Racing fans have an obvious need for speed that propels them down tracks and against their competition while hoping to cross the finish line faster and farther ahead of their opponents. For Sony, one of their franchises that exemplified this concept has been the WipEout series, the futuristic racer with weapons and anti-gravity courses. It's been two years since WipEout Pure was released in time for the launch of the PSP, and now portable owners can get their hands on the latest installment of the series with WipEout Pulse. But does Pulse offer the same adrenaline rush that fans have come to expect from WipEout games?
Unlike previous WipEout titles, Pulse doesn't force you to go through slower speed classes, keeping virtual training wheels on your ship before you get into serious competition. Instead, it throws you into the deep end with a new Grid system that is further broken up into race cells, with each cell containing a separate event. Clearing a cell opens up additional events in that grid until you hit a certain amount of completion points based on your cell process, at which point you unlock the next Grid and have the option of moving to the next racing setup. There are seven different events found within Pulse, each with their own qualifications applied to them, including whether or not weapons and power-ups will be available in the race. These range from single races, head-to-head matches and tournaments over the course of several tracks, to time trials and speed laps against the clock.
Two modes do stand out from the others, and first up is Zone, which automatically accelerates your ship along a track that's mined with speed pads. Every ten seconds you survive without wrecking your ship equates to passing a zone, and you're tasked with clearing as many zones as you can. The other mode is Elimination, which isn't a race for first place or positioning. Instead, you attempt to win the race by eliminating a certain number of opponents faster than your competition. Of course, that means taking everything from quake shots to rockets and cannon fire to wreck fellow racers as they sprint around the track while avoiding destruction yourself.
Like every other WipEout game before it, Pulse demands a heavy price from players. The first is that you need razor sharp reflexes. Any one of the eight ships that you can select is capable of moving more than 500 kph and will frequently receive additional boosts thanks to the speed pads or acceleration power-ups that are scattered around the tracks. The result is a breakneck pace that will frequently propel crafts into walls, off the edges of tracks and into other competitors. That can be a daunting prospect, particularly when you realize that you've got a couple of hairpin curves or blind man's turns that you just don't see until they're right on you, and you've got milliseconds to respond properly. What's more, the computerized AI will frequently be breathing down your neck, fighting you for position and trying to gain every edge they can down the track.
Source : IGN
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