Wipeout (series)

This article is about the Wipeout series of video games. For the first game in the series, see Wipeout (video game). For the series of video games based on the 2008 U.S. Television show, see List of video games based on Wipeout (2008 U.S. game show).
Wipeout
Genres Racing game
Developers Psygnosis/SCE Studio Liverpool
Publishers Sony Computer Entertainment Europe
Platforms PlayStation
First release Wipeout
29 September 1995
Latest release Wipeout 2048
19 January 2012

Wipeout (trademarked as WipEout)[1] is a series of futuristic anti-gravity racing games developed by SCE Studio Liverpool. The series is well known for its fast-paced gameplay and high-quality 3D visual design running on the full resolution of the console the game belongs to; its association with electronic dance music (mainly Goa trance, Uplifting Trance and Big beat), as well as its continuous collaboration with certain artists (The Chemical Brothers, Optical, FSOL, Cold Storage, Kraftwerk, Orbital, Aphex Twin and others). The series identified itself with a strong graphical design, provided by The Designers Republic.

Gameplay

Wipeout is a racing series that features vehicles that hover over futuristic racetracks. The series is known for its speed and consequential difficulty. The fastest speed the vehicles can reach on their own is roughly 800 kilometers per hour, although the player can boost their speed even further by driving over [usually] blue chevron shaped tiles which can potentially increase the vehicle's speed up to the speed of sound (1225 kilometers per hour). The player can compete against CPU controlled players or live opponents in a variety of game modes, such as races, time trials and others. Power-ups (or "pick-ups") are also available and come in offensive ("weapon") and defensive ("item") varieties. Such power-ups can be obtained by driving over an "X" shaped tile on the ground. One of the most iconic offensive weapons of the series is the "Quake" which creates a fiery wave that travels down the track in front of the user, essentially hitting every opponent ahead of them. Weapons are capable of dealing damage in most installments and enough damage will completely destroy or "eliminate" an opponent, permanently removing them from the race in most cases.

Games

Year Title Platform Notes Set
1995 Wipeout PlayStation, Sega Saturn, DOS CD-ROM — 2052 (F3600 AG)
1996 Wipeout 2097 PlayStation, Sega Saturn, Microsoft Windows CD-ROM, Mac OS, Amiga — 2097 (F5000 AG)
1998 Wipeout 64 Nintendo 64 — 2098 (F5000 AG)
1999 Wipeout 3 PlayStation Wipeout 3: Special Edition was released only in Europe, in 2000. 2116 (F7200 AG)
2002 Wipeout Fusion PlayStation 2 — 2160 (F9000 AG)
2005 Wipeout Pure PlayStation Portable — 2197 (FX300 AG)
2007 Wipeout Pulse PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 2 — 2207 (FX400 AG)
2008 Wipeout HD PlayStation 3 An expansion pack, Wipeout HD Fury, was released in 2009. 2206 (FX350 AG)
2012 Wipeout 2048 PlayStation Vita Features Cross-Platform play with Wipeout HD and Fury add-on and is a prequel to the other games in the timeline. 2048-2050 (A.G.R.C.)

Teams

European team that have been in every game since the series began. Their high-thrust, tight-handling craft are a popular choice for players.

Appears in: All games

Japanese team with craft that have fast acceleration yet weak shielding.

Appears in: All games (as G-Tech Systems in Fusion)

American team with average, balanced craft.

Appears in: All games

Russian team with craft that sacrifice handling in favor of speed and shielding.

Appears in: All games (as Tigron Enterprises in Fusion)

Brazilian team with craft known for very high speeds.

Appears in: 2097 onwards (as Pir-hana in 2048)

Team from the United African Nations with craft that display high agility yet poor durability.

Appears in: 3, Pure, Pulse and HD

Team from the Pacific Islands with high-speed, highly durable craft

Appears in: 3, Pure, Pulse and HD

British team with craft built for pure speed rivalling that of Piranha at the expense of shielding.

Appears in: 3, Pure, Pulse and HD

German team that pilot craft with high agility but light on shields.

Appears in: Fusion and Pure

Malaysian eco-restoration team with craft high on speed and handling.

Appears in: Pure, Pulse and HD

Australian team with craft known for high speed and near-impenetrable shielding.

Appears in: Pure, Pulse and HD

A merger of two teams originally from China (EG.r) and Finland (Xios) with very fast craft.

Appears in: Fusion (as EG.r Technologies and Xios International), Pulse and HD

A team from the United Arab Emirates with mantis-shaped craft that are average in all stats.

Appears in: Pulse and HD

History

The Wipeout franchise began with the release of the original Wipeout in 1995. Three more Wipeout games were released by the end of the decade, all developed by Liverpool-based developer Psygnosis. In 1999, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe acquired Psygnosis and its intellectual property, including Wipeout. As part of the acquisition, the name "Psygnosis" was changed to "SCE Studio Liverpool". After the acquisition, the titles to follow experienced drastic changes in physics and gameplay. Five more Wipeout games were developed, two on the PlayStation 2, two for the PlayStation Portable, a downloadable title on the PlayStation 3 (Wipeout HD, which is also available on Blu-ray disc packaged with the Fury expansion), and a launch title for the PlayStation Vita (Wipeout 2048). Sony Liverpool had been working on a Wipeout game for the upcoming PlayStation 4 console when the studio was closed on 22 August 2012.[2]

A Wipeout "arcade" game was also featured in the 1995 movie "Hackers". The actual game footage was pre-rendered CGI and the actors merely pretended they were playing the game.

References

  1. ↑ "Official site". Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. Retrieved 23 July 2009.
  2. ↑ "Sony Liverpool was working on WipEout PS4 and a Splinter Cell style game for PS4". Eurogamer. 22 August 2012. Retrieved 23 August 2012.

External links

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