WIPEOUT FUSION (PS2)

The text behind the game...

By WILL BARKER

Rob Francis, the lead designer on Wipeout Fusion answered a few questions pertaining to the new game.

Q. The inevitable question - is this just Wipeout on PlayStation 2?

A. No way and it was never intended to be! We always had strong ambitions to take the game forward in many areas - the new physics model …now supporting any angle track, the new circuit interactions….trigger pads controlling bridges and doors, shootable scenery, vertical air jumps, the ships take visible damage and it affects the handling in a realistic way. These are just a few new areas - areas that have never featured in Wipeout before.

Q. What has the enhanced power of PlayStation 2 bought to the Wipeout franchise?

A. The hardware has allowed us to create a detailed anti-gravity physics model that runs at 120 times a second for ultra-sexy smooth gameplay. And all the computer ships use the physics system - they don't cheat like in most race games. This all takes a lot of processing power. Graphically, we can take advantage of new track design…longer straights and jumps with massive draw distance. All the sound effects support Dolby Surround2, the game runs so smooth and fast.

Q. Are the teams the same as in previous Wipeouts? Can we choose which characters to play, do they have any particular characteristics or personality traits?

A. The story moves on, we are about 50 years after 2097. Some of the teams are still racing, some have transformed into other teams and some new chaps have come along. The eight teams have two pilots each, a lead and a second. Yep all the pilots have certain skills and characteristics like aggression, alertness and driving finesse. Which are discernible and dynamic during the race

Q. Can we change the craft, upgrade, tune them etc. for a better performance on each circuit?

A. Yep, it's a new sexy feature of Wipeout Fusion and it brings a natural feeling of progression to the gameplay - an enhancement to the previous class system. As you progress through the league mode, you earn money to upgrade your ships. You can upgrade performance, handling as well as the weapon capability and shield strength. They are all pretty cool additions.

Q. We have heard about a vast array of new weapons, can you give us some examples?

A. Yes certainly….all the favourites are in there….lock on missile, rockets, shield, the mighty quake. Loads of original weapons….the GravStinger is fired on the track and temporarily takes out the AG unit causing a ship to smash to the track floor….the seismic field fires a black hole down the track sucking ships into it! Each of the teams has a secret super weapon, to be unlocked in the game. All these have fantastic special effects as do all the 26 weapons in the game.

Q. Is there a multi-player option available to gamers?

A. Yes, there are 3 multi-player modes to play and loads of options to play with. You can play through the leagues with both players or set up your own league. All of the weapons can be set on or off individually and there's other stuff like 'respawn' ships and pit lane deactivation so you can customise your game.

Q. There are a lot of cool effects in Fusion - i.e. the loop and flip pads - are there any other interesting new features?

A. Loads of new cool features and they are spread through the tracks so it's really worth getting through the game and opening everything up. Make sure you unlock the new Zone mode. It's completely original. A score based mode, you get points for surviving. Your ships gets faster and faster and you have to last as long as possible. There's extra multipliers and bonuses for perfect laps and hitting speedups. It gets very fast - probably about twice as fast as any Wipeout that's gone before. It's hardcore and it's pure.

Q. Why call it Wipeout Fusion?

A. It was a 'fusion' of ideas. Specifically the old game style of Wipeout fused with the new technology and hardware of the PS2.

Q. Are there any team members who worked on the original Wipeout?

A. Yes there are still original artists members from the first Wipeout. But also a lot of new talent.

Q. Of the current PlayStation 2 games catalogue have any provided you with ideas or inspiration?

A. Not really for Fusion. Most of the inspiration comes from film, science fiction and the previous games. Wipeout is such a well established brand that there was a lot of features which made Wipeout and had to stay constant in order to keep up the whole Wipeout experience.