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Wipeout 2048 PS Vita Review

10/03/2012 Family Teen Gamer Review
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Wipeout 2048 PS Vita

Wipeout 2048

Format:
PS Vita

Genre:
Racing

Style:
Singleplayer

Buy/Support:
Support Rowan, click to buy via us...


Other GamePeople columnists have reviewed this from their perspective - huh?:
Novel Gamer (PSV)


Wipeout 2048 not only lets you race on the go, but introduces great controls and cross-play features for fans and newcomers to the series.

I don't know what it is about my group of friends but most of the girls seem to go for Microsoft or Nintendo consoles rather than Sony. Never being one to confirm I've recently invested in a PlayStation Vita and I have to say I'm more than a little smug when I compare it to the 3DS.

My favourite trick is to pull out Wipeout 2048 while one of the other girls is playing Mario Kart, there really is no comparison. The graphics and sounds on the Vita really impress even next to the more recent 3DS version.

If you've not played a Wipeout game before, this is essentially racing without the wheels -- but with plenty of boosts, missiles, machine guns and lasers to compensate. It is the sort of game that takes a while to get used to, and I have to admit that my first few hours were spent bouncing into the sides of the track. However, perseverance really pays off and you soon find yourself instinctively using airbrakes to hang the back of the ship out around corners and hugging each apex.

What I hadn't expected though was how good Wipeout 2048 was for younger players. My four year old little brother often struggles to join in with some of the games I play. He has been enjoying the tilt controls on Mario Kart 3DS recently that got around his difficulties with the Circle- or D-pad controls.

After a bit of fiddling around in the settings for Wipeout on the Vita I found a Steering Assist option and Tilt control setting that made the game easier for him to play -- more so than even Mario Kart.

The steering assist helps keep the player on the track (and facing the right direction) even when they misjudge a corner. This combines with the tilt controls to make this one of the most accessible driving games for very young players. As far as I can tell anyway.

Although I think my friends are still to be convinced they were more than happy to play some link-up Wipeout between the Vita and PlayStation 3. This uses Wipeout HD on the PS3 as the host and lets you join the game from your Vita. A bunch of you can play using SixAxis/Dual Shock controllers on the PS3 while others use the handheld.

It's impressive that Sony, who is't known for being a family focused games developer, have actually done this sort of thing before Nintendo. Some of my friends did suggest that the Wii U would do this sort of stuff better, but with that console still a good few months away I'm happy to stick with Sony.

If you are a Wipeout fan than the Vita and Wipeout 2048 is a must rent game. Some might suggest that there isn't all that much new content here, but the novelty of playing on the go is more than enough for me. If you haven't played a Wipeout game before then this really is a good place to start.

The cherry on the top for us was that all the tracks are unlocked for the split screen mode from the start.

Written by Rowan Brown

You can support Rowan by buying Wipeout 2048



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Rowan Brown writes the Teen Gamer column.

"I write about my favourite games from a younger person's perspective. It's often surprising how different this ends up to other more grown up reviews."


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