I have been playing Wipeout titles since I was a much younger (and thinner) lad. Some have been pretty good, others have failed to deliver on the fast-paced thrills, but I had high hopes for this downloadable title. To be honest with you, I am four for four when it comes to Sony's downloadable games. Every one of them has been a blast to play, were well worth the smaller price tag, and delivered on pretty much every front. But could I go five for five? Would the law of averages kick in and make this the first stinker to grace my download list? In a word ... Nope.

For those of you new to the whole video-game thing, the Wipeout franchise has been going for quite a while, dating back to early titles on the original PlayStation and Sega Saturn. In the game, you pilot a futuristic vehicle as it skims two meters off the ground and attempt to out race your opponents using weapons, white-knuckle piloting, boost points scattered around the course and any shortcuts you may find. Learning the ins and outs of the course helps you find the right line to just miss the wall as you sear through a series of twists turns and jumps that would leave any NASCAR driver in a state of panic. This is a game for the rough-and-tumble pilot ready to be turned into a fine red mist when you eat it into a wall.

 
"I just lost my lunch." 

OK, maybe that doesn't happen since you never die a gruesome death in the game, you merely get started over if you fall off the track. But you could eat it if you take too much damage from enemy pilots, but again, no red mist, no burned bodies, this title is for the family and the bright colors and insane speeds are exactly what the doctor ordered for some good ol' video-game fun. 

Wipeout is an excellent example of high speed thrills with zero lag occurring. The game has a very smooth texture going for it even as you rip by going several hundred miles per hour. Bright lights - from the vehicles, in the background, from explosions and from the tracks themselves - are nicely done with bright pixels making them pop nicely. I like the dynamic third-person view of both the vehicle and the track for these types of games and this one handles like a dream, smooth controls combined with a nice setup for using boosts (quick increases of speed), firing weapons and even shifting left or right to dodge enemy fire, all of it is very nicely done.

This being the future and all, corporations sponsor these races with pilots representing different companies. You can pick a certain company and stick with them (getting additional loyalty) points but it can also be as much fun trying out all the different combinations of sponsors and vehicles. Since the game has several modes, you will naturally find yourself gravitating to the career mode where you play through a series of races, earning points, medals and unlocking other vehicles all while progressing through the challenges put before you.

 
"We go much faster, and it will be tomorrow!"

These challenges include going full combat against a field of other opponents, racing the clock in time trials and trying to best the fastest lap time are all part of the challenge in this one. While the tracks are direct copies of the Wipeout games off of the PSP (Pure and Pulse) the difficulty becomes insanely crazy as you are required to score pretty much all golds (1st place finishes) towards the end of the game in order to actually "beat" the game.

I suppose at this point you know I like the game. Its graphics, gameplay and level design are all good fun, but I would be remiss if I didn't talk about how good this game sounds coming out of a 6.1 surround sound. The high torque thrust of the engines rocketing down the race track, the explosions, heck even the logo title screen on the PlayStation 3 menu. This game has a very crisp, very full sound to it. The up-tempo techno track also helps the player get into the mood for some high-octane action. A full sounding game that compliments the action nicely.

If that isn't enough for you players out there, this is also one heck of a way to "do it up" online. Boasting up to eight players racing at the same time, I was floored at how smoothly everything worked out. Nary a glitch or hang up, the game plays just like it does in the single-player mode but with the added benefit of actually playing against people. This is officially my current online addiction and I invite anyone who downloads it to go out there and give it a try, the single-player experience is great, but this is what Wipout fans have been begging for for years.

Lastly, the game is called Wipeout HD for a reason. Full HD graphics playing on my 1080p television at a screaming 60 frames per second is a right enjoyable way to spend an afternoon. This is a full-on HD game and the crisp, clean lines and most surprisingly, it is downloadable. For the most part, every downloadable game I have played has looked pretty good, but I question why this game wasn't packaged and sold for for a full game price. It's every bit as good as Motorstorm and in some ways better. For the price, you would be hard pressed to find a better game on the Sony Network.