Wipeout Fusion has been hailed as the game that killed the Wipeout franchise. Before Fusion, Wipeout 3 killed the Wipeout franchise. Before 3, there was criticism by the hardcore race gamers of Wipeout XL. If you play each game in order, you see that the series has evolved from a slick, mean physics simulation to an arcade game. For that reason, and not having the Design Republic's neo-deco billboards floating around the tracks, this game got flushed by the fans.

Too bad.

Fusion is loaded with beautiful tracks, with corkscrews, loop-de-loops, jumps, high-dives, you name it. Basically all the best parts of a rollercoaster, only armed with weapons. In league mode, you can make modifications to your vehicle's stats with your winnings- a nice touch if you're fond of a certain craft. And mercifully, the learning curve is more gentle. You won't get to the fourth track and find back to back right angle turns waiting for you.

Part of the joy of a racing videogame for me is a believable feeling of speed.. I like a straightaway or a sheer corkscrew drop at 500 mph now and again. This game delivers.

At the end of the day it's great entertainment for under 10$.

Great game, with awesome graphics. But don't play on a big screen T.V. for to long without any asprin. You are going really fast, around 100-300 MPH, or more. It takes a while to unlock the other tracks, and there are a lot of weapons that you and your opponents can use.

While I won't say this the best Wipeout game ever made I will say it's very, VERY close to being the one. This game will definitely have you on the edge of your seat. For those of you not familiar with the franchise I'll just say a few things. GET FAMILAR! The Wipeout game series is all about high octane arcade racing. You are behind the controls of an anti-gravity rocket speeding across various tracks all the while not only trying to outrun your opponents but also outgun them. Weapons are added to the gameplay to help slow down your opponents or knock them out of the race (and get you out in turn). Put all this together and you have the best sci-fi racing franchise ever.

Now to what makes Wipeout Fusion different from the others. First off it's on the PS2 and with that comes greatly improved graphics and processor power to make the vehicles go fast. Really fast. While the previous games had great graphics and you indeed went really fast the PS2 puts a little edge on all that.

There are a ton of courses compared to the others. While many of the courses are the same track in reverse or with a few detoured changes it's enough to make the difference. A new feature on Fusion is the ability to tweak your vehicle. Make it stronger, faster, more maneuverable. And with those changes the ship actually starts to look different. Nice touch.

Wipeout has always been known for killer electronic dance music soundtracks and this is no exception. You get some nice mixes of songs from Orbital, Future Sound of London, Luke Slater, Plump DJ's and more. You get a ton of them too. Something like 16-18 songs, which is a lot more than any previous game. The music isn't as eclectic as Wipeout 2, but fits perfectly for a driving game (probably my fave Wipeout soundtrack aside from Wipeout 3).

There are some differences I noticed in gameplay. You take damage a little more than normal now. Little scrapes on the sides of the road cause damage when before not so much. There is no instant replay like on Wipeout 3, which is a shame considering the sweet graphics. The AI is a bit deeper on this one, with actual personalities coming from the opposing drivers. You get to know their names and they easily enough become your nemesis when they keep you from winning.

It's not the best Wipeout game you can have. It could have been if they made some adjustments (like instant replay) and took a few more of the best the other games had. As it is you should definitely pick it up. Especially at the prices you can get for it now. If you like arcade racing of any kind you will love Wipeout 3

i have to preface this by saying i have a newer PS2 and i have finished the first 10 AG races though i am still less than 30% done with the game they say. first i would like to respond to all the "hugely disappointed" wipeout fans out there. please stop "sighing" and whining. i ordered this game and then read the bad reviews here and i was torn up about the game being junk but when i got in it turns out that Wipeout Fusion is still SONY's franchise player so take heart fans.
i read complaints about the MUSIC not being done by the chemical bros. i guess that "fan" didn't find much worthy about the original Wipeout. the music is great if you go in for this kind of music (btw, the chem bros are way overrated. yeah, the first track on the remix disk "drugstore cowboy" is good but the rest of it is wack). the music could have been a a bit more positive. what's Cold Storage up to these days?
As far as SPEED goes i think there is plenty of it though there could be more if the tracks weren't so narrow. there are a number of "jaw dropping" moments out there and some really nice touches with absent guard rails and stuff. very challenging TRACKS with lots of diversity. if you slam into a wall you might pop through and need to be rescued but with some practice you will acquire the necessary skill to race properly without training wheels so keep trying. the AI is good and you are never all alone.
I agree, though, that ship physics have taken a hit. you must use air brakes constantly to make the thing turn at all (i've raced three different ships all loaded) and the tracks are so narrow that the days of carving turns in your auricom are gone and now its asimply a matter of staying off the walls as much as possible. i prefer the old style wall-bump speed penalty versus the new damage infliction. plus, that scraping along the side in wipeout xl was awesome and that just spells damage in Fusion.
the absence of the DESIGNER'S REPUBLIC team does suck. the dopey dime a dozen characters in DR's stead bring the game down. i wish someone would go back to the original wipeout and realize that the future world in all its coolness and graphic design and seriousness as a legitimate racing sport was a huge part of the love for this game and has disappeared since. Lets leave the goofy kid's stuff to the 99% of the rest of the cookie cutter time waster games out there. sony fumbled on that one.
IN CONCLUSION Bam did a respectable job and the game is definitley a keeper. i hope we see more editions only let's get back to the roots of the thing - staying off the walls while carving turns and cornering in different ships. message to SONY: RECOGNIZE.
P.S. i am a fan of the series so you may want to take off a star for that. if you are curious though you should definitely pick up the earlier wipeouts. The original PS1 Wipeout still can't be beat.

Wipeout Fusion is a high-speed futuristic racing game. There are many game modes, like AG league, Zone, and Challenge. AG league is the real part of the game. The first leagues are slow and easy, but the last few leagues are very difficult. The other racers will try to blast you at every turn. In Zone mode, you try to survive on the track for as long as possible, while the ship gets faster and faster and faster. It is very exciting. The graphics are good, and the music is perfect. Get this game if you want a great racing game!