In later games, players can also use sideshifts to avoid impacts with the wall and even excute barrel rolls to get a temporary boost at the cost of a portion of shield energy. In addition, they can also use the airbrakes to take the advantage when cornering. Players can use items to take significant advantage in the race. Players can use the weapons to temporarily slow down opponent ships and inflict damage against them. Each player can only hold one weapon or item at one time. Boost pads temporarily increase the speed, while weapon pads get players a random weapon or item. In races, all boost pads and weapon pads are active, so take advantage from these (though the weapon pads can be disabled through the weapons settings). Players have to race their way to the first place. The gameplay is simple, as seen in most typical racing video games. If you have, you’ll probably play this game for a bit, have a decent time, then forget about it.One single race has a number of contenders (depending on the game) e.g. If you have never played a racer before, you might be impressed with the options. All of that makes for a fairly fun game, but a somewhat shallow one too. The garage isn’t all that stocked, and while they look great, the tracks are straightforward. Wipeout 2048 is a fun game to look at, and worth a few hours, but there just isn’t much to it. It tends to boil down to who can hit the most boost pads, but it can still be a good time.
When you can find a full match, it’s fun. Now, with all that said, there is a highlight to Wipeout 2048 - the online mode where you can race up to eight players at a time. An interesting gimmick, but not much more. If you are feeling masochistic, you can give the six-axis controls a try and attempt to steer with the Vita. The good news is they are usually easy to catch. You can still win easily enough, but you will often be full seconds ahead of an opponent and they will blast right by you. That’s nice, but the opposite is also true, and enemies can pull of miracle comebacks. The game tries hard to keep all races fair, so if you are in last you can quickly jump to first. The AI is a bit unpredictable at first, and uses the old elastic strategy to catch up. The races do get progressively harder, but the same strategy tends to see you through most challenges. But the races are all generally the same: Hold down the accelerator, don’t wreck, and you should win. The game tries to mix it up with things like a career(ish) mode with branching paths to multiple races, and the odd change in gametype from races to things like time trials.
Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. The weapons are actually a low point though, as they rarely seem to do exactly what they should and firing them is more akin to making a wish than tactically executing a strategic move. The controls are slick and responsive, and moving through the field is easy - although part of that is due to the nature of the tracks, which feature several long straightaways that are easy to navigate to begin with.Ĭertain maps also allow the use of weapons, which come to you in the form of pickups scattered along the course. Just aim for the boost pads scattered throughout each track, and you’ll do fine. The races are all fairly simple, and you should be able to win most easily. The soundtrack is also decent and filled with electronic hits, some familiar, most not.
There are plenty of cars to unlock, and a lot of visual customization, but none of it is really necessary, and feels like a later decision to increase the depth of the game. You would think there would be more advantage to these potential shortcuts, but there really isn’t a lot of difference.ĭespite the setting, and despite the look, Wipeout 2048 is a traditional racer in the oldest sense of the word. They don’t actually change the race mechanics.Įvery map offers several routes to take, but most of these are just the choice of going left instead of right, then ending up at the same point. Most are somewhat straight-forward races just set in a fantastic location, while a few of them offer environmental extras (like racing up walls), but these are more for show.
Set in…well, 2048 obviously, you race a series of tracks that take you to a variety of futuristic locations. It is a sight.īut putting aside the look, Wipeout 2048 is the type of game where you hold down the gas and rarely use the brake.
The graphics themselves are around the level of late PS2, maybe very early PS3 games, but the impressive part is the detail you can see in the backgrounds while burning through futuristic cities. Of all the launch day titles for the Vita, few push the hardware’s GPU quite as much as Wipeout 2048.