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PushSquare Review Golden Oldies: wipE'out" on PSone.

A pivotal release in the Playstation history that made futuristic racing cool and gave Sony’s new console a personality. Combining a hardcore dance soundtrack and some whacky vehicle designs, wipE’out” was a hit in the mid-90’s.

However, one of the mandates of this new PushSquare Review Golden Oldies series is to point out when a game doesn’t quite stand the test of time and wipE’out” is one such game. By modern standards the controls now feel terribly loose and inaccurate. The game also has problems reaching the speeds we’ve come to expect from futuristic racers. By classic standards wipE’out” was a total power-house, but today the frame rate is sluggish and the digital controls make movement impossibly clunky.

Taken for what it was in the mid-90’s though, wipE’out” was the centre piece of Sony’s strategy marketing. The PSone, then considered new, hip and space-age gained a personality through releases like the original wipE’out”. The game features popular electronica artists as a part of the soundtrack and sets the player behind the wheel of a number of futuristic racing teams with one goal in mind: the finish line.

The tracks all have a quirky modern feel to them, representative mostly of 90’s clubbing culture which is obviously a big influence in the game’s design. Visual effects fill the screen as weapons are fired and vehicles take a boost when passing over boost pads.

wipE’out” is a game that should be acknowledged for spawning such an excellent franchise. If you have an interest in the series then it’s well worth digging up this game. Still, its merits by today’s standards have diminished somewhat, even though it’s still a playable game.

Originally released: September 29th, 1995.
PushSquare review written: July 24th, 2009.