So what IS wipEout for you?

[eLhabib]

Colin mentioned this in the '10 things I hate about Pulse' thread, and I found this a very fundamental question for the future of the series and would like to discuss with all of you. I have to say that amongst all the reasons I love the wipEout series so much, one of the best things about it is that the developers really seem to care about what the fanbase thinks, and I haven't seen that anywhere else to this extent. So, since Colin brought up the question, we should answer it! And please don't get this wrong, Colin, not that I want to tell you how to do the next game in the series - I know you guys are doing a perfect job already - just thought it would be interesting to know what everybody's definition of THE wipEout is.

Here's Colin's post from the other thread:
http://www.wipeoutzone.com/forum/showthread.php?p=75970#post75970

Personally, I think that wipEout 2097 is THE wipEout. But you can't put it in a box like that. For me, 2097 defines the style, the feeling of wipEout.

Pit lanes are great, and I miss them in Pure and Pulse, but I understand that the absorb feature makes for more balanced gameplay. Maybe there's a way to combine the two? Ship damage didn't fit into the slick w'o'' world for me, neither did a race on the moon (take that, Fusion :P). Also I think tracks should never be used in more than one direction ore with different sections connecting together to make new tracks. Hyperthrust was okay but too much to handle for me :paperbag and I don't think anyone wants a wipEout without speedclasses ever again. Leave the tuning to the street-gangsta-racers ;)

From an artistic point of view, I liked w3o's and Pure's menu best, but Pulse's is definitely the most functional. The overall graphic style of Pulse and Pure are both perfect IMO, mixing the loud colors of 2097 with the slickness of w3o. Only thing I kinda miss is the gloominess of wo1, only to be found recently at Staten Park (Altima reborn from an artistic point of view).

Also, some weapons undeniably belong into a wipEout game: quake, mines, bomb, turbo, autopilot, shield, rocket missile and some kind of disrupting weapon. The rest I could do without.

I think that pretty much sums it up for me, now I am eager to hear everyone else's wipEout!

... oh and sorry you had to read through all of this ;)

[RingoSpoon]

Wipeout Pure all the way :)

[Flashback Jack]

I dig the proto-cyberspace VR style of 2097, but I'll have to say Pulse is it for me, barrel rolls and all.

- F

[Flying Panther]

It's Wipeout 3 for me.

[shunjalo]

I voted 2097, but mostly because it's the first WipEout I've played, and it blew me away. The style, music, weapons, track design, and above all, wicked speed... it's a package where everything 'clicks'. Could use more tracks, though. And more challenges. And ships.

For some reason, I never really enjoyed WipEout 3. Can't put my finger on it, but I didn't feel the same 'wibe', never felt 'in the zone' (or whatever you wanna call it), not for a second. Strange.

WipEout Pure, on the other hand, was love at first sight. I bought a PSP just for that game. The moment I saw the intro, I knew it was something special. It is the WipEout I played the most, and I still do. It is also the WipEout I had most fun with: challenging, but rewarding. I can see this game lasting for at least as much as 2097 has. Oh, yeah, it also has my favourite track of the series: The Chenghou Project. Love it.

As for Pulse, I really like it. I don't 'get' some of the tracks (De Construct), and the menus are a bit too flashy for my taste, but the race itself, speed, ships, art style and overall feel of this game are superb. Can't wait for the download packs! Oh, yeah, I would like an option to turn off pre-race track info. It is interesting, but can get a bit boring.

In the end, I would like to say that the latest outings of the series (Pure and Pulse) are the best racing games I've ever played. Maybe the best games overall. I am not really a gamer, and certainly not a hard-core one, but the sheer joy this sci-fi racers bring me is beyond description. I crave it.

Hah, maybe that is what WipEout is to me: an addiction.

[Hyper Shadow]

Wip3out for me, I never quite clicked with 2097, but 3 just seemed to be perfect. Megamall was great, Manortop was great, flying throuh Porto Kora and chasing the birds away, a decent selection of craft to choose from and Xpander on the soundtrack! Swap Hyperthrust with a Turbo pickup and drop the force wall and deflector and it would be perfect.

[Sausehuhn]

Hm... that's hard to say. I can't say it's this or that WipEout, cause they all offer something different. And it's always hard to pick up the best from all the games.
Then you should keep in mind how a new version of the game would look like. We're in 2007 (almost 2008) and you have to think in High-Def. So how nice would WO2097 look in HD? Or WO3? Was it still the same game?

I for myself would like to see a combination of WO3 and WOF. And I'm just talking about the style, not the handling etc. Just the look and feel of the game. When I look at WO3 I always see that "end of time"-theme. WOF has everything huge and - at least for me - very nice architecture. Looking at Vohl Square I just say "yes, that's a nice mood here".
WOPure's art gallery had very, very nice images describing that mood very well. Huge buildings (http://cybershot.cy.funpic.de/kram/sonstige_bilder/WipEoutZone/stuff/modesto_heights3.jpg), a mix between technical and industrial (http://cybershot.cy.funpic.de/kram/sonstige_bilder/WipEoutZone/stuff/citta_nuovat1.jpg); dark. That's also a bit of 2097, eh?
That's what I would like to see. That the race almost goes under in the rush of the city. That you feel so small (http://cybershot.cy.funpic.de/kram/sonstige_bilder/WipEoutZone/stuff/manor_topt4.jpg) and lonely in all that messy, dirty world. Neon signs here and there, ships floating in the sky, damaged things here and there, dirt flying around (http://cybershot.cy.funpic.de/kram/sonstige_bilder/WipEoutZone/stuff/sebenco_climbt0.jpg).

I know that's really more back-in-time to past-F9000, but I really, really like it. Especially because it's possible with the new Hardware (and it's even more with the next Next-Gen). I always have that artwork (http://cybershot.cy.funpic.de/kram/sonstige_bilder/WipEoutZone/stuff/manor_top4.jpg) in mind where a man stands under his umbrella in a crowd of people, rain everywhere and the crafts passing by over a rainy, reflecting circuit next to a huge building.

I would pick up some pens and draw my ideas if I had the patience to do so. Now let my fly away with my imagination.

[swift killer]

I think there is no outright 'WipEout of WipEouts', it depends on personal preference and opinion.

To be honest I think you would only get the WipEout of WipEouts if you combined the best elements of all the games and one can not help askings questions like 'what if fusion still had Designers Republic/Pulse's handling physics'.

[eLhabib]

That's why it's important to know what aspects of wipEout that have appeared throughout the series are so undeniably wipEout that you can't leave them out of a future incarnation. Like the floatiness, for example. A lot of the fans were missing it in Fusion (and Pure to some extent), and since the developers got so much feedback about it, it found it's way back into the game.
Great post from Max btw, those pics say it all!

[Mark Of Insanity]

It's gotta be the first WipEout for me. To me, there is nothing that beats getting out my neggie and rushing through Silverstream Rapier in a hunk of metal (Qirex.)

My first WipEout experience was either XL or 2097, the PC demo. And while I love how 2097 allows you to glide through all the tracks and its dark aura, I find WipEout to appeal to me in a very fun way, so no matter how good any other of the WipEout's are technically, they won't be as much fun to me. But fingers crossed for HD and PS3, eh?

I love tons of the additions in the more recent Wipeouts and would actually be a bit pissed off if they were abandoned (eg. Double/Multi hulled craft, Mag-Strips, many of the new teams), but I do have what I love most in the Wipeout series in the very first.

Haha, and I would probably like 2097 and Wip3out more if they suited my playing styles. (Believe me, I suck so bad at 3 it's unbelievable... well, at least when compared to you guys).
While there's something about all of them that I love, the original WipEout has to be my favourite.

On paper, I might think that I would enjoy Wipeout 3 or Pulse the most... (haven't played Pulse yet though) and I do believe that 3 is a very good game and I enjoy it a lot. But there's something about the first that I can't really explain.

[Stardragon88]

I still have fond memories of the time I played Wipeout XL (2097) on my PS1 (first console game I ever bought). Gotta give it to Pure though, it's the first one I 'really' got into.

[Task]

The ultimate WO game, the one that defines the genre...
Is the one that hasn't been made yet. 8 )

I think we keep getting closer to "Wipeout Ultimate", but I'm not sure it'll ever actually be a game you can play. I know it'll have amazing multiplayer capabilities, and integrated online records, and a supporting website of awesomeness, but the full feature list will probably include some things we haven't even thought of yet.

It might even be necessary for the franchise that WO:U never exist, because if it did, then it wouldn't be about looking forward to the future, would it? The franchise would reach its peak, and any sequel could never compare to this Ultimate WO that just sets the bar too high. The series would die.

And that would suck.

Of course, if we had WO:U, we'd just play that one till we all died and we'd probbaly be pretty thrilled with it. 8 D

[BulletWraith]

for me it's 2097, I haven't been playing wipEout all that long, about a year and a bit(just learning), though I've been listening to 2097's soundtrack for the past 5 years
After I bought Fusion, I came here to the Zone which lead me to pick up WO, 2097, W03 & demo disk 1, I am still to track down SE and haven't played the PSP games yet so can't judge them

to me my perfect race is 2097, Qirex, Valparaiso, Firestarter + neGcon
(Stephen N on the tables)

I love the Grittyness of 2097, the Ship Designs, the mood, The Sound, the Game Engine and the Controls, things just feel right, they feel Perfect, I try WO3 every now and then but can't get into the feel of the craft and the kind of pansy ship Designs, (I like Pansy in other places, like I enjoy Ballet, but) wipEout needs a cold hard Steel edge, to me 2097 is the sound of my Qirex craft brushing against the edge of the track as I hurtle round a corner, or using a Turbo to boost straight through mines and past my opponents in the invincible Iron Clad Goddess Qirex

2097 is my future
churr
-Stevie 161

[Lance]

I'm still pretty thrilled with the old ones, so I suspect that would be the case with The Ultimate WipEout also.

I cannot pick just one; in my experience, the more I play each version I've not played before, the more I appreciate its virtues. However, I've never played Fusion. ;) I never wanted to once I knew something about it, and I suspect that I never will want to. One thing that all WipEouts should have is racing classes, and they should be unsullied by any sort of add-on/mod/upgrade/whatever of the ships [I might make an exception for the home-grown hot-rod FX-150 series, which would probably be a very difficult game to balance fairly], nor should there be damage simulation.

Floatiness. Must have floatiness.

[Medusa]

I had to vote for WipEout original because as Task said, what really is wipeout (for me) hasn't been made yet.

I'm going to put my life out on a limb here and attempt to define wipeout. As set out by the principles of the original and improved upon by different aspects of its descendants. I don't doubt many will want to kill me afterwards, and Colin if he reads this will say it is impossible because each game has to change (to which I say, no - once the perfect game is created all it needs for each new re-iteration is new tracks and new ships in a new era. Period.)

Wipeout: is a game where the ultimate prize is gained by the fastest racing line (WipEout) and the ships appear to react normally to wall/weapons (WipEout). (end of actual definition and beginning of my personal definition)

Ships sustain damage unless shielded (XL and Wip3out) but there is no need for pitlanes (which make it impossible to repeat the perfect racing line for an entire race/TT) because the ships can absorb energy from weapons instead of using them (Pure). The physics are spot on in wipeout (WipEout, Wip3out SE) since wipeout ships are meant to float, and to fly only when going off jumps in the track. The ships bounce off the walls and do not stick to them, because they are anti-gravity ships and move too flipping fast to actually stick to a track wall after going 300 mph. And of course scraping the wall does not speed you up.

Weapons are based on reality (Quake could be explained as a force field and not the actual track rippling up and down. Although even that could be believable if you tried hard enough.) There are no barrel rolls because if ships could do that, they could do Immelman rolls, and loops, and the list goes on forever - and those moves cost time in real life and are not possible in such a wide variety of ships (single, double, triple hull ships). Sideshifts are not necessary but if there, they cost the pilot precious time. Again, mag-strips are only necessary for track variation, not to prevent aircraft maneuvers in a race ship.

The mood has to consistent and believably futuristic through the whole game. Wipeout is multiplayer, and it has speed classes. None of that upgradeable Fusion BS.

And there is my definition of wipeout. Of course everyone will disagree with me, because I mentioned such specific details. My personal favourite game is SE, because the design and mood is just so perfect and really convinces you it could be the future. But the best and most realistic seeming gameplay to me will always be in the original. Amen to the floatiness, Lance.

[eLhabib]

I agree on many parts, but most of all on the statement that wipEout doesn't have to change once it's perfect. Of course, in the past it was impossible to achieve the physics and real life detail one expects, but nowadays, once we have the perfect gameplay mechanics figured out (which lie somewhere between 2097, w3o and Pulse for me), the only thing we then long for is a couple of new tracks every year, along with a change of setting (league) and shinier graphics.
I've always seen wipEout as the most believeable of all futuristic racing games, and BRs sure disturb that feel. I don't really see the need for them anyway - even though they are a lot of fun to pull off. The are, however, very unbalanced, and, as Rob mentioned, often making the pilot rely on luck rather than skill.

At the end of the day, I think what makes wipEout so appealing is that it is actually a fine-polished simulation that rewards a pilot's skill. If any weapon or feature in the game breaks the formula of a perfect performance meaning a perfect success, then it doesn't belong in the wipEout world.
If, in a race of 2 with equal ships and no weapons, one pilot does three perfect laps (and perfect racelines), and the other pilot doesn't, there should be no way the perfect lap pilot could lose. BRs changed that formula, therefore they don't fit in. Unless, of course, they work everytime while still being hard to execute (if that's even possible) AND make the ship hard to steer while boosting (you wouldn't waste a turbo pickup right infront of a sharp turn, so don't BR into one either).

Ack, I don't know. You could find tons of reasons for and against BRs (as for many other things in w'o''), but really only one question remains: If wipEout is perfect already without BRs or hyperthrust - and it IS - why even bother trying to put them in and make them work? Just for the sake of doing something new? Hell no!

Btw, my heroes at Studio Liverpool, I know that the gaming press won't like a new wipEout with LESS features than the last, but then they are too stupid for Venom anyway, so why bother? (Easier said than done, I know ;))

[q_dmc12]

I got hooked with WO64 and that's where I stand, although WOXL is a close running second both for pure speed:eek:D

:+

[Rapier Racer]

Wipeout: After being exposed to 2097 and 3 for so long before picking the original up I don't appreciate the game like a lot of others do. Seeing it as that pain in the arse one where you can't touch the walls, or kill anyone, something I take great satisfaction in doing.

2097: First Wipeout I ever played, the demo disk with Gare on it. Evidently when I was in a position to do so I went hunting for this game a year or so later only to end up buying Wipeout 3 by mistake instead. Tracked down 2097 not long after getting 3, lots of playtime chalked up loved the dark feel to the game every time I think of 2097 the same picture appears in my head and that is the sound and flash of thunder & lightening as my ship is passing through the red and black tunnel at Gare, the favourite of many perhaps but not the game in my Defining game.

Wipeout 3SE: Lots more playtime than 2097 chalked up here, first Wipeout I owned hence the Assegai fandom. Such a play list this game has including Xpander which is THE Wipeout song is simply outstanding. Many great tracks plus 8 classic tracks from past games how can you not love this game!! I forgot to mention this game also has ASSEGAI :D Hyperthrust I thought was a good idea also, but I prefer another system of gaining boost, that in itself should give away my answer to this question right there. Again 3SE great great great but not my defining title.

Wipeout Fusion: No. Fun in another way not Wipeoutey, just no.

Wipeout Pulse: I've had the game just over 2 weeks, in this time I have had much fun and like the game a lot yet at the same time some things piss me off like nothing else. Pulse must come close though the game has great handling, music, the ability to add your own tracks gives Pulse the ultimate soundtrack really. A little personality with the skins. Amazing track designs and looks, Tech De Ra for example. Pulse will not define the series for me because of the mag strips which I am still 50/50 about, sometimes they are great other times they are really annoying. De Konstruct anyone? I would like to see whats in front of me please. Not fond of having to constantly correct my steering on them either. In time Pulse may grow on me more, we’ll see.

WIPEOUT PURE! Yes! Finally the answer! Pure is the one. Responsible for exploding Wipeout back onto the scene after the series fell apart, and what an explosion it was. I love just about everything about this game right from the intro movie to the end of the race, the way the game feels, the tracks look at Gamma and Delta packs those tracks are simply amazing and they were free! Barrel rolls I like reward a player with the skill to pull it off correctly with a burst of speed, excellent. The removal of the pit lanes and introduction of the absorbing weapons system was simply genius (Nice one Colin and anyone else responsible!) and I don’t think Wipeout would have survived into the future without this change the reason for this now follows. The defining moment in Wipeout series history for me, I was all set up, loaded and waiting on the starting grid for my first ever online game to start. Pure is responsible for taking Wipeout online, ok maybe not to the masses but for the determined it did it and I never had so much fun with any Wipeout to date than I have with Pure. You can throw as many modes at me as you like nothing compares to online play. I don’t think online would have worked so well with the pit lane system, not so well at all.



So there you have it :cowboy Pure took 3SEs spotlight away in the end.

[Asayyeah]

Of course, if we had WO:U, we'd just play that one till we all died and we'd probbaly be pretty thrilled with it. 8 D

Absolutely Jay !

I for myself, in love with 2097/XL mostly for the reason Shunjalo described : that was my 1st game introducing to the franchise and i had the chance to race my friend Anthony( aka Dag / Sleh / Bazunga) through i-link intensively during 3 years and occasionaly after ( meaning at least 1 time per month minimum.) If i am there today and met all those incredible friends from the zone through big or mini conventions that is only because of 2097. Simply for that reason this game will stay as my best game ever.

My definition of Wipeout? It will be resumed to this : futuristic game with crazy insane speed, floatiness to let us pass the AI ships from left,right,up or down, strong multiplayer mode, electro-techno soundtrack and ...NeGcon ( what else :D )

[lovedr]

Wipeout IS and always has defined my life since day 1 (surely I can't be the only one here to have the occassional dream of being a Wipeout pilot? oops)

...and although I have been a die hard fan since the 1st iteration of the series, its just gotta be between 2097 and W3 for me. I find the later versions of the series are simply a little too "clean" in both looks and gameplay feel (its tad too smooth) I mean the graphics are spot on etc but it just lacks that edge, the dirtyness, the grittiness, the aggression of the earlier versions and I also thats when the handling was by far the best, don't get me wrong I'll always buy / play every new version of the franchise - but I think those two versions were the peak of the series imo. And hate to mention this old one - but please please bring back either tDR or Build / Michael C Place into the equation.

On a slightly seperate note, I firmly believe that the Wipeout franchise deserves and needs a new next-gen wireless Negcon controller for the PS3 installment without doubt!

That would totally, totally make it for me.

[zargz]

..end of actual definition and beginning of my personal definitiont ..The physics are spot on in wipeout (WipEout, Wip3out SE) .. Everything you said and

boost for shield, naah! BRs, bah!

also

autopilots are for wuzzes! :D

[G'Kyl]

A gritty industrial future. Speed classes. Ridiculously high speeds. Quick maneuvers through tight corners and fast chicanes. Wall scrapes (yes, 2097 did walls the best!)! Floatiness. Airbrakes. Speed pads. Quake, missile, rockets, mines. Time trial. Electronica.
Keep it simple, keep it fast, keep it demanding. Anything else is up to evolution. :)

Ben

[Alex_Se]

For me, i chose wipeout 2097. It was my first wipeout and it was the game that made me want to have other wipeout series. I loved the redbull adverts to be honest :rolleyes: .

Also because of the speed and focus you needed to drive in this game.

[Jittery-Joe]

Definitely Wip3out for me, as it was my first WipEout and got me hooked on the series. It was also the single reason for me choosing to do Graphics Design as a career, sad but true (You shoulda seen my Uni interviewer's face when I said that... :beer)

Woah... this is my first post here in over a year...

[Lance]

I'll assume that you've been busy studying and doing graphic design. Good to see ya. :)

[Dogg Thang]

There are some great responses here and it's interesting to see the differences.

For me, every WO has something to offer. Except Fusion.

I started playing WO all the way back with WO1 - first played it on the Saturn, then the PS1, which was tougher than the Saturn version. The floaty handling, the style of the ships, the backgrounds and music were all divine. It was ridiculously unforgiving but I still loved it. It defines the feel of WO for me.

But I voted for 2097 as the one that defines WO itself. 2097 added a layer of polish that I just can't deny. The handling of the ships was a little less floaty but worked really well for the tracks - which remained very challenging but not to a frustrating degree, which I found some of the WO1 Rapier tracks got. The backgrounds and track design were utterly superb. Gare d'Europe is still the ultimate in WO track in my view. 2097 brought in the ship damage but didn't take it to a point where it got in the way at all. It was just something to consider.

2097 just came together beautifully. I actually think it probably is the ultimate WO.

Then came WO3, which had such a confident sense of its own style. It totally embraces what it is and, in my view, is a beautiful thing as a result. But it's just building on the base that 2097 defined. I love it but I'd find it hard to say it's actually better, though may have at some points.

Now some people (Task et al) have been saying that WO has been constantly evolving and moving and so each game has something to offer. I disagree and my evidence is this- Fusion. Fusion had some nice features (Zone) and polished graphics but was such a huge step down as a Wipeout game in my opinion that it set the series back well beyond the original WO.

So while Pure and Pulse have been great and have been building their way upwards nicely, I think the progress is really evident because Fusion took such a leap backwards. And new features, new handling and everything they have brought have created some really great things but, for me, never quite captured the feel or purity of early games. Quite a few things have broken along the way, in my opinion.

But then my opinion is based on WO being defined as a futuristic AG racing game.

The Pulse box clearly defines the game as an AG combat racing game. That's exactly what it is and it does it well. For me, the ultimate WO falls into the first definition of the series, not the new one.

[Task]

Hey Dogg,

You've got a lot of good points in there, but I think you're a little down on Fusion. Well, most of us are, but I think you're a bit too down on it.

There's a couple things that Fusion was very important for (besides showing us definitely which ways the game shouldn't evolve in), those being Zone and Multiplayer.

While the zone mode in Fusion wasn't the best, it was the first iteration of zone mode, and current zone mode wouldn't be anywhere near as good as it is now if it weren't for Fusion where a few dedicated players really blew the hinges off what the developers thought could be done with their little addition to the WO stable.

Also, did you ever play Fusion multi? It was stupid fun, in the best way. It was really like FPS on a racetrack, it pushed a lot of the right buttons. When I stopped playing it (since solo play stopped being fun after I'd unlocked everything) I took it over to my buddy's place, so we could do multiplayer. I left the game there so that every time I was over we could get in a couple runs of good action. He eventually forced me to take it home, because his other friends would visit and all they'd want to do is play "that flying shooting game on a track", and he wanted to be able to do other things at his place besides play Fusion. Like poker or something. But he could not tear his friends away from Fusion if it was available. That's powerful.

The game brought the gorgeous visuals with the high-speed destruction, and even though some specific implentation details were kind of crap it was still a solid game.

Does Sony know that the multiplayer was the strongest feature of Fusion? Is that the reason we didn't get any more WO until the instant it could be released on a console (PSP) that could support more and better multiplayer than ever before? Perhaps. Either way, the results (Pure, Pulse, HD) prove that it works.

So that's why your evidence that the game doesn't always evolve is exactly the same evidence I used that it does. 8 )

[Dogg Thang]

Very fair points there, Task. When I mentioned Fusion I was sure to point out that I felt it a huge backward step as a WO game because, taken on its own merits, it did (as you mention) have a lot of good qualities. So while FPS on a racetrack is fun (and yes I had a few good times on Fusion multiplayer), I personally considered it a huge leap in the wrong direction for the series.

So I guess I'm only using 'evolution' in its positive sense. Fusion for me was devolution. But I do see your point.

[Task]

Eh, evolution isn't always strictly 'forwards', evolutionary dead-ends are common enough. With Fusion we certainly did get a lot of the 'backwards', but another 'forwards' part that I was just reminded of (via other forum threads) is the online component! The Fusion website was spectacular, I kept it open for a week straight for the ambient noises alone! And that was the first time we saw online records automatically updated. And there was an attached forum. It sucked, but it was an optional part of the package, so no harm to it. Well, I think it caused severe mental damage to the few unlucky sods that had to admin it, but hopefully those scars have healed by now.

Anyway, I'm just beating a dead horse here, but I did want to mention that other actual 'progressive' part of the game. Like, as a side note.

Yeah, I type too much.

[Lance]

Your fingertips have bruised and turned purple and even bled venous blood into the letters. :)

[Assimilator]

the one thing that all other console versions of wipeout besides the PSX is missing is the namco negcon controler. Bring that feeling back and then we'll see new wipeout's in all it's glory. Graphics and Sound mean nothing to me if the game has an anoying control setup.


p.s. long live 2097.
aka: twisted fire starter

[Mad-Ice]

Although I started with 2097 I have to vote for Pure. The reason is that I really like competition and especially to meet people in real life.

Back in the days of 2097 I started playing WipEout (1) too. I enjoyed them so much even though I did not know about the excistence of the NeGcon controller. But when I kept on beating my own records and nobody wanted to play with me anymore I lost interest. I started to play other games with friends because I like the interaction with real life people.

With every new version of series I got hooked on it again untill I beat the game and found no competition else where.

And then there was Pure. Pure brought me Wipeoutzone, Wipeoutzone brought me friends, friends brought me competition, competition brought me adrenalin, adrenalin brought me addiction to all what Wipeout is for me.

All this came together when we were in Amsterdam for the European Wipeout Convention 2007. This defines Wipeout for me!!!

I hope to see you all in 2008 for the next European Wipeout Convention.

Greetz Mad-Ice

[andy]

i love wip3out. Just looked amazing, had hyperthrust, i loved the handling and the speed which seemed completely balanced and the music just suited it perectly too.

I preferred pitlanes to absorbing, and the weapons felt the most realistic out of the whole series to me - rockets and missiles sounded and looked like rockets and missiles, plasma was small, quick and looked pretty realistic to me, unlike the big overly cartoony plasmas of later games.

Actually, Id say the newer games are too cartoony compared to 3 and maybe a bit too scifi cliche (or something. i dont know if that makes sense but i dont know how to say it. scifi cliche "sounds" right to me anyway). 3's cities looked like they could actually exist and didnt have all flying cars everywhere and flashing lights on everything. And the handling and feel of the ships felt like they obeyed physics and didnt barrell roll or side shift - it feels natural, believable and overall right to me.

Wip3out was also the first wipeout i ever played and bought so theres a little bias there too.

Ive not played pulse yet or 1 or 2097/XL or 3SE so I dont have too much to choose from really xD so at the moment it's Wip3out for me and it probably always will be for me (atleast until i find a copy of 3SE anyway). =]

[phl0w]

atleast until i find a copy of 3SE anyway eBay's your friend ;)

I voted for 2097. Although WO was the reason I had got a PS (played it on a friend's PS), by the time I could afford one, 2097 had just been released and I went for the sequel together with a neGcon (which I ironically enough actually bought for Tekken2 because it was the only analogue device around and the first PS controllers had difficulty with diagonal inputs, much like the PSP nowadays :) ). Two friends and myself spent a whole summer Time Trialing.
The graphics, the style, the speed, the HANDLING, the added weapon damage, all of which made 2097 seem like the natural evolution from WO

Although I like the overall feeling of playing WO3(SE) best (unmatched graphics to the date, yes, it looks better than Fusion and Pulse!), and most probably it would be the one I keep if I had to choose, 2097 defined the series for me. Everything that was introduced and featured afterwards is just slight variations of 2097's system.

[nakamura]

The original Wipeout is the spirit of the series and Messij is the flagpiece music track also, its the tune everyone who hated games in 1995 loved. The circuit design is fantastic, all of the seven tracks perfect and so is the overall graphic style. The feel of each craft is spot on too with a real weighty sensation and each craft is so different.
Naturally it has a few problems, its and old game but in 1995 it was astonishing to watch and play. No other title had the same impact as the original as is so often with game series, especially ones on the first wave of 3D capable consoles.

2097 is my overall favourite title. Again amazing circuit design, the aformationed Gare is amazing. Great selection of music, weapons perfect, great presentation.
I love the sound in general, the craft noise is spot on, the sound when you connect with a plasma bolt is awesome!

Wip3out.................ugh. In my opinion (lol dont take too serious 3 fans!)
The graphics engine is impressive, but very dull in colour. Circuits are ok, some great ones, Porto is spot on.
Sound, now here is one problem, the music (with the graphics) generate a very austere game world, please no one mention realistic as some people have because its nonsense. How can anti grav racing be real???
Anyway the music does grow, but tunes like Under the Influence are just terrible. Also the craft noise is so quiet it mutes the feeling of speed.
Another the is the weapons, most are rubbish. Force wall. reflector, cloak all pointless.
Handling the worst in the series too but by no means is it awful.
I liked the presentation mind, was kinda cool.

Fusion was also a title i really enjoyed, I agree with many comment about upgrading ships and stupid vent jumps etc.
But some of it i really loved. Some great circuit design, I particulary loved the open areas, like Florion Height. Some good weapons too, loved the sound of the rockets launching!
Great music, good sound.
But some awful flaws in the engine when you go clean through the scenery. The handling was too sharp too and lost a bit of the weight of Wipeout.

Really into Pure and Pulse right now but not played enough to comment but like them both.

Oh and im not gonna waste my time with Wipeout 64.....

Hope i made some good points and didnt upset any fans.

Martin.

[Chill]

I obviously voted for Wipeout 3... My first was the original, which I played for several years not even knowing about Wipeout XL, but when I first got Wipeout 3 (don't even remember when or how), I fell in deep love with it. It had a balance of dark side and the bright speedy side of Wipeout... the computeristic weapons, as well as the music, track design, voices and menu went together perfectly... as if you were in some kind of computer simulation... I could seriously grow up only learning to play a game of this style. Everything about it.... I just love...

[Assimilator]

The original Wipeout is the spirit of the series and Messij is the flagpiece music track also, its the tune everyone who hated games in 1995 loved.
Martin.

Yeh Messij is still my fave wipeout tune but 2097 does have some thumping beats too and that mixed with the wicked game play more tracks and ships is what made 2097 better.

[Lion]

when I hear or see the word(s?) "wipeout" it's 2097 that comes to mind. even though I cut my teeth on wipeout 1 on the saturn.
in terms of gameplay, however; when I play the older titles now I find myself trying to absorb weapons and sideshift. Pure/pulse is the right gameplay style for me

[swift killer]

those two words which bring so much satisfaction when playing;

"contender eliminated"

unless its you being eliminated.

[FishDK]

I could only afford one game back when I got my PSX back in 1995 and that game was W'O!
And I didn't have any money to buy another game for about a year, so I played Wipeout every single day for hours and hours.
I love how hard the game is and how I master it so well!

So I would say I probably swear to the roots of the game, but I also enjoyed 2097 immensely because you had more freedom when you scraped against the track with no barrel roll.

Not hatin' on Wo3 either.

[Mano]

what is wipeout ?

Wipeout 1 - weapons but no damage
Wipeout 2097 - weapons and pitlanes to regain energy
Wipeout 3 - weapons, pitlanes and shield for turbo mechanic
Wipeout Fusion - weapons, damage affects handling, pitlanes, no speed classes, ship locked to track
Wipeout Pure - weapons, damage, no pitlanes but absorb, barrel rolls
Wipeout Pulse - weapons, damage, absorbs, barrel rolls, mag strips

So exactly what is wipeout ?

Its never been consistent across 2 versions
The most 'realistic version' in terms of real world A would cause B, is possibly fusion given damage affected the ship performance on track, but then it had wierd air vent jump things

Is wipeout 3 what wipeout is ?
Not for me as I really didnt like the shield for turbo mechanic and the force wall weapon was annoying as hell. Was it realistic, is it wipeout ?

Is it wipeout 1, where weapons do no damage but the slow you down, but dont affect anything else.... that in itself is quite arcadey as oposed a real future world

So maybe its wipeout 2097....

But then you cant just keep making the same game

Each game has something different, something new, something that wasnt there before or something remvoed.

what is truly wipeout ?
pitlanes ?
absorb ?
sacrifice shield for turbo ?
weapons cause no damage ?
weapons cause damage but dont affect performance
weapons affect performance ?
ships always floaty but then you can fly through scenery - is that wipeout or is that essentially a bit **** and the result of technology
ships locked to the track ?

my point isnt that barrel rolls are the best thing or worst thing ever, its that the definition of wipeout is different all the time and every game has been different, things come and go.
In the overall context is a barrel roll any more unbelievable than shield strength sacrificing for turbo or absorbing a weapon to get energy or flying over a square on a track to get a speed boost or a weapon ? And is believable the best way to go anyway ? shouldnt fun be the over riding factor ? but then what if believable is fun for some but not for others and what if the unbelievable like a barrel roll, is fun for some but not others, its a minefield of quandries really.

I guess its personal preference at the end of the day not just in terms of barrel rolls or not, but in terms of what Wipeout is. Does the inclusion of Barrel rolsl mean its not truly Wipeout... not for me, I think that is quite over the top. but then my defnition of wipeout is mine, and not yours.

Anyway its nearly xmas can we stop talking about work ? (after your reply which will no douobt bust my balls :( )
I want to know what you are buying me for Christmas Bob ?
:D

edit - sorry for going waaaay off topic, I blame the booze.
I concur no times displayed during a tournament is a pain, addressed for HD.

I must say i would love to see a semi-simulation (with of course more forgiving physics) kind of wipeout, new hardware can handle that with great graphics, something like a gran turismo 4 kind of thing but with a wipeout setting, more complicated game mechanics will make the different difficulty levels existance more logical, i always wanted to jump to the fastest league right from the start, never liked to play the slower ones.

i love what XL did for me, and at that time it was making me feel like i was going at fast speeds in a future world.

With hardware advancements immersion is going towards simulation, like you said you cant keep doing XL all the time or maybe the same basic formula over and over, arcade style racing is dying, really, since i played GTR and GTR2 i never looked back to NFS kind of games, and this is the reason simulation peripherals are getting more realistic and more mainstream faster in time (DFP, G25)

What wipeout did (the first), was give the players a true 3D futuristic racer, and that was way more realistic than any other futuristic racing game in that time (counting f-zero´s mode 7 effects, and a bunch of other pseudo 3D sci fi racers that lacked the animation and quality wipeout had). Like i said it would be nice if Wipeout evolved into a semi-sim that can make us feel in that future, flying FAST, in that possible world.

You cant simply try to revive a monster or make a frankenstein, its memory and shadow will always bite you back one way or another.

I would experiment with the concept in a new setting, or make an all new game that is not Wipeout.

However HD looks amazing and seems to be a great game, but you guys now know what i would like for the next one :D (tho i have said this opinion, shorter of course, before)

another thing i want to say is, wipeout (original) did what it did, first; the first futuristic racing sim, would be something great to make too.

[Chill]

I actually love the force wall from W3... but 2097 is indeed winning!!! I'm not mad at all... that's my second fave...

[Lion]

w3o isn't doing as well as I'd expected.. otherwise it seems much as I would have thought..
I'm curious who the two were that chose Fusion?

[Mad-Ice]

Hi Lion,

Just click on the number of the amount of votes it got and you will be able to see who voted for that game.

[Lion]

thanks! I was not aware of that feature till now :) handy

[Sausehuhn]

Speaking of Fusion I would just like to see the game with Pure's/Pulse's physics (including Magstrips of course). Sure, people would still not like the upgrade system and stuff, but I'm sure it would turn the game into a completely different direction for most gamers. Especially because Fusion definitely had a lot of nice track layouts. Then get rid of some of the weapons and make a better-looking menu and I'm sure the game can be a hell lot of fun.

I know that will possibly never happen, but, Colin and the others at SL, is it really that complecated to apply an already existant PSP-code (= the handling) to another game?
Sure balancing the weapons etc. takes some time, but right now I'm only speaking about the real code change.


BTW: I think I like the 3-steps-weapon sensibility Fusion had. Haven't played the game for too long. I should get a cheap PS2 somewhere.

[synapticflow]

2097 and Pure... the two best to me so far. Pulse hasn't arrived in my region yet.

[djb]

wip3out se has the most play time for me, but my vote went to 2097 as this was the game that really had me up all friday night/saturday morning for months on end, surrounded by empty cans of red bull, mars bar wrappers, half smoked fags and a copy of Club magazine for the occasional "break"......ahhh good times:)