Oh, mega, it's a collection of wiping out!

Review

Played on: PlayStation 4
Released: 2017
Originally released: 2008 (HD), 2009 (Fury) on PS3, 2012 (2048) on Vita

I was updating some of my old blog posts, when I realised, I'd never reviewed the wipEout Omega Collection when it came out on PS4 back in 2017, five years ago already! Confused, I realised it had just slipped past my to-do list of reviews. I took the time to pull out my old PS4 and give the game some new hours of play to write this, plus I like to race this game every now and then for something different than car racers. For those unaware, this is a collection of wipEout HD, complete with its Fury expansion, from PS3 and wipEout 2048 from the PS Vita. All the modern wipEout’s gathered in one excellent value for money package. Although technically, the wipEout HD Fury combo was available as DLC for wipEout 2048 on the Vita as well, so you could collect it all under one console on the PS Vita too. All these earlier releases, though, can be substituted in exchange for the Omega Collection. While impressively wipEout HD Fury ran at a dynamic 1080p@60fps back on the PS3, Omega Collection on the PS4 now runs its 1080p resolution locked, with no downgrade to 720p in splitscreen like on the PS3. 3D mode is sadly removed, but then again who has a 3DTV anymore except me, as compensation the whole package now supports PlayStation VR for those wanting some true 3D action. Owners of a PS4 Pro or PS5 will be pleased to know it runs 4K@60fps. I found the motion blur too heavy in the game and can recommend turning it off, HDR is also added, though without any slider it looks a bit over saturated to my taste.

The most impressive graphical update to the collection, however, goes without doubt to wipEout 2048. Here we see a massive bump from a dynamic 544p(!) running at 30fps to a locked 1080p@60fps and beyond to 4K for the more powerful consoles. Not only is it technically running all cranked up, but 2048 receives new textures to compensate the move from a small handheld screen to a large living room TV. It’s a serious visual boost for 2048!

Considering the significant difference in gameplay between the games contained, Omega Collection features two campaigns to play. So, vehicles and race circuits aren’t interchangeable between wipEout HD Fury and 2048. Technically, there are three campaigns: wipEout HD, Fury as a separate campaign and 2048, albeit HD and Fury are the same at their core and share all the race ships. The layout of the campaigns appear in the same manner as they did on their respective consoles.

Sound is improved with the engine noises leading the show and being beefed up, they just sound punchier and cooler in the Omega Collection. Letting go of the gas and pushing it in again gives this satisfying thump to the engines for instance. Fundamentally new for the Omega Collection is its soundtrack, replacing all the music from the original releases. This soundtrack can either be played in its full track list or divided into the genres drum-n-bass and club music.

The custom soundtrack, which could be played from a USB stick and visually matched with the pulses in Zone mode is gone. You can use the Spotify app to listen, but it won't be integrated in the game in any way.

So, while the game is divided in two distinct games, so is my opinion. I’m a huge fan of the original, 90’s, wipEout trilogy on the first PlayStation, but I enjoy playing wipEout HD Fury from time to time. However, my favourite wipEout outside of the original trilogy has always been wipEout Pure on the PSP, it was such a good launch title for the system.

wipEout HD Fury though, lends a few race circuits from Pure and Pulse and has a nice feel, probably the closest to what wipEout is all about, in modern times. Mastering to stay away from the narrow sides of the racetrack, the sensation of floating and sliding into corners is well done, although it will never beat the height of series that is wipEout 2097 physics for me.

I do, however, not care for the super minimalist and modernist art style, but we can’t really blame this collection for that. Same goes for the higher-class races that turn into a chaotic wall slamming and explosion fest with a very random outcome to winning or not. Then again, the fastest race classes have often broken the earlier wipEout games too. The sweet spot are the middle classes, where it goes fast but controllably so.

2048 on the other hand, is a wipEout I’ll never really settle into. Firstly, it’s too difficult from the get-go. There are weapon, speed and agility versions of each racing ship, complete with locked away weapon types depending on racing ship and manufacturer. Unlocking ships at a later point, only to discover they would've been better suited for earlier races, is frustrating.

It's like the developers guessed what you needed for each race after their skills and thought that's how they'd force the player to play until more in unlocked. It just doesn't sit well with me and as such progression in the main campaign can be frustratingly hard.

Secondly, dampening my impression further, is the way it plays. Sporting massive wide tracks yet never feels like you in proper control of steering the ship straight forward.

Races are often a complete mess, cluttered and obnoxiously chaotic. The race circuits are less sci-fi in their design than HD Fury, which is a positive art direction, but they're confusing in their layout and their large width do nothing for the gameplay itself. Races in 2048 end up in large crashes with lots of ships all in a cluster where anything can happen. The rather narrow field of view when racing in bumper cam, combined with the wide tracks, made me play it from the external view to get me bearings.

I generally hate the relentless focus on everything having to be insanely fast in the modern era of wipEout. Races are just about maintaining top speed at all the time, forcing the player to either learn being a perfectionist or just not bother to even dream about progressing. Perfecting every single speed arrow, never breathing out once or daring to brake and taking corners on muscle memory makes the general appeal of these games very narrow.

This take on the genre goes even further in the lower budget wipEout clones of modern era, at the end of the day they seem to be aimed at a small, elitist, hardcore, wipEout fans and nobody else. 

 

Personally, I prefer the lower pace of the old wipEout trilogy, giving each race some time to put thought into manoeuvring past the next opponent. They felt fast with their style, unique hovering physics and music, yet at the same time weren’t that fast.

I could ramble on about the faults of modern wipEout compared to my love for the original trilogy, but it’s not really the focus point here. It’s about a collection of games that we already know how play.

 

The point of then, of this collection, is updating two wipEout’s to more modern hardware and they have done it in an excellent fashion. Leaving the old releases redundant in its wake. It's reasonably priced and excellent way of playing the game with performance and visual quality pushed further.

If you have never experienced wipEout I’m not sure if it’s the right place to begin, at least wipEout HD starts off slowly. For people looking into which version of wipEout HD Fury and 2048 to buy, look no further, here it is. Add an extra point to the score if these wipEout games are your favs, the technical updates done here are great.