WIPEOUT FUSION - The Black Sheep of the Franchise

Wipeout gets round and fast, Psygnosis gets screwed out of devkits, and the soundtrack goes HARD! It's the PS2 Wipeout game that DOESN'T blank your memory card.

[@ArcienPlaysGames]

"The new ship designs may not be to WipEout Purists liking" I see what you did there.

[@AlecLeigh]

and probably the most underrated one too, i still come back to it in my collection of WipeOut games

[@thereviewden]

There's a lot to like here, I loved the upgrade system!

[@AgentSquirrelA]

In the lore the extra aggressive design was a shift for the AG racing league and resulted in many death. The league was closed down until Pulse brought it back after an underground group of purists started to race on makeshift tracks.

[@JohnDavidSullivan]

My brother in law used to work at Psygnosis Leeds and worked on wip3out. Apparently they were forced to go with Good Technology for the branding because TDR were omitted in the wip3out awards speech. Bit of an oof.

[@davemro]

Psygnosis had a pile of incredible games. Wipeout, G-Police, Colony Wars. All had incredible visuals and soundtracks. I would love to see a similar aesthetic on a PS5 game.

[@JohnDavidSullivan]

@@davemro indeed they did. oh he also worked on colony wars red sun. Then went to the Sony studio London to work on Singstar, The Getaway and PlayStation VR 1. But left and now independent

[@KapiteinKrentebol]

RIP Psychnosis 😢

[@davemro]

Agreed. They made amazing games.

[@NeekoFreeman]

Wipeout Fusion was my introduction to the Wipeout franchise. It's one of my favs.

[@_kalia]

It's fascinating to hear how different Fusion is to the previous games, because like you said, it was my intro to the series as a later newcomer so all of its changes are just normal to me! 😅

[@thereviewden]

And it's a great game regardless!

[@smockyjoe8755]

took the words right out of my mouth. i was gonna say that lol 👍

[@siloPIRATE]

WipEout Fusion is the best WipEout. You can't change my mind. Among other things it had the best race day atmosphere, eliminations meant something by giving you points, actual pilots, a premise and pecking order that mirrored real world motorsport.

[@LucianTheWorldGamer]

Most honest review of this game yet. This is the only one I never touched, going from Wipe3 to the PSP games. I never liked the color palette and the handling, that one time I tried it at my friend's house. But now I think I need to give it a fair chance! Cheers bud!

[@thereviewden]

Thanks Lucian! I heard it was either loved or hated, I just wanted to give it an honest chance.

[@-Poka-]

WipEout is one of the best PlayStation franchise that didn't do well for the PS2 considering it's also one of Sony's best console. WipEout kinda died in the PS2 era but lived on in PS1, PSP, PS3, PSVITA era

[@guinaevere]

Always love the information that you give in your reviews and the humorous bits that you put in! Great stuff!

[@thereviewden]

Thanks muchly! I'm trying to have a little more fun with these.

[@mountainbearoutdoors]

nothing beats 2097, it was by far the most fun to play

[@BansheeNT-D]

Fusion never felt like a Wipeout game. More like a F-Zero spin off with real teams. Because Wipeout was always this clean F1 of the future. And Rollcage was the Rallycross. As a kid, I thought Wipeout, Rollcage and G-Police are placed in the same universe 😅

[@angrymobsters1599]

All game franchises you mentioned were developed by Psygnosis except role cage 2 so i wouldn't be suprised if it is in the same universe.

[@skintightJJ]

Decided to get the ps2 back out of storage and thought of giving this a try. I never played the originals just wipeout pulse and hd/fury. Great review love your in depth commentary and honest thoughts. Instant sub

[@timpize8733]

This is one of my favorites in the series. You could actually feel the engines and the different types terrains, which made the driving less "abstract" than in previous games. The only weird part was the jumps physics. It was as if you were lifted from the ground then pushed back down. Other than that, one of the best PS2 games, and one of the best futuristic racers.

[@misteki]

the floorhugger physics were only there due to ps2 hardware limitations

[@timpize8733]

@@misteki I strongly doubt that. It was more realistic on PS1 which was way less powerful. And hardware limitations can prevent good graphics but not a physics engine which only applies to 6 objects max.

[@acecarrera1]

It's a bit like F-Zero X with its maglev mechanic rather than the ground effect original Wipeout.

[@thereviewden]

That's actually the perfect comparison!

[@juliantscorrea]

The reason why i love it

[@beanut7759]

I personally absolutely love this game. It has a beautiful cyberpunk edgy style. This, combined with the shady lore makes the whole thing a TON of fun.

[@robertnogva]

wait, was there central lore to fusion? It must have gone clean over my head when I played it as a kid.

[@beanut7759]

@@robertnogva Yeah, there was. I STRONGLY reccommend you to check out not only the Fusion lore, but WipEout lore in general.

[@unicorntomboy9736]

The ship designs are ugly though

[@ApteryxTheRainWing]

How do I keep finding you everywhere lmao.

[@ApteryxTheRainWing]

​​@@robertnogvathe lore goes crazy. Corruption, fixed races, manslaughter, Fusion has it all

[@ModificationAlpha]

The color palette for this game actually fits the history of the in-game universe for its time Fusion was during a point where Overtel had gotten control of the race commission and used their corruption and money laundering to maximize viewer count no matter what. This combined with the bankruptcy of AG-Systems and the death of Pierre Belmondo led many to believe the soul of AG racing was gone, there was even rule bending and race fixing. Ever seen the live action Speed Racer movie? Same type of villains. So for the dark dystopian state the WipEout world was in, the color palette was dead-on perfect

[@markisaki979]

I love how even though it's so vastly different from the other games in the franchise, it still manages to have an amazing soundtrack that stays true to the formula. It was through this game that I got introduced to the Plump DJs.

[@buffynatorofficial]

I`m new here and i like this Video. Good Job Den!

[@ApteryxTheRainWing]

I loved WipEout Fusion because it felt so satisfying to play. The floor hugger physics are amazing, the ship designs look good, and the way your ship gets more damaged as you take hits and wall impacts makes it really immersive

[@Bootyhunter1971]

I really like(d) fusion. Original wipeout was like trying to control a greased pig on ice, XL and 3 were good fun, but I was also an F-Zero Guy and the hadling of Fusion was very similar. I still play it, just did a bit earlier, still tons of fun. Great review! Will check out your others on the series. Thanks!

[@ilnikogo7034]

Can I say, that this was and still is the best of the wipeouts?!? I absolutely would’ve loved a remaster o remake. Or even a new version with new thing maintaining this style

[@grawtex91dnb70]

Wipeout fusion was amazing, incredible graphics to that time, but fusion had best tracks in my opinion, I love how some segments changed, how you can chosse more ways and how long tracks was. I like also deep dark atmosphere of some track with soundtrack. Every track was idea, curve under watterfal, on moon, in forest, in ice, under watter.

[@jlc5639]

Got this with my PS2. Amazing game. Loved everything about it, soundtrack was awesome. The challenge mode was dope. And upgrading the fraser? ship to it's bad ass black livery!

[@havaham]

Great video, brother. Carry on!

[@thereviewden]

Thank you so much! Apreciate it.

[@BadBoyBird]

The first wipEout game I played I still love it

[@HappyMan0203]

I've definitely warmed up to Fusion over the years. While I used to not like it for being so different and in my opinion "ugly" in it's art style, while it's still not my fave by any measure I do appreciate more for what it's trying to do, how it pushed the lore of series, and that it feels distinct from the rest of the series.

[@marumisu9560]

fair, thorough and reasonable review 👍

[@itsgood2slide]

iirc the devs wanted the crafts to be less floaty to achieve a rollercoaster-like feel. With the exception of playing Omega Collection in VR, this is my favourite Wipeout, but it’s easy to understand it being many people’s least favourite, with it being so different to the rest in many ways.

[@toto_rf95]

I love this game, one of my favourites on PS2.

[@Victorcolongarcia]

Zone!! That’s right! This game introduced this mode! I was obsessed 😅

[@peteramaranth85]

wipeout fusion my fav one out of all of them, i still have it oh the nostalgia, it had so many ideas in it i loved it, i play redout 2 wich reminds me of it

[@bludangell]

Man I LOVED Fusion and wish they would have included it in the remake.

[@bretts1646]

Gonna check out my local used game shop for a copy of this one, I've still got my PS2 in good working order and it's been fun to backtrack to older games.

[@thereviewden]

Nice! Some of these early(er) PS2 games were real gems.

[@will-todman]

I’m actually kinda excited to see your thoughts on pure and pulse next

[@Coldwater-sw6me]

Me too

[@DIMON13585]

Pulse was one of my first games on PSP

[@thereviewden]

Spoiler alert: They're coming up next!

[@thegambler9994]

Everything past Pure are refried beans. Maybe has cheese on it.

[@jyhan1q94]

Imagine racing game slander video with this. *Sony when Nintendo asks why Wipeout Fusion looks like F-Zero: Jordan Peele sweating meme*

[@sammyb106]

This is my first Wipeout game, i think i got it with my PS2 when it came out, or was a game i could pick I have alot of nostalga for his game, and its probably my entry into Retrofuturistic and cyber aestetic i do love this flashy but pseudo realistic design everything has

[@NNITRED]

Pacer dev team had a few Liverpool's team on it. They failed miserably because they went out of their way to distance themselves from 2048 and HD while trying replicate WP Fusion. The elimination of barrel rolls, side shifts, no billboards, and jumps that have no purpose and no shortcuts...all point to WP Fusion. Even Pacer's track design is exactly like WP Fusion. This was a great video. It reminded me of why I hated Fusion and was so disappointed with Pacer.

[@alandunaway3000]

The physics in Fusion is called Floor-hugger, kind of like F-Zero's.

[@gaboaaa23]

for people who like this wipeout fusion, there is formula fusion and readout. For everyone else there isnt a new wipeout.

[@selarom2018]

OK, that Van-Uber pun was really good...

[@robertnogva]

Is... Is that a reference to my pitch control comment on the whipeout two video @3:30 in this video!? oh my.

[@thereviewden]

And you NOTICED!😁

[@SavingPrivateBob]

Man really opened up with the daddest joke of 2023. Alright, I'll watch it

[@justicealistair7774]

And we couldn’t get this added to the Omega Collection?

[@PanoThePeakbagger]

Ah man, I wish he talked about the weird teams in this edition.

[@ucankushincorporations1318]

Nice review sir

[@sunray2818]

I still have a brand new PAL copy without any scratches.

[@robertnogva]

I remember so dearly wanting to like Fusion back when I was a kid, but after every play session I felt irritated and upset at it without quite knowing what it was that was "wrong" for me. besides the visual design, which I distinctly always felt was worse than the original 3 games. Such a disappointing way to start off the wipeout series on a brand new console. Edit: That's a bit to harsh of me. Looking back at it it was clearly a combination of "it wasn't was I was expecting" and the fact that I never got any good at the game that drove a lot of the frustration. I wanted the airtime and floaty horizontal gameplay of the originals and I could never get to grips with the more strick hover gameplay. Nice to see people in the comments enjoyed it more than me.

[@marcelochagra3307]

The problem with this game is the combination of tracks so "realistic" (I think the color palette puts it in the first place in the whole series), so similar to the game seen in the movie Hacker (1995), and the Contrast with the ships that look like toys. The contrast is very striking. Other than that, and some occasional slowdowns, the game is wonderful. Very funny and for me, better than all the ones that came after. The change of fov and rear view in the new generation was for the worse.

[@sunsetman22]

that's a positive in my book. this, Wipeout HD and 2048 are the only games in the series where the ships actually look like they could exist in the real world. Fusion's outdoor/rally-esque enviroments and track designs really help sell that illusion as well, especially the way the ships interact with the world (the sand in Florion Heights comes to mind, easily a top ten track imo).

[@0ooTheMAXXoo0]

I played a lot of this game. I played a lot of every Playstation Wipeout game, apart from PSP games. This was pretty good, not the best, not the worst.

[@abramlittle7102]

I loved it

[@DJChrist2006]

This one is the one I spent the least time with in the series, but that said, I probably played for over 100 hours. Zone mode was awesome.

[@thereviewden]

Hardcore fan right here!

[@CurtisLittlechild92]

The best one

[@superspecky4eyes]

This is the only WipEout game I haven't played. It always intrigued me though with it's more brutalist industrial style.

[@Dunk1970]

Having played the earlier versions, I loved fusion. It felt like a step forward to me. Mostly because of the route fluidity at some sections.

[@Cru7Vchy4pple]

Good review aside, how nice can one sound? Love the way you talk man! And your puppet fox :3

[@alexmagneiplays4555]

Man, tough break for Studio Liverpool, as soon as they get their big break with SONY they get laid off for like 2 years, then a decade later they get fired just because the Playstation Vita didn't sell as well as SONY wanted, MAN I feel sorry for those guys. RIP Psygnosis/Studio Liverpool

[@DIMON13585]

Hmm, why don't I write another comment to hack the youtube algorithm. Ps. Hoping to see Wipeout Pure and Pulse review

[@thereviewden]

Thank you! Just don't expect any open-mouthed clickbait thumbnails. I, just can't. The cringe.

[@AmaroqStarwind]

WipEout Fusion needs a remake.

[@At0micPunk90]

Good game, but I'm not the biggest fan of the greater skew toward combat in this one, especially with the CPU having access to all the same weapons as you. Sometimes I get flashbacks to Mario Kart Wii with the amount of weapons I get hit by during a race. I'm just as likely to snatch victory from defeat as I am to get screwed on the final turn.

[@Gothenburg1]

the one that tried to make the univers feels a bit alive, with caracters for exemple. I personnaly like this one as emulation, feels like a mix of fzero + starwars racer

[@Froggie423]

You use test drive backround music? Nice

[@angrymobsters1599]

I have had this one for years and i honestly wish i can like it more. It just doesn't hit the same as the ps1 entries. I hardly play it because it lacks the unique feel that the original games had. To be fair though no one has really truly replicated the feel alot of the ps1 era games especially wipeout. BallisticNG is probably the closest to capture the dark gritty low poly feel with a exceptional soundtrack.

[@Victorcolongarcia]

I like everything about this game but the handling. Too slippery. The Wip3out game was so perfect that I only wanted that game with ps2 graphics, but the developers changed the handling and included lots of changes which more than necessary were confussing. But still it is a 8/10 game. Great all around.

[@superiorsektor9075]

EXCUSE ME HOW AM I ONLY KNOWING THERE ARE IN GAME CHEATS ON THE ART WORK BRUH

[@JustinDurrantJDman]

I liked this video specifically because of 0:13

[@instainfo1435]

I more more time, but it had more bug

[@mikenewbold1699]

ps2 didn't have surround sound in gameplay mistake in 1st min turned off

[@andrewdougall944]

Need for speed. Less straight more corners

[@M1XART]

There was a LOT of hype under Wipeout Fusion. Screenshots were shown as early as 1999 and there was insane expectations surrounding the title. Absent of original quake -weapon effect and odd decision to go for Star Wars: Episode 1 Racer style camera -angle were distracting elements to Wipeout fans for sure. But i don't mind actually. Stylished, polished visuals suits well into game, that it's hard to even notice nor care about the lack of texture detail. Game simply looks incredible, thanks to framerate, style and effects like dust, waterwalls and sun light. Soundtrack is also one of the better ones on the whole series. Certainly better than on Wip3out. The real problem with the game are (unnecessary) variations of the same track enviroments. Just when you master any track, game throws you into identical looking race, but this time certain corner is blocked due alternative (and inferior) path. Sure, this issue vanishes once you complete the game, as you can then put -together Custom Cup, that include(s) only tracks you decide. But you can't help but wonder just how much highter this game would had scored if it only would had included 6 - 8 tracks, without all those ankward versions of the brilliant ones. I can see past this issue, as i only play those great tracks, never awful ones. There is enough great stuff here to call Wipeout Fusion even the best PS2 exclusive racer, if only people are willing to ignore all negative things on the game and just focus on the things it does right.

[@i_am_dementia9926]

Definitely not the black sheep anymore imo. The lame mobile game of Wipeout takes that title

[@MillywiggZ]

Looking back it was a good game but not a good WipEout game. Coming off of 3 to this was the same whiplash of going from GTA:SA to GTA IV. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t like the game, the loss of TDR’s influence was felt to me as a kid playing this and the movement wasn’t great either. If it was called something else like ‘Fusion Racing’ and tried to create a new franchise keeping WipEout as a parallel game for handhelds of something, I’d have been into it. But I still think Wip3out was the last game in the series.

[@dancoulson6579]

I really didn't like Fusion. They completely got rid of the floaty feeling from the previous 3 wipeouts. The physics were so over-simplified that you might as well play F-zero...

[@jonathonpotter1059]

Probably my lesst favourite Eipeout game, the controls suck

[@castel_komodo]

Perhaps the biggest video game disappointment. The series started to run out of steam from this episode. The driving was so boring and generic. The Designers Republic was no longer there to give a cyberpunk atmosphere. I don't even talk about the music.

[@andrewdougall944]

Another dumb resident evil movie or tavob

[@andrewdougall944]

Wipeout is ok and dumb game