Like many 90s children who owned a PlayStation 1, I enjoyed my fair share of racing games, but there was one racing game that stood out above all others, Wipeout. The gravity-defying racer was for me a defining moment for the PlayStation 1 and PlayStation Portable, and to a lesser extent the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita. For those who never had a chance to experience the anti-gravity racing series, Sony Interactive Entertainment has released Wipeout Omega Collection, a new Wipeout game featuring content from Wipeout HD, Wipeout HD Fury and Wipeout 2048. So, for those replaying or playing Wipeout for the first time, Wipeout Omega Collection took the best games in the series and put them together, upgraded the visuals and brought it to the PlayStation 4.

With the game being essentially three games in one the pack contains 26 circuits, 46 unique ships, all the fast and destructive game modes, and an amazing soundtrack that will transport you back in time to when you played Wipeout for the first time. To make the content from all three games stand out, the systems that were unique in all three games are all intact. There is no coalescing of the HUD or weapon pickup system as players who go between Wipeout 2048 content and Wipeout HD content will see how the franchise changed over time. For example, in Wipeout 2048 defensive and offensive weapons were split between two types of pickups, orange for offensive and green for defensive, but in Wipeout HD and HD Fury, the offensive and defensive weapons were amalgamated into one pickup.

Just like in any racing game, your choice of vehicle is important, and with 46 unique vehicles there is a lot to choose from, and the choices aren’t just down to vehicle’s aesthetic or brand, but to their stat which are broken down into speed, handling, thrust and shield strength. When choosing a vehicle it is best to look for one that has stats that best suit the event you are entering.

While choosing a vehicle is important, let’s look at the tracks, which all offer varying degrees of difficulty. As Wipeout is an anti-gravity racing series, the races are built around speed and so the tracks tend to gravitate towards fast paced racing, but a good number of the tracks like to push back against this with deceptively easy looking corners that can lead you straight into the barrier, and so to prepare for annoying corners you need to learn to master the left and right airbrakes, which are operated with the L2 and R2 triggers. The airbrakes can be tricky as they don’t so much slow your vehicle down but force the vehicle to change direction, so if you apply to much pressure to either the left or right airbrake you will find yourself losing control and crashing.

In terms of modes, what does Wipeout Omega Collection offer? Wipeout has your standard race modes, time trial, eliminator and single lap races all of which contain weapon pick-ups. The game also has some non-traditional modes such as zone, which has your vehicle going faster and faster as you progress through zones with your goal being to survive for as long as possible. Each mode feels great, and as you progress further in the campaigns some modes are altered to contain no weapon pick-ups or contain just boost pads.

If there was one major issue I had with Wipeout Omega Collection it would be the difficulty curve in the game’s campaign modes. The difficulty level jumps around from race to race with the 2048 races scaling in difficulty, and the HD and HD Fury races allowing players to alter the race difficulty.

So, you’ve mastered the various campaign modes, and think you are world-class Wipeout racer, well there is only one way to prove that, and that is by racing other players in up to 8 player online races. Online races are challenging, as you have to change your mindset away from the almost predictable movements of the AI.

When it comes to graphics and audio, Wipeout Omega Collection is amazing, with the standard PlayStation 4 console easily running the game in 1080p at 60 frames per second, and apparently the PlayStation 4 Pro has the ability to run the game in 4K at 60 frames per second. In terms of audio, Wipeout offers the sounds and songs that made the past Wipeout games so memorable, if you are like me and grew up playing Wipeout you are sure to get a few nostalgia flashbacks.

Conclusion

Wipeout Omega Collection is an amazing racing game that faithfully recreates the iconic racing series, and it is the perfect racing experience for both new players and veterans of the franchise.

SCORE: 9/10

Pros	Cons
+ Packed with content from three past Wipeout games	– The campaign mode has an odd difficulty curve
+ Fast-paced racing where slowing down isn’t an option
+ Amazing graphics and audio

Developer	Publisher	Genre	Rating	Platform	Release date
Sony XDev, Clever Beans & EPOS Game Studios	Sony Interactive Entertainment	Racing	7+	PlayStation 4	June 7, 2017

*A review code was provided by the game’s publisher.*

For more information on Wipeout Omega Collection, visit https://www.playstation.com/en-us/games/wipeout-omega-collection-ps4/.