It’s time to move things into the near future this week as we take a look at WipEout 2048. It does seem that Vita games are pretty popular in our polls, and WipEout 2048 is one that deserves at least a little attention. A prequel to the rest of the WipEout series, it shows the early years of anti-grav racing, and hints at the evolution that will lead to the later WipEout games. Of course if you’re taking part hopefully you already knew all of that; if you didn’t, I’d try paying attention more.
The portable prequel was well received by us, with Al scoring the game at 8/10 in our review of the game. His particular highlight would seem to be the game’s sound design, heaping praise on it.
“Through headphones,” he writes, “2048 has the ability to force a ridiculous grin – turn it up and the bastardisation of Star Wars’ pod racers and modern-day 800bhp open wheelers is an absolute delight; through a decent amplifier it’s astounding.” It really does seem that the now sadly defunct Studio Liverpool really poured attention here, proving just how good sound design can bolster a product.
Graphically though the game’s no slouch, even if it is, as Alex notes, “running at half the frame rate of [WipEout] HD.” Despite this, he was impressed by “rich, believable graphics that hold solid even under the close proximity of the photo mode,” although did point out that “When the screen is full of weapon trails and on the higher speeds it’s never quite smooth enough.”
That 8/10 score indicates there were likely a few other niggles, and it seems that chief amongst them was the game’s load times. 50 seconds to load a level does seem rather excessive, particularly on a platform that you may only be playing for a short burst. Al also complained of “a wilfully awkward difficulty curve that pitches some bizarre curveballs the further you delve into the campaign,” something that can mar any game.
Overall though it’s safe to say that Alex’s time with the game was enjoyable. Here’s what he had to say when wrapping up his review:
WipEout’s lovely. Yes, the loading times are a problem (but hopefully due to be fixed a little with a patch) and some of the track design needed smoothing out a touch, but overall it stands as a showcase for a new console that’s only matched by the likes of Uncharted: Golden Abyss. Do everyone a favour and make sure this is part of your day one bundle, if you’re a fan of the series then this is absolutely fantastic stuff.
Now, as always, it’s time to open things up to you. What were your thought on the origins of anti-grav racing? Was it worth your money, or did you regret buying it afterwards? Al cited the Sol mode as a huge plus for the game, was it something that appealed to you or did you avoid it?
No matter where your opinion falls, you can share it by dropping a comment below. You’ve got till Sunday to get it in, and once you’ve written it remember that you need to attach a rating from the Buy It, Bargain Bin It, Rent It, Avoid It scale.
Taylor Made
I have it, came free with the vita 3G, played it once, overrated no wonder the studio got shut.
Rent it..
Kivi95
Played it once…. If it’s one thing it is it’s UNDERRATED. Now that the loading times have been fixed it’s better then ever.
Taylor Made
Yeh the loading time was hell but come one, this game looks the same as wipeout HD just brighter
Taylor Made
Fury HD
colmshan1990
You really don’t play much WipEout then.
Took me ages to adjust to 2048’s tracks.
Forrest_01
No offence intended Taylor, but you really don’t seem to like too much at all. Almost every comment I have ever seen you make about pretty much any game has been negative.
Not trolling, just interested what it is that you DO like?
Taylor Made
@Forrest after I sent that comment I realised the same thing. I do like games I guess I’m more of an RPG slash & hack person. But come on wipeout though this game looks identical to fury HD just the tracks are the other way round & a bit brighter in th vita version
Forrest_01
Oh, I really can’t comment on this game as I don’t own a Vita & thus have never even seen it if I am honest. I know that a lot of people really rate it rather highly though.
I’ll take your word that they look similar, but as far as I am aware, WipeOut games generally do.
But that said, every yin must have its yang, good can’t exist without evil & every weview should have a negative aspect somewhere.
Yeah, in terms of RPG’s/Hack & Slashers, I really can’t think of too many that there has been a weview on tbh. Darksiders & New Vegas come to mind, but that’s about it.
colmshan1990
Taylor, you should give Wipeout another go.
The tracks are completely different to HD & Fury, they’re all new designs, they’re wider than any Wipeout game has ever had, the top speed is faster (this is why they’re wider, the game would be impossible otherwise)…
The game features the Fury & HD tracks as DLC now, if you give them a go and then switch to the 2048 tracks you’ll see the difference fairly quickly.
Origami Killer
We only had Dark Souls about 2 weeks back, so there are the occasional RPG’s.
Taylor Made
@Forrest does the WeView game have to be off recent or can it be any decade of this generation & also how come no Xbox games not multi plat
@Colmsham I will give it another go after all it’s just there on my vita to show it off to friends but I will give another try
Forrest_01
It doesn’t have to be a recent release, no, but I think you might be stretching it a little with a decade! :D
Any game from this gen I think would be a likely candidate, but I suppose it does make sense if they are a bit more recent, as they are still fresh in everyone’s minds.
The trouble with other platforms is that the userbase is reduced compared to games on the PS3. As this site started out as PS3 centric, most of the readership tends to have one, so a response from a few people is almost guaranteed. When you start looking at Xbox, you will certainly have a few that will participate, but there is also the fact that you are effectively ruling out some of the readership from joining in.
Vita games almost fall into this category, but I suppose they are more viable as a few of us have them. Userbase is still split though, as I (amongst others) don’t have one, so cannot participate. But I think that’s the whole reason for the voting aspect on the results article – Effectively we choose the next game.
Taylor Made
That makes sense I guess after all it’s called the sixthaxis. I don’t really know what games have been WeViewed already to throw in some ideas. But lets hope the next one I like it lol.
LTG Davey
This was the second game I picked up for my Vita and, despite quite enjoying the online component initially (and obviously being impressed by the visuals), it all became very samey after a couple of hours. Ended up trading it towards the rather excellent Unit13.
Theres nothing fundamentally wrong with WipEout, its just not all that engaging.
Perfect rental game.
Taylor Made
This what I was trying to say ha
LTG Davey
;) np
colmshan1990
WipEout 2048 is my favourite Vita game so far (especially with the addition of the excellent HD & Fury DLCs, but I’m not going to count them for this).
It took a while for me to adjust from HD on the PS3- the track width the biggest differentiator, as well as the more aggressive AI, which also seems to be better at the actual racing.
I found it to be a challenging racer, more so than the PS3 offering, which also manages to look and sound absolutely stunning, whether darting through a tunnel or soaring over a skyline. There’s always shortcuts to be found and times to beat, with a decent online portion and good near integration. CrossPlay exists with PS3 as well, even though 2048 didn’t come out on PS3 and is a true Vita exclusive- what more could you want?
The game has been patched since release, and as well as the excellent DLC nearly tripling the size of the game, loading times have been reduced markedly.
I can see no reason to not buy this fantastic racer, BUY IT.
My GOTY so far.
Youles
This was free once I topped up my 3G with £5 credit, and is probably the best fiver I’ve spent since the hooker incident. Anyway…..best visuals on Vita by a mile and much improved ship handling mean its easier to get used to (or at least for me) than all previous WipEout games, thus making it more enjoyable and accessible for all! The racing and combat are equally enjoyable, we had some fabulous and exciting TSA meets, including comical photos. Excellent soundtrack too!
My only gripes are the fact that you can’t have private online games or an invite system which sometimes made the Meets awkward. There also used to be some connection issues, and a bug that made you lose progress when crossing the finishing line (to add to the frustration) in single player events. Also, whilst the DLC was great, it seemed not to adopt the new and improved WipEout 2048 ship handling which is a shame.
One of my toughest and proudest platinum trophies to date.
Without a shadow of a doubt, BUY IT.
Origami Killer
It’s the only Wipeout game which I have liked. The handling is a lot easier in this and the tracks feel easier to navigate around. With that being said it looks the same as any other wipeout, nothing special for me. Only had the game for month and it didn’t hold my interest for long, single player was over too fast. Online wasn’t to my fancy (if playing by myself) as well.
RENT IT.
Origami Killer
After re-reading that it may seem a bit of a contradictory weview. I repeat I did enjoy the game and like it but didnt think it was anything special :)
element666
Amazing game,buy it!The meets were brilliant fun.I was never much of a fan of whiteout until this.It blew me away :)
kjkg
“Whiteout” and “blew me” in one comment. Filth!
Those wipeOut meets were good though.
Sympozium
Had Wipeout 2048 till I traded it in for something else weeks later.
Really ill, so really simple reasons.
1) Its a typical Wipeout game, good fun till it lasts
2) Online is impressive, a must with friends
3) The menu is nice, the way the Rear Touch pad affects the background is sweet. Like a interactive visualizer.
4) The entire game looks great, Sol is my personal favourite for looks, Hate…. when racing (weeee falls of track)
Theres nothing wrong with the game but there will be that samey thing however its still a fun racer and well worth spending money on. Renting however is not and you’re locking yourself from the Online fray so its not recommended.
Buy it.
kjkg
Buy it. Best game on the Vita quite poosibly.
mcphatty
I really enjoyed it, the single player is good (really pretty and seriously challenging later on) and the multiplayer is cracking with clever objectives to give you the satisfaction of progress without having to always win. The best bit for me though was the HD and Fury DLC, which is free if you own the games on the PS3 and a joy to play through on the little screen. If you like Wipout, buy this game.
Dom El
I picked up Wipeout 2048 at launch as it’s been a series I’ve enjoyed ever since the beginning (on the Saturn!), and I always thought it fit well with handheld play on the PSP.
The graphics are fantastic, and alongside Uncharted: Golden Abyss it was the game I showed to all my friends when I bought my Vita. With the addition of the Fury/HD DLC it’s also actually quite overwhelming in terms of events, which isn’t a criticism, but potentially off-putting to newcomers. As ever, the soundtrack is great, and I think alongside the near-future setting the developers have given the game a real sense of place – more so than any of the other games in my opinion.
Definitely ‘buy it’, particularly as there haven’t been any other racers to surpass it on the Vita as yet.