Wipeout Pulse (PS2 Gameplay)
139Wipeout Pulse (PS2) - Ship: Assegai - Track: Moa Therma White
The game is set in the year 2207. Players take part in the FX400 Anti-Gravity Racing League, competing in various types of race at several race courses set around the world.
Wipeout Pulse is broadly similar to other games in the Wipeout franchise, and indeed to other racing games as a whole. The player drives futuristic hovering vehicles powered on a series of race tracks which they must navigate, and sometimes other vehicles to compete against. They are aided in this endeavor by the traditional Wipeout arsenal of weaponry (including rockets, missiles, plasma bolts, etc) and bursts of speed, both of which are gained by driving over special pads on the track; they are also allowed to choose between a number of different vehicles, each with their own handling characteristics. The game features electronic music and extraordinary visual and graphic design, two hallmarks of the Wipeout franchise; it also features downloadable content from the PlayStation Network, each containing a new vehicle and two new tracks, though four have been released in Europe and are not yet available elsewhere in the world.
Pulse delivers a number of new variations on this basic formula: while the game only ships with 12 tracks, these can be driven both forward and backwards; the race's direction is marked by the suffix "White" or "Black" on the race's title (i.e. "Talon's Junction White") and may show subtle variations depending on which way they are driven. Certain circuits also have "Mag-Strips" on some portion of the track, which lock the player's vehicle onto the track and allow for roller coaster-esque loops, sideways U turns, waterfall-like sheer drops, and so on. It also completely revamps the standard method of game progression. Most racing games (F-Zero, Mario Kart, Gran Turismo) present the player with a series of "cups" in which they must come in first while racing against opposition. Pulse players are instead challenged to complete "grids," a cluster of hexagons which represent a wide variety of tracks and race types: time trials; seven-lap "Best Lap" races in which the player attempts to achieve a particular lap time; single races against one opponent ("Head-to-Head" mode); single races against seven opponents ("Single Race"); multiple-track Tournaments (the cups of other games); "Eliminator" matches returning from Wipeout 3; and the "Zone" mode from Wipeout Fusion, in which the player attempts to survive as long as possible in a vehicle whose speed is slowly but infinitely accelerating. The game features a number of extras. Players can take screenshots of in-progress races at any time from the Pause menu. Players are rewarded for using the same team's vehicle over and over via the Loyalty system which unlocks new vehicle skins.