, and I think Pure's handling is also a handling l will like. I'm sure.
Anyway, I like Fusion so or so. You can say what you want, I like it.

@ Dogg Thang
Pure has slowdowns!?

[Dogg Thang]

Pure has choppiness as it skips frames when there is a serious amount of stuff happening. It only ever happens when things get crazy and rarely affects the game. Usually the frame rate is fairly consistant but it does drop at times.

[Mobius]

I play ut2004 on 10fps most of the time so it shouldn't bother me. :)

[infoxicated]

ouch! :lol:

[RJ O'Connell]

I play ut2004 on 10fps most of the time so it shouldn't bother me. :)
You should have seen me attempt Need for Speed: High Stakes on my old 166 8O

[rejj]

I played through the original Quake on my 486.. got about 7fps average. heh. ;)

[phase 2]

Of corse FUSION is not w.o. 1, 2, 3 or the much talked about PURE I hated how slow the speed in the first couple of circuts were. then it gradualy picked up to insanity. ZONE mode was a graet feature, upgradable crafts and pilot storyline was cool shocked no one has mentioned the awsome music quality and graphics. I got this game fore 7.99$ @ the gamestop maybe not the best in the series fore other peoples listings above it definitly has its pros and cons but unlike most of the others I actualy injoyed this game. it strays away from the maine concept of a wipe out game but YES IT IS STILL WIPE OUT that alone would force me to purchase it.Beat it liked it not the best version. I would buy it. You should listen to your gut not what other w.o. gamers think especialy if you havn't played it and
especialy seeing that it is wipe out if you want it just fore tredition sake. FUSION is definitly the red headed step child of the wipe out world but HOW CHOULD YOU TURN DOWN ANY WIPE OUT GAME especialy fore a cheap price. :D

[Chill]

Hey, Phase!! :? I'm red headed, and a step-child!! :lol:
If you're like me, and have the drive to finish it just because you love the others and still want to pay back psygnosis for Wipeout 1, 2, 3, and Pure, then this topic really wouldn't help much, as you'd probably buy it and try to beat it anyway. I completed every single thing, all gold, on that game, twice!!! (< It was all deleted once before). And I'm happy that it's all done. One day I'd like to have all the Wipeout games that exist completed on my handy-dandy memory card, and I could re-live any Wipeout moment (any mode, craft, track, etc.). That wishful thinking of having that luxury alone has driven me to go through such measures as buying and completing fusion. :wink: