Wipeout

Psygnosis , The Designers Republic

1995

PlayStation , MS-DOS , Sega Saturn , PlayStation Portable , PlayStation 3 , Xperia Play

Game mode

Single player , multiplayer (via link cable for the Playstation)

Wipeout (name on the cover: wipE'out ) takes place in 2052, in which four different teams - AG Systems (Anti-Gravity Systems), Auricom, Qirex and FEISAR (Federal European Industrial Science And Research) - each with two racing drivers in compete against each other in the F3600 Antigravity League. This is a league of futuristic flying devices (gliders) that float above the ground. In the game, each glider of the four teams has different properties in terms of acceleration, maximum speed, mass and turning circle. Power-up fields are distributed on the routes, which randomly provide the player with weapons, accelerators or a protective shield when flying over them, as well as blue fields that provide a boost in speed.

The league consists of the Venom and the faster Rapier class, which is unlocked after completing the Venom class. There are a total of six routes in Wipeout plus one that can be unlocked.

Wipeout was released simultaneously with the Sony PlayStation in Europe in September 1995 and was the first game for the console that was not made by a Japanese developer. Two months later, in November 1995, it was released in the USA. The game climbed to the top of the sales charts, selling 1.5 million wipeout games worldwide. In addition to the licensed music, the game included designs from the Designers Republic who created packaging, instructions and logos in the game. This was intended to place Wipeout as a fashionable product and to make it attractive for clubbers and connoisseurs of modern music whose age was above that of the classical player.

For the release of the game PlayStation consoles were Wipeout in trendy nightclubs placed a soundtrack CD and Wipeout published -Markenkleidung.

Well-known techno bands contributed music to the soundtrack, including Orbital , The Chemical Brothers , Underworld and Leftfield , but the PC version only contains tracks from CoLD SToRAGE .

The Sega-Saturn version had additional music tracks ( Brickbat , Planet 9 and Poison , but not Transvaal from the PlayStation version), but had weaker graphics and no two-player mode.

The game was later published on the PlayStation Network of the Playstation 3 and in 2011 for the Android smartphone Sony Ericsson Xperia Play .

Wipeout 2097 / XL (1996)

WipEout 2097 / WipEout XL

Psygnosis , The Designers Republic

1996

PlayStation , Windows , macOS , Sega Saturn , Amiga

Game mode

Single player , multiplayer (via link cable for the Playstation)

The second wipeout part (name on the cover: wipE'out "2097) takes place in the year 2097 and is about the F5000 league. Again, the four main teams compete against each other on eight different racetracks. As soon as you have played through the league, you switch released a prototype glider from the company "Piranha Advancements", which, however, has not yet been equipped with a weapon system. In Wipeout 2097 it is now possible to destroy other gliders with weapons by severely damaging the glider shield The edge of the track damages the protective shield. In addition to new attack weapons, there are also some defensive weapons and an autopilot, as well as an area shortly before the end of each turn of a turn that fills the protective shield of the glider. Here there is the Phantom League for free play and an additional route.

This time, the PlayStation version included music from The Prodigy , The Chemical Brothers , The Future Sound of London , Fluke , Photek , Tim "CoLD SToRAGE" Wright and Underworld . To promote the game, a tour of well-known nightclubs was started in cooperation with Red Bull . This brand also appears in the game.

The Saturn version was ported by Traveller's Tale , the Amiga version by Digital Images. No titles by the named artists were used for these versions, possibly for licensing reasons, but exclusively music by Psygnosis-internal senior sound artist Timothy Brian Wright aka CoLD SToRAGE. The style of these titles is based on progressive trance with a ravish character. They are similar to the quality of the titles of the famous artists and underline the game.

In general, the CoLD-SToRAGE soundtrack has a more exotic character than the tracks by well-known artists such as Prodigy or the Chemical Brothers. At the time of the publication of Wipeout 2097, their tracks were already in heavy rotation on all major TV and radio stations and thus no longer had much of the underground character they were supposed to represent.

The Red Bull advertisements are also missing in the Saturn / Amiga version.

Wipeout 64 (1998)

Platform: Nintendo 64

A Nintendo 64 version of the game followed, which was developed in the internal Liverpool Studios . The marketing rights for Europe and the USA were transferred to Midway . The game was released in the US before, in Europe after Christmas and became a success. It was based on Wipeout 2097 , but for the first time had a four-player mode (Wipeout 2097 for the PlayStation only had a two-player mode, which was possible with the help of two PlayStation consoles, two televisions and a link cable) and new routes.

Wip3out / Wipeout 3 (1999)

wip3out

Psygnosis , The Designers Republic

1999

Game mode

Single player , multiplayer

After a three-year waiting period for PlayStation players, wip3out (also called wipEout 3 ) was released on September 8, 1999 in Europe. The designers at Designers Republic made menus and routes more simple in color than before. The game features a cockpit perspective and higher resolution graphics (720 × 480) as well as new and redesigned vehicles and teams. It is also possible for two to compete against each other using the split-screen mode. In addition to the single and tournament races known from the previous games, other game modes have been added.

Racing competition - you have to come in the top three to clear the next route.
Time competition - a route with several laps must be completed in a given time.
Gun competition - a certain number of opponents must be eliminated with guns.
In addition, there is the destroyer mode, which is similar to the weapon competition, but you can determine the goal of how many enemy gliders should be destroyed in order to achieve the goal of the game.

Eight different teams are available as driver teams (Goteki 45, Piranha, Icaras, Assegai Developments, FEISAR, Qirex, Auricom, AG Systems), four of which have to be unlocked, as well as eight routes, four of which are unlockable routes. The racing classes are Vector (slow), Venom (normal) and Rapier (fast) as well as an unlockable Phantom class. In addition, there are five prototype tracks, one for each class that can be activated - for the tracks and the gliders, graphics similar to cel shading were used.

In addition to new weapons, which can be picked up via the power-up fields as with the predecessors, the gliders now also have a built-in turbo that can be activated at the push of a button. However, this turbo consumes shield energy, which increases the risk that the glider can be destroyed by opposing drivers.

The CD contains music by the groups The Chemical Brothers , Sasha (DJ) , MKL, Orbital , Underworld , Propellerheads and Paul van Dyk .

Wipeout 3: Special Edition (2000)

In addition to the normal game, the wipEout 3 Special Edition also contains a compilation of eight routes from the previous Wipeout games (three from Wipeout and five from Wipeout 2097) based on the current graphic version of wip3out and thus a total of 16 routes. There were also some minor improvements compared to Wip3out. For example, on the “Sampa Run” route, the brightness in the tunnels is slightly increased. After successfully completing a route, the next route can be selected directly without having to go to the route menu, the glider catches fire when you no longer have a sign, it is possible play with four people (two PlayStation connected & two TVs in split-screen mode )

Wipeout Fusion (2002)

Platform: Sony PlayStation 2

The designer team Good Technology replaced the Designers Republic with this game.

Publication oddities

The game was initially only released in the PAL areas. Release for Australia was January 18, 2002, for Europe February 9, 2002.

There were rumors in the American fan scene that Wipeout Fusion would not appear at all in North America. But after about four months without any comment from Sony, the publisher BAM! Entertainment announced an NTSC release, and the game finally went on sale on June 19, 2002.

At the same time a website with a “world ranking list” was set up (www.wipeoutfusion.com). The 50 best pilots (50 placements per route) were able to register there using a code that is received in zone mode after the glider has been destroyed.

Wipeout Pure (2005)

WipEout Pure

August 30, 2005

Game mode

Single player , multiplayer (2-8 players)

This game was introduced at E3 2004 and released in Japan and America in 2005. Wipeout Pure is published by Sony and developed by Studio Liverpool . The title is only available for the PlayStation Portable (PSP).

Compared to the predecessor Wipeout Fusion, the upgrade system of the AntiGrav gliders has been abolished and the class system is used again. A total of five racing classes are available. However, the zone mode from Wipeout Fusion has been adopted. One of the most modern facilities is online support that is integrated for the first time in the series. The players can download tracks, skins, new teams as well as music. The first updates for the game were delivered with the first download packages (Gamma Pack 1–3). Further updates are in preparation. For the Japanese version, Delta Pack 1-2 followed and then Classic Pack 1-4 . There was also a WIRE05 pack at the Japanese techno event WIRE05 . In addition, the game uses the WiFi capabilities of the PSP and thus supports multiplayer duels.

Wipeout Pulse (2007)

WipEout pulse

December 12, 2007

PSP ; PlayStation 2

Game mode

Single player , multiplayer (2-8 players)

UMD ; DVD

Again the game delivers a technoid soundtrack with compositions by well-known artists. Among other things, it includes the following titles:

Dopamine : Flat out
Move Ya! & Steve Lavers : Chemical
Stanton Warriors : Tokyo
B-Phreak & Groove Allegiance : Break Ya Self (Wipeout Remix)
Rennie Pilgrem & Blim : Slingshot (Wipeout Mix)
DJ Fresh : X-Project (100% Pure Mix)
Ed Rush, Optical & Matrix: Frontline
Noisia : Seven stitches

Crap: Smart Systems
Booka Shade : Steady Rush
Aphex Twin : Fenix Funk 5 [wipeout edit]
Kraftwerk : Aero Dynamics
Skream : Suspicious Thoughts
Guy Gerber & Shlomi Aber : Sea of Sand (Wipeout Mix)
Loco Dice : City Lights (Martin Buttich Remix) PSP Cut

New features of the game:

Improved AI of the computer opponents
8 different game modes
Online mode
24 routes
New elements in the routing (loops etc.)
Own MP3 files as soundtrack possible
New additional content for download

Wipeout HD / Fury (2008)

WipEout HD

September 25, 2008

PS3 , PS Vita (as DLC for Wipeout 2048)

Game engine

F1 Championship Edition

Game mode

Single player , multiplayer (2-8 players)

control

SIXAXIS , DualShock 3

system advantages
preconditions

Download , Blu-ray Disc

This wipeout title is essentially a mashup of the previous Pure and Pulse games . The soundtrack and six tracks were taken from Pure and two other tracks from Pulse. New additions are HD capability and the optional SIXAXIS control. The game also supports trophies . Wipeout HD was initially only planned as a pure download release on the Playstation Network. Later, however, the Fury expansion (PEGI 7) appeared, which was also released on Blu-ray along with the main game . The Blu-ray version is also playable in 3D with an update.

Wipeout 2048 (2012)

WipEout 2048

February 22, 2012

Game mode

Single player , multiplayer (2-8 players), cross-play PS3

medium

Download , PS Vita game card

Wipeout 2048 was part of the start line-up of the Sony PlayStation Vita handheld. In addition to the old routes from the PlayStation 3 offshoot of the series, WipeOut HD Fury , there are ten new routes, which for the first time have forks and several levels to drive on. Another new feature is that, in addition to the traditional control with triggers and analog sticks, there is an alternative control with the SixAxis system known from the PS3.

As part of the PlayStation Experience 2016, a new edition was announced, which in addition to WipEout 2048 also contains WipEout HD and WipEout HD Fury, which is expected to appear for the PlayStation 4 in summer 2017.

Wipeout Omega Collection (2017)

WipEout Omega Collection

Clever Beans SIEE XDEV EPOS Game Studios

June 7, 2017

Game mode

Single player , multiplayer (2-8 players)

control

Gamepad

medium

Download , Blu-ray Disc