WipEout 2048 Review

By Martin Robinson Published 26 January, 2012

Weightless wonder.

Version tested: PlayStation Vita

I've found a new way to terrify myself. It's not by counting the grey hairs in my beard, nor is it by examining my receding hairline, checking my bank balance or reading up on whatever tropical disease is in vogue. It's by surrendering myself to WipEout 2048, and more specifically, to Zone mode on the track Sol.

It's the drop halfway around this sky-bound track that does the trick; a blind crest that gives way to nothing, the track pulled from beneath you and leaving you suspended for a handful of panicked seconds. It's made more urgent by Zone's airbrushed psychedelics, and more urgent still by the steadily escalating speed of the ship at your fingertips.

This is WipEout at its best, and it's preserved, in part, for the series' Vita debut. WipEout's been much more than a futuristic racing series since its inception - it's been one that's screamed that the future is, in fact, now. It started with the PlayStation debut, a game that did more than just usher in the 3D age - it lent gaming an edgy credibility that helped pave the path to success for Sony's then fledgling interactive empire.

More recently, WipEout HD was proof of concept for a future that's yet to be fully realised. Here was gaming in 1080p and at 60fps, all served up as a digital download. It's a technical feat that's sadly been replicated rarely since, ensuring that both HD and Fury remain high watermarks in the PS3's library.

And now there's WipEout 2048, providing proof of the Vita's abilities as a high-end, high-spec portable. It's an effective showcase, too - witnessing the fidelity and detail as seven fellow anti-grav racers make a violent ascent from a busy New York cityscape, all between the palms of your hands, has as much impact now as the original did some 17 years ago.

Studio Liverpool has turned the clock back to attain that spectacle, offering up a prequel of sorts. A stirring intro video traces the line from Brooklands race track to a near-future Brooklyn, telling how the world of racing lifted itself above the tarmac. There's another line being drawn here - the vehicles of WipEout 2048 are, with more primitive lines and an audible chug and whine, anti-gravity racing's Napiers.

And so the concrete and steel of previous WipEouts is swapped out for the stonework and masonry of a half-imagined, half-real take on New York. Races zip across the Brooklyn Bridge, scale the side of the Empire State Building and spiral through shopping malls. There's a story being told here, too - throughout the three seasons of 2048's single player campaign, WipEout's more traditional vision slowly emerges, culminating in visits to Altima and Sol, tracks from the series' past.

It's WipEout's most dramatic aesthetic shift, but it's not necessarily its most successful. Without the cleanliness and clarity of the future of old, there's a visual clutter that shifts the emphasis away from skill and more towards luck. Find yourself at the back of the pack and the track ahead is a mess of vapour trails and plasma showers, obscuring a route that's already in danger of getting lost amidst the brickwork.

It's impressive how much Studio Liverpool can throw on the screen, but often it comes at the expense of WipEout's purity of design, as well as some of its practicality. Load times before races come in between 30 and 40 seconds, an unacceptable wait in the more immediate world of portable gaming.

Touch sensitive

WipEout 2048 offers a handful of control options that make the most of the Vita's various control inputs, with the rear touch pad replacing the trigger as an accelerator while the tilt control can be used to steer. It works, but it's too clumsy to be a substitute for a more traditional layout, ensuring that the best implementation of the Vita's touch capabilities lie elsewhere. Run your fingers along the rear touch pad in the menus and the backdrop's lattice of triangles pops up, a pointless but brilliantly satisfying touch.

A little clarity's been lost in the handling, too. It's arguable that Sony Liverpool's a victim of its own success here. Having delivered a weighty and satisfying model strung out across 60fps in both HD and Fury, and having delivered in 2048 a game that comes shockingly close to its PS3 counterparts visually, the dip in frame-rate and the move to the Vita's less substantial analogue stick stings a little. There's no doubt that some of the weight has been lost as well, and while 2048's tracks have been widened to accommodate for the loss of handling fidelity, frequent collisions with the scenery sap away some of the grace.

It's a credit to WipEout's well-worn formula that, despite these problems, 2048 remains an enjoyable and often exhilarating ride. The career, structured as it is across three seasons and underscored by the gentle tug of XP, provides a satisfying departure from the latticed event grids of Pure, Pulse, HD and Fury.

Events are weighted towards traditional races, working their way up through a refined class system where series staples such as phantom, venom and rapier are replaced with a simple grading system running from C through to A plus - where survival is all about pre-empting the next 500 yards.

And races, cluttered as they are, tend towards a chaos that's served by a tweaked weapons system. Each team's garage - and 2048 takes in all the classics, from Feisar through to Pir-hana - is split into four categories, from the self-explanatory agility, speed and fighter classes to the unruly prototypes that are the last to be unlocked. They each offer separate load-outs, with certain weapons excluded from certain teams, while weapon pads now come in both defensive and offensive flavours.

It sprinkles strategy on the combat, though it's still far from thoughtful. Combat events, where the aim is to destroy rather than race, are exercises in pure aggression where the odds can be stacked in your favour with some canny ship selection. Online combat events descend further into chaos, often sinking into farce as competitors are free to tear around the track any which way in order to rack up the highest score.

Import friendly?

If you're too impatient to wait the handful of weeks until WipEout 2048's UK release, the Japanese version offers few barriers. Menus are all presented in English, and providing you play at an hour sensitive to Japan's time zone it's easy enough to find a race online. One casualty appears to be the cross-platform play between the Vita and PS3 which is, at present, unavailable.

Earning XP unlocks events, with a season branching off across various paths - each one ending with a new vehicle to unlock.

It's one moot point in online racing that's well structured, smart and - over a wi-fi connection, at least - simple to use. Each race presents a new objective - hit a certain rival for a gold star, for example, or finish in the front half of the field - and as each is ticked off, progress is made in a linear seasonal series. Coming first is not necessarily the primary aim, a concept that may well be anathema to racers - and working towards a well-deserved victory only to be told you've failed your objective can prove galling - but in its place is the kind of frenetic action that's defined Mario Kart and has, to date, been lacking a little from WipEout.

But 2048's at its best when it's applying itself to more traditional WipEout endeavours, and that's when Studio Liverpool's work really shines. That's where its winning details reveal themselves: the cruel placement of speed pads on a corner's apex that can either send you hurtling towards a wall or propel you to victory, for example, or how the rhythm of each circuit is amplified through a string of perfect laps.

WipEout is several steps down from the series' best, but is still a robust and muscular racer, and one that with its solid online and dazzling visuals, does much to recommend its host hardware - doing enough to suggest that the Vita's own future is bright.

7 / 10

This is a review of the Japanese import version of WipEout Vita, which at present doesn't allow access to cross-platform play. We'll be investigating that feature in full around the game's release in Europe on February 22.

Read the Eurogamer.net scoring policy
Picture of Martin.

About Martin Robinson

Martin is Eurogamer's features editor with responsibility for commissioning, editing and often writing our feature and preview content. He's also passionate about driving games.

Read more articles from Martin by visiting the Martin Robinson archive page.

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Comments (71) Latest comment 2 weeks ago

  • Lexx87 #1 4 weeks ago

    Bit of a shame that score after the brilliance of HD.

  • miiiguel #2 4 weeks ago

    This series is so cool and it totally suits portable gaming, realy like this. Too bad I'm not getting a dedicated protable games device. Ever. Again.
    Edited by 1 at 26/01/12 @ 14:45

  • jonfon #3 4 weeks ago

    "WipEout is several steps down from the series' best"

    Boo, the PSP releases were possibly my favourite games on the platform and the first thing I did when I got my PS3 was buy HD & Fury

    So, how's the soundtrack then? Surely a WipEout review should also review the music that it comes with (I still can't drive and listen to P.E.T.R.O.L. at the same time as I get the urge to Missile the car ahead of me. Makes my wife nervous)
    Edited by 1 at 26/01/12 @ 14:46

  • neilka #4 4 weeks ago

    Reads like a 2048.

  • Mister-Wario #5 4 weeks ago

    Huh, the score seems a little out of sync with the review. Well, maybe, maybe not. It sounds like a good racer anyway. If I was getting a PSV I'd probably pick this up.

  • Augmentation #6 4 weeks ago

    The Wipeout series has always been a favourite of mine and since playing WipEout HD I've really wanted to explore the world in which it is set. The level design seems to have helped with that and adds a bit of context.

    You don't mention the controls too heavily in the review. Are all the usual suspects still here - airbreaking, shielding, barrel rolls, et cetera? And what about that pilot assist setting introduced in WipEout HD?

  • Muitnorts #7 4 weeks ago

    I'm pretty certain I'll pick this up at launch. I actually preferred the PSP games to WipEout HD by quite a margin.

  • Hog-lumps #8 4 weeks ago

    Sounds good - particularly like the sound of the retro tinged aesthetic - shame about the frame rate though!

  • FuzzyDuck #9 4 weeks ago

    "... has as much impact now as the original did some 17 years ago."

    I almost choked. Has it really been that long? I remember pouring over the images in CVG, could hardly believe my eyes. I play HD/Fury with a custom soundtrack consisting of a rip from the 2097 games disc and all of Cold Storage's output.

    I'm excited to see how the cross platfrom play works with the PS3 and if i was buying a Vita, this'd be the title i'd get with it.

    \hugs everything wipEout.

  • Raptaur #10 4 weeks ago

    @jonfon

    *is off to youtube to listen to P.E.T.R.O.L.

  • suzzopher #11 4 weeks ago

    So you were comparing it to a home console WipEout and not the previous portable WipEout? Interesting approach.

  • smoothpete #12 4 weeks ago

    They're going to look pretty silly when we get to the year 2048 and we STILL don't have an flying cars

    WHERE IS MY FUCKING FLYING CAR GODDAMN YOU TOMORROW'S WORLD!

  • joelstinton #13 4 weeks ago

    First two paragraphs set this up for a 9 or a 8. Rest of the review as left me a bit deflated. Going to see what EG readers feedback is post launch.

  • anthonypappa #14 4 weeks ago

    i think they should drop the cartoony graphical effect, if anyone knows what i'm talking about? - and go for a more realistic, gritty look again.

    looks too clinical and colourful.

  • captain_Carl #15 4 weeks ago

    Not seen anythig bad about this really. TheSixthAxis has been raving about it.

  • RobTheBuilder #16 4 weeks ago

    40 second loading times from memory card?
    Bloooooody hell...

  • MadCaddy13 #17 4 weeks ago

    Won't be getting this anyways. Was reading like a 9 for a bit though.
    Edited by 1 at 26/01/12 @ 15:07

  • mucklepaws #18 4 weeks ago

    If 2048 is getting compared to HD and Fury, I am in. :D
    Edited by 1 at 26/01/12 @ 15:18

  • Pondskater #19 4 weeks ago

    Check out the latest screenshots rather than the 6 month old shots in the article:

    http://www.flickr.com/ph otos/36895389@N00/sets/
    Edited by 5 at 27/01/12 @ 12:30

  • tossum #20 4 weeks ago

    My biggest problem playing the psp wipeout games was my hands would be crippled and clawed after even quite a short play time. So not an issue with the actual games themselves; I do hope the button/stick placement on the vita is nicer to my hands.

  • porkface Verified Features Editor, Eurogamer Network #21 4 weeks ago

    Just added an endnote to make clear that this is an import review, and that the cross-platform play is not yet available - there's going to be a PS3 patch just before launch that'll enable it. It's something I've sampled at a couple of events, and while impressive it's not enough to impact the final score. Regardless, we'll have a full look at the feature once it goes live.

    And please remember that 7 is a good score! I really liked 2048, but there were a number of issues that made me unable to hand on heart say that it's great. For me it's not quite the measure of HD or Fury - or Pulse or Pure, for that matter - but it's still really, really good.

  • porkface Verified Features Editor, Eurogamer Network #22 4 weeks ago

    Also, I cried a little too when I realised it's been 17 years since the first WipEout.

  • BraveArse #23 4 weeks ago

    @tossum I had that problem with the psp and can reassure you. I imported a vita a few weeks back and have had zero problems with hands cramping up. That includes the wipeout demo. HTH.

    @porkface agree, 7 is and always should be a good score. Thought it was a good review. :)

    Edit: any experience of the Near functionality?
    Edited by 1 at 26/01/12 @ 15:25

  • berelain #24 4 weeks ago

    @porkface "cross-platform play is not yet available - there's going to be a PS3 patch just before launch that'll enable it."

    Does this mean that HD will be having 2048's tracks patched in? Or are the HD / Fury tracks available in 2048?

    Sad to see that Studio Liverpool has drifted away from the pure thrill of the race - they tried that once before with the combat-heavy Fusion, and it never really felt right - but I'm still sorely tempted to buy a Vita just for this game.

    Oh, and all WipEout fans need to try racing on Sol / Sol 2 with Yoko Kanno's Cyberbird as the background music. Epic.

  • -cerberus- #25 4 weeks ago

    @porkface: I setup my ps1 two days ago (bought a s-video cable for it too) and gave my personal favorite of the series another spin: Wipeout 3 Special Edition.
    Even if I say so myself, I own this game (Phantom class & challenges included).

    Sadly, I don't think the first game withstood the test of time...

  • wattsn26 #26 4 weeks ago

    @smoothpete Ford is working hard on it for you right now...

  • porkface Verified Features Editor, Eurogamer Network #27 4 weeks ago

    @berelain There's only a few tracks from HD and Fury in there, and I'm not entirely sure what plans there are for patching in further ones. It's an interesting comparison you make to Fusion - 2048 definitely feels closer to that than any of the classics, to me at least.

    Oh, and as research I booted up the original WipEout. I don't think it's dated at all - the handling remains unique in the series with an emphasis on pitch that's been toned down in subsequent games. It was a really pleasant surprise spending a couple of races with it - that game's still got it.

  • semtex03 #28 4 weeks ago

    This thing sounds like we're on our way to floaty racers.

    I've always loved WipeEout from the first game. The weakest games, for me, were Wip3out and Fusion, but even they were good.

  • berelain #29 4 weeks ago

    @porkface

    Ahh, so there are a couple of tracks? Good to know, it was bugging me :p

    I agree with you about the original, though. The only things I can hold against it are A) it's nowhere near as forgiving as the sequels (just scraping a wall near enough stops you) and B) I still resent the fact that the Amiga version (of all things) had bonus features including weather effects that never made it to any other versions of the game.

  • porkface Verified Features Editor, Eurogamer Network #30 4 weeks ago

    @semtex03 That Toyota sounds a lot more lively from the inside.

    http://www.dailymotion.com/vide o/xo1qfb_camera-embarquee-toyota-hybrid-ts030_auto

  • blicko #31 4 weeks ago

    @semtex03 - The first game was a landmark at the time, but if you would prefer it over any that followed, you're a Zen master.

    The way the opponents would push you into the side wall which would insta-stop you while they were totally immune ... FFFUUUUUUUU. The game was awesome at the time, but it'd be last on my list of WipEout games to play.

    Set the benchmark for killer soundtracks, though (http://coldstora ge.org.uk/music.html) ;-)

    (BTW, that previous link is the artist's free downloads of much of the music from the first games).
    Edited by 2 at 26/01/12 @ 16:02

  • onezeonx #32 4 weeks ago

    7/10?? Are you having a laugh??

    Ive played this on the Vita and its class!!
    I wasnt going to get it but after an hour playing its a day 1 buy for me!

    7/10 is a joke.....its atleast an 8 if not more!

  • shinesevens #33 4 weeks ago

    Not really sure why you have bothered reviewing the Jap version and left out the cross play when we are so close to launch and cross play can be play at PS Vita Rooms?

    Had almost an hour on Wipeout at PS Vita Rooms and I loved it. It looks *stunning* and you have it there to carry around with you.

    Day 1 purchase.

  • super_monty #34 4 weeks ago

    'Solid online' that's add 2 points me I want a Vita now.

  • msephton #35 4 weeks ago

    @shinesevens I assume the review is out before cross play so it can be the first review online and get a shed load of press. ;)

  • TazerFan #36 4 weeks ago

    These games are great but I will forever hate the capitalized E in WipEout

    Edit- You guys are, uh... big fans of that E huh?
    Edited by 1 at 26/01/12 @ 20:54

  • Sunyavadin #37 4 weeks ago

    Please guys, give us PC users this game back. We miss it.

  • Scimarad #38 4 weeks ago

    @TazerFan

    TBH it's just the font really. It's not called WipEout and it never has been.

  • Potioninmypants #39 4 weeks ago

    30-40s load times? No way am I touching the PSV with load times like that. Long load times killed the PSP for m. I can't believe they think it's acceptable to bring another system out with similar issues. This is something they should have focused on even at the cost of good graphics for a new system that alot of people will use for quick 10-20 minute game sessions.

  • sparkyscrum #40 4 weeks ago

    @porkface does 2048 have an Elimantor mode?

  • BraveArse #41 4 weeks ago

    I'll never understand why a 30 second load time is considered long. If you don't have 30 seconds to.wait for a game to load, you surely don't have to time to game.

  • onezeonx #42 4 weeks ago

    @Potioninmypants you won't buy a vita over 30-40 seconds??

    Don't then if time is THAT limited in your life

  • bunglebonce #43 4 weeks ago

    @Potioninmypants Absolutely, 30-40s load times are not appealing. 30-40s, for a 2m race, which you might be tempted to restart after cocking up the first lap (at least on the highest difficulty).

    What I really want to see is a wee HD remake (or Vita equivalent) of Wipeout 3: Special Edition. Holy Moly.
    Edited by 1 at 26/01/12 @ 19:26

  • Rizob #44 4 weeks ago

    Maybe the 30-40 second load times are in preparation for when they stealth-patch adverts into the game again. Despite loving the series, i promised myself i wouldn't buy another Wipout after they added adverts a week after releasing HD Fury.

  • jonfon #45 4 weeks ago

    @bunglebonce 30/40 seconds is a ridiculous load time for a level, but in fairness if it mimics older Wipeouts restarting / retrying doesn't trigger a reload.

  • beep #46 4 weeks ago

    Frame rate dips and long load times... would be amazing if more developers would consider these trade offs as mandatory aspects to eradicate during the design process.

  • Feanor #47 4 weeks ago

    Non-customizable controls equals no sale for me.

  • The-Jack-Burton #48 4 weeks ago

    Great review, can't wait to play it!

  • BonzoBanana #49 4 weeks ago

    Impressive looking but I'm rubbish at Wipeout games sadly.

  • GamesConnoisseur #50 4 weeks ago

    GTA5 long loading times killed my interest in the game, as quite annoying when you need to restarts a good number of times for a perfect lap time.

    Wipeout I was quite interested in, but.... dropped frames, load times, ah maybe better wait for the game to appear in bargain bin? If Ridge Racer Vita would be getting more praises then could be worth considering instead? Modnation Racers without online play already dropped off of my Vita launch radar.

  • Shakey_Jake33 #51 4 weeks ago

    A Eurogamer review where the review content is out of sync with the score? Really? Who would have thought it :p

  • semtex03 #52 4 weeks ago

    @blicko Probably Pure and HD are my favourites. I love the Zone modes and time trials.

    I still have the original WipEout disc. Loved that I was able to get the sound track off it. ColdStorage is the epitome of WipEout sound tracks. I have it as a custom playlist on HD and GT5 :-)

  • NHDavid #53 4 weeks ago

    40 second loading times from memory card?
    Bloooooody hell...

    Enough time for a quick wank between races then.......

  • pantherjag #54 4 weeks ago

    Played this tonight at vita rooms and it does look sensational and even in my inexpirienced hands it handled superbly. Alas im not a wipeout fan, i have wipeout HD on my ps3 courtesy of sony and played it maybe twice but i could see anyone who is a fan being in gaming heaven with this title.

    It should be noted that the long load times, and they were quite long are accompanied with a climbing percentage bar. Might not make a difference to some but iv always felt a visual reference when something is loading makes it seem quicker.......That could just be me though.

    Played uncharted, everybodys golf and f1 2011 as well and dont think anything took longer than 10 seconds to load on those games. uncharted and everybodys golf were almost instant

  • Cataferal #55 4 weeks ago

    @jonfon Pressing Retry still takes you to a loading screen for about 15 seconds. I recall HD taking a similar route, although it didn't take quite as long (5 secs or so).

    Very excited for this regardless. The game does look stunning.
    Edited by 1 at 27/01/12 @ 01:53

  • madmaardigan #56 4 weeks ago

    Future? Now? Check this out:

    http://submit.boingboi ng.net/2012/01/controlled-quantum-levitation-on-a-wipeout-tr ack.html

  • secombe #57 4 weeks ago

    40 second load times make me very nervous, I can't help but feel they've gone too far down the 'console in a handheld' route.

  • Beano #58 4 weeks ago

    @madmaardigan You do know that video is fake, right?

  • ToAks #59 4 weeks ago

    @berelain

    WipEout 1 was never on Amiga. (there was rumors about it being developed for the Amiga at one point (1994 or 1995))
    The sequel (2097) on the other hand came out on the Amiga and yes the port was superior to the other versions :-)
    It also had some new music as well.

    here's some more info:
    http://hol.abime.net/1737
    Also contains CDDA tracks and Amiga-specific features (e.g. enabling/disabling sky fog, linear texture mapping and dithering; bilinear/trilinear filtering and mipmapping) not present in the PC/console versions.

    Since the Amiga conversion is based on the PC release, it unfortunately does not contain music by Prodigy, Future Sound of London and The Chemical Brothers that appeared in the original Playstation version.
    PS: i took the cd tracks from PS1 titles and added them to the playlist already ingame :D
    Edited by 1 at 27/01/12 @ 10:25

  • Vermillion3000 #60 4 weeks ago

    So many amazing memories of Wipeout - from playing 2097 night after night in our student house to a fantastic few hours on HD/Fury a few weeks ago. I really really want this, but the cost of entry is likely to be too high.
    Ł250 to effectively get a Wipeout machine is tough to swallow...

    Is it worth waiting for the inevitable PS3 port?

  • Arwin #61 4 weeks ago

    Good that this game has a demo, so I can try the framerate for myself. I'm a little disappointed with this review's lack of info on the asynchronous multiplayer features, but I guess you can pay attention to that when you also investigate cross-play. In that respect, you may as well start reviewing games offline and online separately. Personally this is what I'm really interested in most - how well the leaderboards work, the AutoLog type of affair, the Near challenges etc. But I guess that's hard to review at this stage if you don't have many other Vita owners around/on your friend's list.

  • Arwin #62 4 weeks ago

    @blicko thanks a bunch for that link, with Vita's custom soundtrack features we can put these files on Vita and play them in-game. Bliss!

    Will put them on my PS3 as well, as I only like two of HD/Fury's tracks I think.
    Edited by 1 at 27/01/12 @ 14:00

  • Dismiss #63 4 weeks ago

    @JAGUARCD32X: Even though it could be argued that the Amiga never died, by the time the PS1 made it's European debut, it was already dropping out of sight. The Wipeout 2097 port could only be run on enthusiast Amiga systems with PPC processors and separate accelerator cards. To all intents and purposes, it was a port of the PC version on pretty similar hardware.
    Edited by 1 at 27/01/12 @ 17:05

  • Ironic_War_Criminal #64 4 weeks ago

    @jonfon

    The best Wipeout track is Acetone, dammit.

    (Also bring back Cold Storage, Sony Jerks)

  • coolbritannia #65 4 weeks ago

    Hardly Vita-l

  • -Mew- #66 4 weeks ago

    Well I'm totally getting this for Crossplay, if it has all the HD+Fury tracks and cards fuck yeah!

  • fizzyfish #67 4 weeks ago

    Eightless wonder.

  • Pipemould #68 3 weeks ago

    +1 for a WipEout 3: Special Edition Remake with the HD treatment. It's the only one in the entire series over the 17yrs I haven't played (And nothing has come close to 2097 imo).

    I'd love to see a proper career spread over tournaments for different classes like 2097. 2 tracks on the easy setting, 4 track on Venom, 6 Tracks on Rapier and 8 tracks on Phantom or similar. It was such a great way to play as the tracks played differently the faster you went.

  • canIdoyabombsforya #69 3 weeks ago

    For me, Wipeout died after the original Playstation version. The magic had gone.

  • martinthemonkey #70 2 weeks ago

    The (Jap) Demo of this is excellent. I'll be purchasing the UK version.

  • Arwin #71 2 weeks ago

    The Magic is definitely back in Wipeout Fury, imho ... those Zone modes are absolutely magical. If the Zone mode on Vita is any good at all, then with that screen, then combined iwth the custom soundtracks I think I'll definitely get this again.

    Really happy with the browser update on PS3 by the way. I can finally type into a textbox in 720p mode properly using my BluTooth keyboard. :) They should have done this ages ago, but definitely better late then never in this case.