Wipeout 2048 (Vita) Review

Sony's Wipeout franchise shined on PSP, and the company was smart in creating a new entry just in time for PlayStation Vita's launch. The result, Wipeout 2048, is one of the best titles available on this new and powerful system, despite a few bumps in the road.

This time, the developers at Studio Liverpool chose to add modern flavor to its series, as you'll see in the game's intro, which takes you through the various stages of racing, from old school cars with wheels to the more exciting hover craft we've come to expect.

That said, vehicles look similar to those in Wipeout games past. The tracks, on the other hand, are a fun mix of present day and futuristic. You still race along winding strips of road and fly up walls, but the first environment has a cool New York City vibe, as you speed across a bridge, up skyscrapers and through a shopping mall. For once, less neon is a good thing, as the game takes on a grittier appearance.

Here, you'll work through various events (displayed across a honeycomb grid) completing different challenges, be it straight up races to the finish line, time trials, combat stages and zone events (a personal favorite) that task you with surviving as long as possible while manning a vehicle that goes progressively faster.

Taking all of this into account, the designers dropped color coded pads across the majority of these tracks, the goal to separate offensive and defensive weapons. It's a fun switch to the formula that adds a welcome layer of strategy. After all, what's the point of hanging onto missiles while in first place? It's a much better idea to grab a shield to prevent bozos from stealing a victory.

All this fighting, however, may come at a price for racing purists who just want to race. It seems much of the game involves unloading on someone with a cannon over simply outduelling them behind the wheel, or whatever one uses to steer these things.

This is especially evident in multiplayer matches (both locally and online), where the game becomes disappointingly restrictive. The online campaign mode, where players complete different missions, is a nice touch, but you can't just go in there and customize races to your liking. By and large, you take what the game sends your way.

The developers redeem themselves, though, with cross platform play with PlayStation 3 users, and this works quite well. Again, minimal options prevent it from being a true game changer, but we think this is a fun glimpse at the future of gaming, at least when it comes to Sony.

As for the tracks, Studio Liverpool made some odd decisions, including dividers that appear seemingly out of nowhere, impeding one's progress and potentially costing him or her the race, but it goes even further. Smacking into stuff seems to happen more than we'd like, and it seems to have more to do with track design than a lack of skill, though it may be different for everyone.

Then we have the tilt controls, to which we say, don't bother. It was novel of Sony to attempt to implement Vita's gyroscope to transform the handheld into a steering wheel, but it's tough getting the hang of, if at all.

The weirdest thing about the game, though, is the load time before races. While not unbearable, you're looking at 30-45 seconds, which is quite odd, since most of the Vita titles we've played load quickly.

On the positive side, though, Wipeout 2048's greatest qualities far outshine the bad, and with potential for improvement through downloadable content (more modes, tracks and vehicles), it's by and large one of the coolest Vita games and a worthy roadside (or even couch side) companion.

Review copy provided by Sony.