I feel the need . . .
Format: PS4
Publisher: Sony
Developer: Clever Beans/EPOS Studios/XDev
What is it: A collection of three remastered games from the WipEout series - racing games where players pilot futuristic hoverships around twisting, turning tracks at breakneck speeds. This contains 2048, HD and Fury (which was itself an expansion for HD).
Review: WipEout holds a special place in the hearts of a certain generation of gamers. First arriving in 1995 on the original PlayStation, it gained massive acclaim for the quality of its graphics and futuristic setting, it's electronica/dance soundtrack (featuring The Prodigy, Orbital, The Chemical Brothers etc) and it's sheer unrelenting speed. I was never a PlayStation guy during my teen years. I'd been Team Nintendo since childhood (and still am at heart - I'm desperately trying not to succumb to temptation and buy a Switch, as that thing looks awesome) and was quite happy at that point with my N64 and Zelda: Ocarina of Time, so I missed out on the WipEout experience. I switched to PlayStation when I went to Uni and now, all these years later, I finally get to try it out.
So, Omega Collection is not a brand new WipEout game, let's just make that clear. It contains three high-definition remasters of 2048, HD and Fury - 2048 was originally a PS Vita game, and HD (and it's expansion Fury) were originally for the PS3 back in 2008. But what a collection of remasters this is. The developers involved have done a fantastic job in bringing these three titles up to the standard of today's PS4, and the results make the WipEout series relevant again.
The graphics look incredible (2048 being the best in my opinion), having been given a full coat of paint with improved textures, lighting etc, and the whole thing runs at an incredibly smooth 60fps, the holy grail of today's gaming for console peasants such as myself. I haven't noticed a single instance of dropped frames, tearing or slowdown whilst playing, and that's even more impressive given the speed.
Holy fuck, the speed!
Each title has three different speed levels, and as you play through the main grand prix's you are gradually eased up from the slowest level - which stills feels fast when you initially play it - to the highest, which is an absolutely mind-blowing experience. Newcomers like myself will be amazed, old hands who remember the series fondly will be satisfied, of that I have no doubt. It's an incredibly intense experience that is only heightened by the soundtrack, which is a modern collection of the series' trademark dance/electronica genre. I recommend you turn it up loud!
In terms of content, there's loads here - each of the three games has dozens of ships to unlock and achievements to aim for, and the races themselves are varied from a standard grand prix, time trials, combat modes where the aim is to destroy as many opponents as possible using the weapons that litter the tracks, to probably the most demanding mode called "Zone" where the track is changed to high-contrast colours and the speed continually increases while your ship's handing decreases. The only real criticism I have of the game is the difficulty - I would never claim to be the world's best racing player, but once you hit the fastest speed modes and hardest races, you need to be a veritable driving God to have a chance of winning.
The price for all of this? £25. That's all! Sony could never get away with charging full-price for a collection of remasters, but £25 is a bargain in my opinion considering the amount of content and the care and attention that's gone into this. The game has only been out a few weeks but has already been very successful, so hopefully this could lead to a brand-new game built from the ground up for modern consoles. We can but dream. In the meantime, we have Omega Collection. Highly recommended!
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
No comments:
Post a Comment