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the wipeout pure thread

Racing game fans help me decide!

Ridge Racers
NFS:UR
Wipeout Pure

I'd really appreciate some input on the good and bad of each... I'm only picking up two PSP titles, on is DW for the missus, and the other is a racer... but I just don't know which one to get!!!
 
How do you feel about the main franchines of each of these?

They're each different, so I imagine your tastes would dictate-- unless you love them equally.

One video of Ridge Racer made me remember how much I didn't like the arcadey drift racing, Wipeout's long been my favorite racer, and NFSU is right in the middle--- for me. Assuming of course that each lives up to its console counterparts.
 
See, i loved R4 to pieces, and even had a fair amount of affection for RRV, while the last two wipeout games were dissapointing. I'll pick up RR at launch, and WipEout in a month or so.
 
If you can only get one racer, you really need to get Ridge, IMO. You can always come back to the others later. They're not going anywhere... :)
 
Darien, I think you can base your decision on how much you liked the respective franchizes on home consoles. I can vouch that NFSU and RR look, feel and play highly familiar to console NFSU and RR games, and it seems to be the same way with Wipeout.

I would start with RR and Wipeout, but if you have a knack for NFS franchize, get that instead of RR. I said this once, and I'll say it again, RR is the most polished game of all the PSP racers, but NFSU feels less "programmed" and "clean", and I'm sure people will prefer one or another.
 
I don't know how it'll be everywhere else, but I will give you the heads-up -- as a company, EB is presold out of Ridge Racers, apparently. That's what we're being told at least. We're not allowed to take presales for the launch shipment anymore, and we're supposed to tell people that we won't have it in on launch day if they didn't already pre-purchase it. Apparently, compared to launch shipments of the hardware and expected sales of each title, Need for Speed, Untold Legends, Metal Gear Ac!d, and Ridge Racers will all be in short supply. So check with your local retailer.
 
Thanks everybody... my only concern about Ridge which I expressed previously is that the series feels less like I'm racing against cars and more like I'm simply racing against the clock and the track... I don't know if that's enough anymore.... I MIGHT like Underground Rivals... but truth be told I haven't even started Underground 2 yet, though I finished Underground on the PS2... and my concern with Wipeout is that while I enjoyed Fusion... it was... boring... something about it just didn't feel very long term appealing.

So for those familiar with the 3 here are my questions, hopefully that'll help me narrow it down.

Ridge Racers: IS the AI competitive, or is it really still just about you master your car and the track?

NFSU: Is there are story? Or is it just a series of races? Is it tournament mode, more structured like Hot Pursuit?

Wipeout: I've been hearing really good things about it... look, feel, competitive AI, lots of weapons use... are the hiccups in framerate enough to really distract?

Thanks.
 
DarienA said:
So for those familiar with the 3 here are my questions, hopefully that'll help me narrow it down.

Ridge Racers: IS the AI competitive, or is it really still just about you master your car and the track?

Wipeout: I've been hearing really good things about it... look, feel, competitive AI, lots of weapons use... are the hiccups in framerate enough to really distract?

Thanks.

I don't think I've ever really considered Wipeout or Ridge Racer to be a battle against AI. So, to answer your question, from what I've played of both Ridge Racers and Wipeout Pure (more of the former, I've played), yes, it's more about mastering the courses. Even for Wipeout, with the weapons and things. You might have to slow an opponent down with a missile to pass them at some point, but it requires you to really come to grips with the tracks more than anything else. With Ridge Racers, though, I don't even think I gave opponents another thought. It was kinda just going for the best time I could, and if I got it, it just so happened to I beat everyone else. Know what I mean?
 
Soul4ger said:
I don't think I've ever really considered Wipeout or Ridge Racer to be a battle against AI. So, to answer your question, from what I've played of both Ridge Racers and Wipeout Pure (more of the former, I've played), yes, it's more about mastering the courses. Even for Wipeout, with the weapons and things. You might have to slow an opponent down with a missile to pass them at some point, but it requires you to really come to grips with the tracks more than anything else. With Ridge Racers, though, I don't even think I gave opponents another thought. It was kinda just going for the best time I could, and if I got it, it just so happened to I beat everyone else. Know what I mean?

Yup thanks... that pushes me more towards Rivals then...
 
i was planning on buying wipeout pure, until i read this:

here's what lets it down: the framerate. either it's sub-30 a lot of the time or i've forgotten what a 30 fps racing game looks like. it looks bad.
 
The End said:
But EA is the devil!


Yes except sometimes they are like:

V3009.jpg
 
DarienA said:
Racing game fans help me decide!

Ridge Racers
NFS:UR
Wipeout Pure

I'd really appreciate some input on the good and bad of each... I'm only picking up two PSP titles, on is DW for the missus, and the other is a racer... but I just don't know which one to get!!!

I would get Ridge Racers. It's a great showcase for the PSP. Production quality is flawless and it runs at 60fps with no slowdown.
 
I honestly do not think I will buy a PSP at this point. I seriously cannot imagine myself coming to grips with playing any of these racing games with a digital pad or a stupid analog nob.

I MUST play all racing games with a steering wheel! I just feel naked without one.

CURSE YOU namco for not bringing this RR game to home consoles!!! *shakes fist*
 
Ok, I've searched for a few days now looking for a thread where somebody said they were getting Wipeout Pure for $33.99 or something close to that, but I cannot find the thread anywhere. Can anybody help me out?
 
Anyone else want the soundtrack? :)

StrikerObi: I got mine by trading in three crap games to EB, check the US PSP launch thread for more details...
 
I laugh at those who said the game looked slow :lol

Flash kicks your ass... and it's not even the fastest class. :D

FZERO GX Step down. The King is BACK.

Too bad i have to wait till god knows when to play it... the wait will be extremely painful.
 
Anyone know how many tournaments there are? I have 3 available so far. And looks like I just unlocked the 3rd difficulty. Man this game is fun!
 
You know, we should have some time trial contests. We can save ghosts and put them up for download. People can download them, upload to their memory sticks and compete against other player's ghosts
 
Has anyone figured out how to unlock classic tournament?

Flash Class is kicking my ass right now - can barely place in the top 5.
 
finally got around to put in some time in wipeout pure

fun fun fun! :D

I'm really loving it so far, like it better than TM.

do you win tournaments to unlock stuff? or would you get anything by winning medals in single race?
 
robot said:
Has anyone figured out how to unlock classic tournament?

Flash Class is kicking my ass right now - can barely place in the top 5.

I just unlocked classic tournament...I think it's dependent on the number of gold medals you have. I got 61 and it just unlocked it. My rank is now: addict :)
 
Lousy framerates typically bother me, but they don't in this game. I've only noticed the framerate with the weapon effects, and only on a couple of occassions.


As somebody who likes very few racers, I gotta agree with the original poster, this game is extremely well done. At first I was playing game on the slow mode with a slower speed vehicle, and was thinking to myself 'fuck, this is it?'. After playing FZero, I was pretty underwhelmed. Since moving up to a faster class race, and a ship with a higher top speed, the game doesn't seem as slow. It still doesn't seem nearly as fast as FZero, but the ships have a sense of weight to them, and bumping into walls has a higher consequence. Like FZero, I feel like I'm fighting the level as opposed to the other racers, and to me that's a good thing.

When I compare the games outright, FZero comes out ahead in sense of speed, but I am somehow mesmorized by Wipeout:Pure. It is incredibly addictive in a way I can't put my finger on, and the presentation, menus, and music are put together in a tight little package. This game really does kick ass.
 
Wario64 said:
I just unlocked classic tournament...I think it's dependent on the number of gold medals you have. I got 61 and it just unlocked it. My rank is now: addict :)


It looks like Classic gets unlocked after 10 gold medals. I just placed first on all the "single race" tracks for Vector, then got two golds on Venom, and the Classic mode opened up. Only 1 track, though. I'm guessing you have to get another 10 golds to open the next track.
 
Lemming_JRS said:
It looks like Classic gets unlocked after 10 gold medals. I just placed first on all the "single race" tracks for Vector, then got two golds on Venom, and the Classic mode opened up. Only 1 track, though. I'm guessing you have to get another 10 golds to open the next track.

Yeah, each track gets unlocked one by one...then eventually the classic tournament is available

I almost beat it on the 3rd class level but I friggin died on the last track. Argh! No retries makes me cry
 
Thus far I cant do better than Bronze on Flash. :( I cant even fathom how you've managed 61 golds Wario.. you're insane dude.
 
Honest answers please. Has anyone been able to get past Rapier Beta? What about Phantom? I've scrounged the net and haven't found one person who has.
 
How many tracks are there total? I've got the first 8 in Vector class... the other 4 I see on the progress screen, are those the "Classic" tracks? The Gamefaqs guide isn't very helpful and seems to be woefully incomplete... :P
 
djtiesto said:
How many tracks are there total? I've got the first 8 in Vector class... the other 4 I see on the progress screen, are those the "Classic" tracks? The Gamefaqs guide isn't very helpful and seems to be woefully incomplete... :P

It's scary. I'm starting to wonder whether or not it can even be done.
 
djtiesto said:
How many tracks are there total? I've got the first 8 in Vector class... the other 4 I see on the progress screen, are those the "Classic" tracks? The Gamefaqs guide isn't very helpful and seems to be woefully incomplete... :P

8 new tracks, 4 classic tracks and 4 zone mode tracks, I think.
 
I finally unlocked Rapier class. I'm gonna try the class later tonight and see what the fuss is about :P

What vehicles do you guys use? I've been using the Zone vehicle ever since I unlocked it. Sure it has 1/5 rating for shield but damn is it fast. I just gotta absorb a lot of powerups to stay alive
 
man, I am teh suck at getting gold medals on Zone mode :(

Shit! I just died at 24 and I swear I was so close to getting 25 too.
 
Wow, this game is awesome.
At first I thought the framerate would piss me off, but gradually I became able to ignore it and immerse myself in the game. The soundtrack is excellent and Zone mode just blows me away. I'm not too far in the game so far - just doing the first beta tournament after having played around on single races a lot. The course design is really good though. It really feels like Wipeout has returned to form :)
 
Jonnyram said:
Holy crap. Between this and Lumines do you ever stop playing games? :P

Been playing PSP all weekend, no console gaming :P

Wipeout Pure timer is clocking in at 9 hours

Lumines..uh...suprisingly I've limited myself to 1 session per day, despite the high score. Don't ask how :D
 
Wipeout Pure is fucking awesome. I am proud to show it off to people and watch their jaws hang open. They can't believe what a step up it is from the DS I was toting around just a month ago. And I love the gameplay, music, controls, EVERYTHING. Its the perfect handheld racer. Fuck that, I like it MORE than most console racers. Only Rallisport 2 can compete with it in my mind right now. I just have THAT much fun with it. Pure is the perfect word to describe it too. Its pure fun. You just zoom around these tracks launching all kinds of badass future-tech weaponry while ultra-hot techno thumps out the rythm you heart wants to beat to. For me, this is THE reason to own a PSP. Its fucking awesome. Just awesome.
 
My one major gripe with the game is that it feels too floaty. Feels a lot like the first WO, along with a bit of the wonky physics.

The framerate's only occasionally bothered me, and that's usually when i'm in a group with three other racers, with plasma bolts and bombs flying. i'm pretty sure that Zone mode is 30fps.

i'd love to play some more today, but between this and Lumines i've effectively killed my left thumb. :(
 
I love this game! But man, the AI becomes mega cheap and predictable at flash class and above.

First lap - if you boost at the line, everyone will pass you before you're halfway done with the lap. Possible to get to about 6th by the end of this lap.
Second/Third Lap - You can make it to 4th most of the time. Sometimes 3rd.
Next-to-Last Lap - Most of the time you'll make 2nd. Sometimes 1st.
Last Lap - If you didn't make first yet, You'll come up on the guy who is 1st and have to fight him for it. If you make any mistakes at all, you're not getting a gold. If you started off this lap in 1st, the 2nd place craft will magically pass you near at the end of the lap. If you don't have a boost or manage to nail them with a weapon, you get silver.

I've lost count of the number of times the above has happened to me. It's frustrating as shit! I understand the desire to have challenging AI, but damn. I know when I'm doing poorly and it doesn't bother me to get silvers then. But when I'm kicking ass and the AI just flies by me at the end... not so happy. I hate having to get lucky to win the race when I have the track down perfect.

Man this game rules. Auricom forever, baby.
 
aoi tsuki said:
My one major gripe with the game is that it feels too floaty. Feels a lot like the first WO, along with a bit of the wonky physics.

These kinds of controls are what made Wipeout stand out and feel so good to play :).

The first two Wipeout games were GREAT :D.
 
decided to skip a night of dmc3 and play wipeout instead, and i finally nabbed the gold on rapier beta. first place on all four tracks too. aided by a couple timely quakes on the second track.

so how is stuff unlocked, actually? is it gold medals? i've only been playing tournament and a bit of zone, so i have less than 20. maybe i should start going through those single races.

joeholley -- generally, yeah, the ai gets out to a quick start and lets you catch up, but if you race well and/or pick up quakes, you can get to the front of the pack pretty early. it isn't completely rigid. and if you get out in front you can stay out in front, provided you don't hit the walls. it isn't like mario kart where the second place guy is right on your ass no matter what you do.

edit: i've been using harimau. i know i should use something faster, but the handling is so sweet, and i've started clocking perfect laps in tournaments when i get out in front (a little "p" appears next to the lap time when you finish -- nice touch).
 
Oh man...as a big Wipeout fan, this thread is a pure pain to read. Because my wallet tells me I shouldn't really import a PSP, but my mind says "GET A PSP YOU IDOT GET IT NOW". :'(
 
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