Wipeout 2048 - Vita

[wakka]

Finished this tonight, although I still need to go back and get an Elite Pass (a gold, basically) on a few events. What a ****ing game. I think it's seriously brilliant, and far and away the best game I've played on Vita so far.

I've unlocked several A+ class events that I haven't even gotten a basic pass on yet, these levels are unbelievably fast. 30 fps schmirty fps, I urge people to not get hung up on this and try the game anyway, it's a huge amount of fun and pretty challenging too.

Playing this game and nailing it is a real rush. The online is wicked too, and the only way to unlock everything is by levelling up online. Full leaderboards for speed laps on every track, every class for further replay value. It's just a great package from start to finish.

Any sign of any of the HD/Fury tracks being playable in single player at all?

There are apparently only 4 tracks from HD (the first four I think, from Vineta K to Chenghou Project), and no they are not available outside of the 'crossplay' feature unfortunately

[gamerade]

Originally posted by Randicoot
There are apparently only 4 tracks from HD (the first four I think, from Vineta K to Chenghou Project), and no they are not available outside of the 'crossplay' feature unfortunately

ANY game (especially a handheld) should be geared towards a single player, with multiplay secondary. Well that's pretty much the final nail in a vita for me, the only game i'm marginally interested in and i'm only hearing negatives - reached it's peak with XL and it's been a downward spiral.

[Brad]

Only hearing negatives? Read the post above yours.

[J0e Musashi]

Ridge Racer is completely geared towards online play.

[ETC]

Still waiting for mine to turn up tomorrow hopefully

[wakka]

ANY game (especially a handheld) should be geared towards a single player, with multiplay secondary. Well that's pretty much the final nail in a vita for me, the only game i'm marginally interested in and i'm only hearing negatives - reached it's peak with XL and it's been a downward spiral.

Sorry man, I don't really know what you're on about here. In an abstract sense, 'any' game should be geared towards single player? What about MMOs, or online FPS like CoD? They're multiplayer focused by nature and there's nothing wrong with that. Personally I prefer single player focused games in general, but that's not to say that some games aren't simply better in multi whether it's their focus or not - I mean look at Mario Kart.

Regardless, Wipeout 2048 is not a game that could be described as primarily multiplayer focused. Yeah, you have to play online to get enough XP to reach level 50 and unlock everything, but the solo campaign is huge (especially for a handheld title), with tons and tons of events and different ships that unlock. You've quoted the bit I wrote in response to Dogg Thang about the tracks from HD - this is such a minor note in the game that it really makes little difference. It's just a nice little bonus if anything. They could've removed the feature entirely and I'd feel the exact same way, that it's simply a superb game.

A lot of people say Wipeout reached its peak with 2097/XL and it's been all downhill from there, I find that really weird. Yeah Fusion was rubbish, but Pure and Pulse kept the series going with solid gameplay and some great new ideas - the epic Zone mode was added in Pulse I believe. HD was a great compilation of original PS tracks and ships, and now 2048 is this awesome 'origins' game with a distinctive new visual style to levels (you drive over streets and parks, and on one level through a baseball stadium) and a ton of all-new content. What's more, it's harder and faster than HD (imo).

I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree. But you should really play it before making your mind up. I honestly don't understand any bad feeling towards this game, perhaps the only criticism I'd aim at is that Combat mode is not nearly as much fun as the other modes and doesn't really rely on the 'Wipeout skillz' that are honed primarily in Time Trial (air brakes!!).

[nakamura]

Fusion was buggy but a decent game. It had brilliant track design and it introduced the Zone mode, not Pulse. Pure was epic though, a return to the proper weighty handling of the series which Pulse, Fury/HD and 2048 lack.

Pure with all the free DLC is perhaps the best overall game in the series.

[wakka]

Ah my mistake with regards to Zone mode. My memory's getting a bit hazy.

[nakamura]

It probably more goes to show the Fusion was rather unfairly written off, I really don't think it is a bad title. (PAL version was flickery as hell though)

[Dogg Thang]

It's not that it's a bad title on its own merits. But following WO2097, WO3 and WO3SE, it was a veritable Wipeout stinker. Yes, we got Zone mode from it and even in Fusion, that was pretty excellent. But the handling missed everything that made WO great, the ship was stuck to the track like F-Zero completely missing the point of AG racing and many of the tracks seemed to want to be from that Pod Racing game rather than building on the excellent WO tracks. And, yes, it was flickery, buggy and the design was generally atrocious.

I was a member of the Fusion boards and then a mod over at Wipeoutzone and watching the hype turn to fallout was actually quite funny, once I got over my own disappointment.

[nakamura]

But the handling missed everything that made WO great, the ship was stuck to the track like F-Zero completely missing the point of AG racing

Funny, Wipeout HD and 2048 are exactly the same in this respect but somehow it is ok?

[Dogg Thang]

I haven't played 2048 and I'm no massive fan of HD, as lovely as it looks, but don't they only cling to mag-strip sections in HD like they do in Pulse?

[nakamura]

Neither of those games has the classic weight feeling of the early games. Pure nailed it.

[Dogg Thang]

Well Pure doesn't really have it either, though it came closer. Moving to Pure after Fusion was a thing of beauty though. While the shine eventually wore off for me, it's still a good WO game with loads of excellent tracks. I really enjoyed Pulse for its tracks too though. But none ever really got what I loved about the originals and, with Pure somewhat and Pulse and HD in a big way, the combat took over. I couldn't get into HD at all.

None of which will likely put me off getting 2048.

[nakamura]

Pure feels very much like 2097 to me. The ships have plenty of up and down movement along with nice slidey handling. I hated Pulse myself. It just felt so sterile and lifeless, much like WO3. Track design did nothing for me either.