The video game universe is full of iconic sagas that have generated rivalries and sparked opposing factions among enthusiasts, ever since the first Pong and its derivative clones.
Fifa and Pes (today Efootball), for example, fully represent two very different football simulation philosophies, each with its own hardcore fan base supporting it clearly: those who love Fifa madly often disparage Pes, and vice versa.
Wipeout, the title I want to talk to you about today, more precisely its third incarnation in special edition, was released a few years after F-Zero, another futuristic racing simulator that for decades now has been battling side by side with its rival for the top spot on the podium.
Uscito per la PlayStation in 1999 and immediately rising to the top of the favorability rankings of those who, like me, love unapologetically adrenaline-fueled games, Wipeout 3 Special Edition made short work of the competition within a few months: there were plenty of racing video games for the queen console of the second half of the Nineties, from street racing titles to licensed Formula One ones, but never before, apart from F-Zero of course, had there been a science-fiction game where the player was put in command of what, more than a racing car, looked like a true hyperspace street spaceship!
Technically, the vehicle we pilot in Wipeout is a hover, capable of levitating thanks to a futuristic and spectacular anti-gravity system: the tracks are breathtaking and the skylines we will be able to admire, between one turn and a tunnel, suggest the technological grandeur that the future, envisioned by the Psygnosis development team, wanted to imagine for players.
The gameplay experience, I don't need to tell you, or maybe I do, is nothing short of magnificent. The aesthetic is truly well cared for, the sense of speed you feel as you race along the tracks still remains something unique and never matched: if Nintendo's F-Zero focuses above all on the single-player experience with a story mode that is only hinted at but still present, Wipeout 3 plays its best cards with multiplayer and a remarkable arcade approach: sometimes, the student perhaps does not surpass the master, however it shows that it learns very well the lessons it is given.
Nel gioco troveremo many previously unseen tracks, absent from the previous titles in the series, and the usual exhilarating musical component like never before, a mix of techno music and electronic dance that fits the spirit of the game well. The soundtrack in Wipeout has always been a decisive and fundamental element and seems to improve in quality every time a new chapter is released: the competition thus rises to the highest levels, ignited by tracks so catchy that they will bounce around in your head even after turning off the console.
This Special Edition, as you will have understood, embodies all the very best that the futuristic racing series has to offer fans, a piece of rare prestige that cannot be missing from a collection worthy of the name, one that is projected, it is truly fitting to say, toward the future.
Renewed gameplay while preserving the series’ distinctive features
Graphically polished, breathtaking backgrounds, and captivating futuristic-style hover effects
The music in Wipeout is much more than just an accompaniment. Hypnotic and essential for fully experiencing the races.
Predominant arcade component, do not expect realism or respect for the laws of physics
So engaging and frenetic that it will make your eyes cross and require many breaks during play. And nobody likes having to pause when playing
Very high difficulty level, you have been warned
