Zapix

Little needs to be said, futuristic racing game. The original one dates back to the mid-late 90s, it also had some sort of prototype version that was seen in the movie, Hackers.

Here we are 10+ years later, and well... Wipeout has ummm... Well... Gotten a alot faster! Comparing the first game to Pulse is like comparing a Schwinn bicycle to a Suzuki GSXR-1000. Sure, the Schwinn is nice, you might even break a sweat. The GSXR-1000 though will suck your eyeballs to the back of your skull as you hold on for your life watching everything blow by like the world is on pause.

Needless to say... I'm happy!

They've rearranged the whole tournament system with a GRID system as it's called. Think of it like you have 9 points...

....9
..5..6
8..1..7
..3..4
....6

You start at 1, and by completing 1, you gain access to 2, 3, 4, 5... By completing say 5, you can access to 8 and 9.

There's tons of these grids, and each one hold various tracks and objectives from normal races, to time trials, best laps, etc. So it spread things out. Pretty cool idea!

Wipeout Pulse is also the first Wipeout to have online play! Yeah! FINALLY! Originally this rumored to appear in Wipeout Fusion back on the PS2, but it never became a reality. About time I think, and with Wipeout HD for the PS3 coming soon (if the leaked list is correct), this will be a good warm up!

Wipeout Pulse also gives the unique ability to create your own MP3 soundtrack for the game. Up to 30 songs is what the manual says! So be it a list of old favorites from previous Wipeout games, or something else, customized music is definately a plus! Aside from that, the soundtrack it comes with isn't that bad. I was bothered by the soundtrack with Wipeout Pure. I think Wipeout and Wipeout XL will always remain my favorite of the soundtracks the games offered. Another note, the game comes with alot of talking audio. An audio bit about each track is played the before the race.

Gameplay is about what I'd expect of Wipeout on the PSP. I'm not fond of the D-Pad anymore, haven't been for years now, but it handles pretty good! The game is smooth, although hard to really notice when you're going so fast. If there were police, you'd be arrested for wreckless insane driving!

Graphics in my opinion were rendered pretty nicely for the PSP. The tracks are neatly done. It's kind of dull compared to what I'm used to playing the PS3 and 360 all the time, so I have to keep in mind the PSP can only do so much.

Gameplay: 8.0
Graphics: 8.0
Music: 8.0
Fun: 10

OVERALL: 8.5

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PS3: DMC4, Elder Scrolls IV, Enchanted Arms, Genji: DoTB, GR AW2, GT5P, Motorstorm, NG Sigma, Sonic, UT3

X360: CoD4, Forza 2, GTA IV, Halo 3, KUF, Lost Odyssey, Marvel UA, Mass Effect, Naruto: RoTN

PSP: FF, FF Tactics, FF VII: Crisis Core, Wipeout Pure and Pulse

FFXI (Diabolos): Knitemare (75DRG), Gentatsu (75SAM), Kaymin (41RDM)