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WipEout 2048 |OT| Back to the Future

Oppo

Member
For those of you who might be new or newish to Wipeout, and are finding it too difficult, the best advice I can offer is: you have to approach it almost like Rock Band. The higher difficulties seem all but impossible at first, but you practice and practice and then it clicks. Start with the time trial (if you can - i hear there's no racebox, a shame) so you can memorize the track, then attempt a race.

I remember even back to Wipeout XL, you'd bump up a league and just think you have got to be fucking kidding me, this game isn't for humans... and then, a few nights later, you get the gold.

Also I find I have a weird sort of "reflex window" with Wipeout. It goes like this:

0-10 minutes: sucking ass
10-30m: rapid improvement, some firsts
30-75m: optimal play
75m-90: start to make mistakes
90m+: sucking ass again. put the game down.

Some of the very best times I've pulled are when I was totally zen, almost bored, and didn't realize I was flying so well. I still hate the "perfect lap" voice indicator because it snaps me out of my flow and I go careening off the walls, suddenly aware of the pressure.
 

Hasemo

(;・∀・)ハッ?
Didn't they show that in one of the trailers?
They did, but it's nowhere to be found in the game (or I'm blind/stupid).
It looks like each team has more than one type of car (with different skins and all).
Those are different classes - Racing, Agility, Strength, Prototype. I'm fairly sure I've got 2 of them wrong (namely 1 and 3), but that's the classification.
Racing type is the fastest but doesn't has access to certain weapons and has the weakest shiled.
Agility type is a balance between 1 and 3, but doesn't has access to all the weapons as well.
Strength is a damn tank.
Prototype has a "gimmick" - I've only got the first so far. It's gimmick is this - when you start the race, you're slower than others, but as you hit speed boosts, you get a semi-permanent (until hitting something really hard/end of the lap) speed boost and you can stack X of those (it's shown on the bottom of the screen).
Certain races require you to use a certain vehicle type.
 

chaosblade

Unconfirmed Member
Some of the very best times I've pulled are when I was totally zen, almost bored, and didn't realize I was flying so well. I still hate the "perfect lap" voice indicator because it snaps me out of my flow and I go careening off the walls, suddenly aware of the pressure.

This is one of those "Am I the only one who..." cases. Good to know I'm not the only person like this, it's the same way with Audiosurf as well. I hate "remembering" that I'm playing since I'll start doing terrible after that.
 

Valient

Member
Glad i am getting this game, seems like best showcase of the vita, cross play mutiplayer, light touch elements, excellent graphics and tons of little features with ghost to keep up with your friends even when not online.

Much replay value right there for a decent price unlike uncharted.
 

Wario64

works for Gamestop (lol)
Glad i am getting this game, seems like best showcase of the vita, cross play mutiplayer, light touch elements, excellent graphics and tons of little features with ghost to keep up with your friends even when not online.

Much replay value right there for a decent price unlike uncharted.

Also makes Ridge Racer a joke in comparison when you compare it with Amazon's $30 price
 

Eusis

Member
I've been playing Wipeout since PSOne days and I still do not or will probably ever figure out the game mechanics. It is one of few games I am really bad at playing.
It's not that fundamentally different from Mario Kart, it's just WAY tougher than Mario Kart is (and generally fairer I feel since it lacks any blue shell-type item).

Though it's me doing badly that keeps me from getting this at launch. Positive memories of XL was what made me want Pure, only to feel kinda let down when I finally got that through the UMD classics.
 
Okay, has anyone who owns the game been able to Elite Pass the final combat challenge in the 2050 league? The one where you have 2 minutes to miraculously get 100 points? It's killing me, not being able to get it. Best I've gotten was 82 and that was total luck. Argh!
 

chaosblade

Unconfirmed Member
It's not that fundamentally different from Mario Kart, it's just WAY tougher than Mario Kart is (and generally fairer I feel since it lacks any blue shell-type item).

Though it's me doing badly that keeps me from getting this at launch. Positive memories of XL was what made me want Pure, only to feel kinda let down when I finally got that through the UMD classics.

Quake? It's not as broken as some of the Mario Kart items but it's not too far off either.
 
Quake is just a slowdown, it can hit all the ships, that´s true, but its not a big deal, hardly a game breaking item imho.

I prefer being hit by a quake, than rockets or missiles for example, those leave you almost stopped
 

Hoo-doo

Banned
Some of the very best times I've pulled are when I was totally zen, almost bored, and didn't realize I was flying so well. I still hate the "perfect lap" voice indicator because it snaps me out of my flow and I go careening off the walls, suddenly aware of the pressure.

This so much.
I'd like to think that every WipEout player has experienced that "zen-like" state of play at least once.

It's almost as if i'm looking at the screen cross-eyed, mesmerizing electronic tunes bumping through the speakers, thoughts switched off completely, and simply nailing every single corner with the precision of a surgical scalpel while I was sucking hard just 10 minutes before.
 

Brandon F

Well congratulations! You got yourself caught!
Giantbomb are playing it right now. It's kinda bumming me out. Dreadful load times and average framerate...

Yep, watching it now and I will likely never buy this game. Granted it is a stream, but the framerate really looks low, and those loadtimes are brutal.

Track design seems neat though, a few forks and paths with lots of detail.
 
Giantbomb are playing it right now. It's kinda bumming me out. Dreadful load times and average framerate...

The load times will be patched and the framerate is the same as the framerate that 5 out of 7 WipEout games up to this point have had.

Unless you're talking about the "shaky framerate" crap that was going on in the Giant Bomb chatroom/cesspool. "Looks 25fps". Hysterical.
 

Snuggles

erotic butter maelstrom
Reviews are coming out. I'm bored so I'll try to aggregate some of them here.

CVG - 8.6/10
Uppers:
*It's Wipeout, not watered-down in any way
*The Vita's best-looking game
*Compelling ranking and objective system
*LAN, Cross-Play and global multiplayer

Downers:
*Few craft, all handling similarly
*Loads of events but not many new modes
*Little customisation

Edge - 8/10
Yes, Wipeout 2048 conjures a less fanciful racing grid than we’ve seen previously, and it’s also a less immaculate, less finessed racer than the home console iterations of the series we’ve played down the years. Instead, it’s an attempt to try something new on the newest of platforms. While it may not offer something for everyone, when it flies, it soars.

Game Informer - 7.75/10
It’s a competent racer, but Wipeout 2048 feels too familiar for its own good. Long loads and underwhelming touch controls don’t help the matter, and may dissuade anyone who isn’t a longtime fan of the series. If you need a solid racer right away when you get your Vita, Wipeout 2048 will suffice. However, others may want to wait until something fresher comes along.

Gamespot - 7.5/10
The Good:
*Exciting events that successfully mix combat with racing skill
*Smooth, beautiful visuals that give a real feeling of speed
*Deep multiplayer and campaign modes
*Killer soundtrack.

The Bad:
*Frustratingly long loading times
*Iterates on rather than reinvents the Wipeout formula.

IGN - 7/10
The bulk of the multiplayer package is a disappointment, however. I like the idea of the online campaign, as it layers challenges on top of the actual events, so while you might not come first in a race, if you, say, destroy another ship, you can still get an elite pass and progress to a new objective.

Unfortunately, that interesting meta game is compromised by a complete lack of options. Players simply find themselves thrown into events, with no option to set up a race; to choose the track, the speed class, the event type, the weapons load-out, and so on. The only choice is which AG craft to use, then the ability to vote for one of two options at the end of the event. If you don't like online combat events – and I don't – well bad luck because you're not getting much say in the matter.


Scores are a bit lower than I expected, but for the most part they're echoing the same complaints we've heard from hands-on impressions and importers. The lack of a Racebox type mode for solo/multi is a letdown, there aren't any new modes or significant innovations, the tracks are a bit busy and hard to read at times, 30FPS sucks and load times are too long.

Metacritic is slowly updating with new reviews, so I'll let them take it from here.
 

Himself

Member
I thought the framerate looked pretty terrible on the GiantBomb stream, but the framerate on his hands (if that makes sense) didn't look bad. So I was wondering if the game is really that choppy...will wait for GAF feedback.
 

btkadams

Member
I thought the framerate looked pretty terrible on the GiantBomb stream, but the framerate on his hands (if that makes sense) didn't look bad. So I was wondering if the game is really that choppy...will wait for GAF feedback.

it's not choppy at all.
 

Ran rp

Member
I thought the framerate looked pretty terrible on the GiantBomb stream, but the framerate on his hands (if that makes sense) didn't look bad. So I was wondering if the game is really that choppy...will wait for GAF feedback.

It looked smooth as butter in many of the videos I've seen on YouTube. I'm pretty sure it was just the stream that was choppy.
 

Bebpo

Banned
"Cons:
-Iterates on rather than reinvents the Wipeout formula."

Oh come on. I normally don't complain about reviews, but why exactly does Wipeout, which is currently at the best it's ever been, need to be reinvented. wtf. I just want a good amount of exciting new tracks to learn and race and I'm set.
 

Himself

Member
"Cons:
-Iterates on rather than reinvents the Wipeout formula."

Oh come on. I normally don't complain about reviews, but why exactly does Wipeout, which is currently at the best it's ever been, need to be reinvented. wtf. I just want a good amount of exciting new tracks to learn and race and I'm set.

Wipeout kind of reminds me of the videogame equivalent of The Fall (the band), about which John Peel said is "always the same, always different". If you've pretty much come up with a bulletproof formula, might as well keep it consistent.

Not that I'm an opponent of innovation by any means. I just don't really see where else the series could possibly go.
 

Bebpo

Banned
Well, Zone mode was innovation and good. They could always add more new and good modes and I have no opposition to that.

But that's also a form of iterating rather than re-inventing and I think re-inventing is absolutely unnecessary for modern Wipeout.

Reviews saying things like that is why we get games like Dirt 3 with their silly GHYMKHANA focus instead of a pure rally racing game that the series was supposed to be. It's very irksome.
 

Himself

Member
Reviews saying things like that is why we get games like Dirt 3 with their silly GHYMKHANA focus instead of a pure rally racing game that the series was supposed to be. It's very irksome.

Funny you say that. I recently was fiending for a good off-road game, something along the lines of Rally Cross or the first Motorstorm, and watched some Dirt 3 trailers that mostly consisted of a car peeling around a concrete parking lot. Huh? Was Motorstorm the last real off-road game? (Serious question, BTW.)

Wipeout is just fine and will probably never change other than oh so slightly. If anything, it seems like the focus being on the birth of the series is the biggest departure since...Fury?
 

Bebpo

Banned
Dirt 2 & 3 are still very good arcade rally racers and worth playing. But both games spend about 50% of their time not in rally races.
 

Ikkarus

Member
I thought the framerate looked pretty terrible on the GiantBomb stream, but the framerate on his hands (if that makes sense) didn't look bad. So I was wondering if the game is really that choppy...will wait for GAF feedback.

When you play the game / demo the framerate is actually decent. Sure it's not 60 fps but it plays great in my opinion.
 

KalBalboa

Banned
I put about two hours into Wipeout during a Vita Hill event a few weeks back. I personally found the framerate to be lock-solid and smooth as silk, even at thirty.

Still wish the game was thirty.
 

Famassu

Member
"Cons:
-Iterates on rather than reinvents the Wipeout formula."

Oh come on. I normally don't complain about reviews, but why exactly does Wipeout, which is currently at the best it's ever been, need to be reinvented. wtf. I just want a good amount of exciting new tracks to learn and race and I'm set.
Because it's not Call of Duty.
 

Ollie Pooch

In a perfect world, we'd all be homersexual
Pretty pleased they got the patch out so fast. Just installed, and as shown by the vid it's much lighter on the load times. The console launches today in the states doesn't it? need more players!
 
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