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Am i the only one with Wipeout Fusion here? (1 Viewer)

Bjoern Roy

Second Unit
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Oct 15, 1998
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315
I haven't seen a lot of talk about Fusion here yet. Got my Australian copy quite a while ago and wonder what others think about it?

My review would quite honestly be rather shaded, because i am a huge fan of the franchise.
 

Dave F

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Bjoern, I think you are asking for trouble. :)
There still hasn't even been aformal announcement of a U.S. release, so many of us are quite anxious. However, I heard that it was "dumbed down" somewhat. What's the scoop?
-Dave
 

Bjoern Roy

Second Unit
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Oct 15, 1998
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Dave,

i am so big a fan of the franchise, that i didn't want to spoil my first experience with the game by reading reviews. Bad ones would have made me sad, good ones would have rised my expectations far too high.

I am really curious as to what aspect of the game is supposed to be 'dumned down'? It has a more teams, more tracks, more modes... Was the critizism centered on the physics then?
 

Dave F

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Well, the criticisms were that the game was made easier in order to appeal to a wider audience.
Let's hear your impressions! It may be a while until we get the game, so let us live vicariously through your review. :)
-Dave
 

Camp

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Australia!?!

Damn! I guess they get Wipeout Fusion to make up for the horrible GTA3 version.

I'm jealous.
 

Sean Moon

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Bjoern,

You are calling for LOTS of trouble with this thread. The are too many of us without this game drooling waiting for it, and you are just dangling it in our faces teasing us. Congrats on getting it...you are the envy of many now.

I dont think I will visit this thread for a while now, must let my nerves calm over knowing other places in the world have this game and the US doesnt.
 

Michael St. Clair

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Hey, does this support the NeGcon (original PSX racing controller). Ridge Racer V is the only PS2 game that I know supports this (superior) racing controller.
 

Kelley_B

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damn you for having WipeOut Fusion, damn you. I want this game more than I want anyother game in developement.
 

Dan Brecher

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I have to question a lot of the bad reports everyone keeps talking about. Official PS2 magazine (UK) gave it 9 out of 10 and their latest issue had a demo on it which I enjoyed a lot, brought back many memories and ran at a terrific speed.

I was happy with the demo and it's tempting to import the Australian disc, but I'm wondering if they're not tinkering more for Europe given the delays. It's Feb something here now...

Dan (UK)
 

BrianB

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I have to question a lot of the bad reports everyone keeps talking about.
There were numerous reports online of bad bugs in Wipeout Fusion. A good friend of mine with it complained of bad, show-stopping bugs. I trust his opinion. As it's still (or was - they may have finished by now) in development for the UK, they had plenty of time to fix them for the Western release.
 

Dan Brecher

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Well I'd certaily take note of such comments from industry people, Brian. Hmmmm, well I hope the delay to the UK/US release truly is to sort out any bugs. It may have sold loads of consoles here over xmas, but still, to have had Wipeout out in December would have been good for Sony, so I do have to wonder about its delays.

Dan (UK)
 

Bjoern Roy

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Dan, there were 2 playable demos. One with only one course and the 'zone mode' and another, newer one with 2 courses and enemies. Which is the one that impressed you?
I kinda doubt that any bugs/issues that are in the australian version are going to get fixed for the european release. I think the game has gone gold and is hold back for whatever strategic reasons.
There are 2 bugs and 1 menu-design issue, that i think shouldn't have passed QC, but neither was too annoying while playing.
The first bug makes you fall through the track sometimes (maybe once every few races), which is annyoing, but doesn't set you back much longer than the regular random major hit by enemies. The second bug is, that selecting 16x9 doesn't do a thing on my setup. Bummer!
The menu issue i have, has to do with the menues inbetween races in the 'league mode'. Before you select a league, all races in it (3,5..) are listed. But between the races, only a 'loading' screen appears, the actual course name, let alone info/flyover isn't shown. Since its basically impossible to remember all 5 races (World, Track, reverse:y/n) before you start a league, you can only guess what you are currently racing on. The lame thing is, that in arcade mode, there is info/flyover in front of the race. Oh well.
The graphics are really good, yet not sensational. Its insanely fast again, which compensates for that, though :). I love the music tracks.
The physics are a bit different. The occational player might not notice this, but its obvious for the Wipeout fan. First, the vehicle kinda sticks to the course much more than in older incarnations. Without this stickyness, flying through loopings and 360-twists wouldn't have been possible. At least not at low or medium velocities. The downside is that you get somewhat of a 'fake' feeling every now and then. There is an extreme drop followed by an insane raise in one of the courses, for example. With real physics, the vehicle would have to lift off a bit or even jump at the beginning of the aprupt drop and stick the nose into the floor at the insane slope at the bottom. But it doesn't, it hovers along the track as if it was a roller coaster on rails. I remember in the first Wipeout, that a hard landing after a big jump made you hop around, even touch the ground, which slowed you down. Haven't seen this in Fusion yet.
The second thing is, that hitting the wall doesn't slow you down nearly as much as in the original. This, together with the fact that you have kinda strong shields (especially once you start to upgrade you glider), makes it possible to slide around the track, bouncing left and right, without too much trouble. Kinda like an ice slate in a ice track. Once you know the track and you manage to hover/airbrake around without hitting anything, its the same cool speedy insane feeling that makes Wipeout what it is.
The criticism apart, i love the game. I love the complexity. There are several locations with several tracks each. On top, every track can be played in reverse (slightly modified in some cases, of course). I am more of a Wipeour racer than a fighter, so i didn't care too much for the new weapons. I usually drop everything i collect, except for shield. Want to win based on racing only, not because i managed to destroy every one else. You get points for both, though, which means that you can also win the races if your preference is the opposite of mine.
If you guys insist, i will explain the race modes in more detail (challenges, leagues, etc.), but one thing that i have to mention is the 'zone mode'. You race on the track on your own, starting with a full shield. No enemies, no extras. Trick is, you can't stop, the glider is accelerating more and more and more. The track is divided into several sections, once you pass the section, your 'zone count' is increased by one. The faster it gets, the more you hit the walls, of course. Once your shield is down, game over. This is a LOT of fun! I don't know if it ever stops getting faster, but the cool thing is that the race is over when your skill can't keep up, because its too fricking fast. Wow. I am going to play this and the time trial mode more than actual races, but thats just me.
Could it have been even better. Probably. Is it fun as is? You bet!
Regards
Bjoern
 

Dan Brecher

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Bjoern,
The 'Zone Mode' one is the one I played. Nice sense of speed, handled well and I liked going upside down. :)
Dan (UK)
 

Dave F

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There are two things I have to know. :) In Wip3outXL, if you just brushed the side of a track, you could actually get a speed boost, rather than slowing down. Is this in Fusion. That was a prety cool gameplay element - risk a major slowdown for the possibility of faster speed.
Also, you mentioned the "stickiness". Do you still get performance benefits by pulling up/pushing down after a jump or a dip?
Thanks-
Dave
 

Camp

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First, the vehicle kinda sticks to the course much more than in older incarnations.
That's how they'll kill the series. WipeoutXL was so easy to control it wasn't fun. A large part of the fun of the original game was mastering a craft that really felt like it was hovering. Sure, it was frustrating as hell when you first picked it up but overcoming that frustration made the end result all the more sweet.
 

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