HELL HATH NO FURY, LIKE A WIPEOUTHD ADD-ON!

The Wipeout franchise continues to be a great success for Sony, and when they told the videogame world that an high definition version would be made for the Playstation Network. Well there were many eager Wipeout fans desperate to see what developers Studio Liverpool would make with the extra power of the Playstation 3 console. The franchise had spent much of it's more recent time on Sony's Playstation Portable console and it felt as it it were time that we got something with a bit more kick. Eventually WipeoutHD was born and released in September of last year, it was a very well received digital download only title and although it felt limited in areas compared to past games. It was clear that both the developers and Sony had big ideas for the future of the game, and now we have the first big update in the form of WipeoutHD Fury. But is it worth your hard earned cash?

WipeoutHD Fury looks to simply had another spark to an already exciting title, adding some rather intriguing new content to go perfectly along with what was already well in place with the original game. Fury infact adds an impressive eight new tracks, thirteen new ship models and three new game modes. That's a lot of new content right there and it's nowhere near as exciting until you hear how much all this new content actually costs, a rather cheap £7.99 ($9.99). That's a lot of content for your buck, and it's hard not to take that into account when reviewing this piece of downloadable content. Afterall, we live in an age where we are to use to being over charged for the most pathetic of add-ons. So it's nice to see Sony give a little love in the form of this Fury update. Of course you'll still have to own the original game. 

Fury is a clearly distinctive pack with a clear overall vision, while it does add the much expected content such as new tracks and new game modes. It's the actual visual and gameplay styles of these new modes that split it apart from the original game. The three new modes that tag along with the Fury pack are Eliminator, Detonator and Zone Battle. All three modes bring something a little different, from Eliminator's frantic battles to Zone Battle's strategic requirements. They all suit the overall WipeoutHD package perfectly and don't feel out of place. If this is what we can expect from future downloadable content packs for the game, then someone build me a time machine now. It's hard to pick out the most impressive of the three new modes, but I can see a lot of people having a blast with Eliminator especially online. Zone Battle is fun though a little confusing at first, it also suffers from feeling rather basic when playing the mode against your A.I opponent though when online things vastly change and strategy is required.

The final new mode is detonator, which offers some variation in WipeoutHD's overall modes available. While it does feel very much like the Zone modes already in place, as in you don't control the speed of your ship. You do need to use your guns to take down mines sitting in the path of the track, the game rewarks accuracy and while it can feel rather easy at first. Like all good Zone modes, things start to pick up rather quickly and then the real challenge kicks in. It's the visual style of these modes that will take ones breath away and it's easy to forget what a visually stunning game WipeoutHD is. Despite it being a downloadable game, it still looks better then most current Playstation 3 retail titles. Mixed in with some of your favourite custom music and you get your own little trance party to enjoy. Speaking of music, Fury does add a number of new tracks to WipeoutHD's soundtrack and while there are a number of worthy tunes, you'll eventually find yourself sticking with your own custom soundtracks. It's also worth noting that only Eliminator and Zone Battle are playable online for obvious reasons. 

Thankfully you also get a seperate campaign to enjoy all this new content with, the Fury campaign works identically the same way as the original game and it's hard not to feel as if this form of progress needs reimagining. It's not to say that it's dull, afterall the loyalty feature to the campaign still works well. But it can feel rather bland and when compared with the rest of WipeoutHD's style, well it simply feels dull. But it does allow you to experience all this new content and it's hard not to be happy with what Studio Liverpool have added. There might be other modes fans would have wanted, but it's the fact that these new game modes are both enjoyable and visually pleasing that makes Fury stand out of the downloadable content crowd. If you weren't a fan of WipeoutHD, then Fury won't be changing your mind. But if you have even the slightest interest in the game but are yet to purchase, then this is as better time then ever. 

We gamers are use to spending a lot of money are often useless virtual content, be it an over priced Darth Vader character for Soul Calibur 4 or a new game mode that was probably in the retail game all along and simply needed a key to unlock. Rarely are we treated with content more then worthy of it's price, Fury is such a game that feels as if it should have arrived with a high pricetag and while some might still question the decision to purchase it, it's hard not to say no to such a great overall package. It's pleasant to see Sony continually offering a fair price for their downloadable content and I hope it continues long into the future. The new content added with Fury is definatly worth it's price and while it won't change the minds of the Wipeout haters, it will make those interested smile with joy at potentially the best £7.99 they've spent. The new modes are both a blast to play and visually pleasing to the eye. The new thirteen ship models are dripping with gorgeous design and the new eight tracks offer even more variation for fans to thrill race or battle on.

If I were to lay any heavy amounts of criticism towards the Fury update, it would be small and I shan't deny the wish for a more meatier campaign mode. Yes some of the new tracks won't blow you away and even feel a little dull compared to even the original set and yes, it would be nice to see some of the more extreme Wipeout tracks. But these types of things can up in future updates hopefully. If Fury is anything to go by, then we are in for one hell of a treat. It's easily worth the purchase price and adds a whole new degree of variation to WipeoutHD's arsenal, it's visually stunning and with the right choice of your favourite drum and bass tunes. Well let's just say that heaven can be a place of futuristic ships racing and battling their way to victory to you know. Some might not totally enjoy Wipeout's more graphical direction being taken by the developers, but it's differcult to hate such a style when it's blowing you away on your HDTV screen. Overall I couldn't recommend you spending your £7.99 ($9.99) on this update enough, even if your not a heavy WipeoutHD player. I experienced the Fury, and it was sweet!

SCORE: 5 STARS OUT OF 5!

HELL HATH NO FURY, LIKE A WIPEOUTHD ADD-ON!

The Wipeout franchise continues to be a great success for Sony, and when they told the videogame world that an high definition version would be made for the Playstation Network. Well there were many eager Wipeout fans desperate to see what developers Studio Liverpool would make with the extra power of the Playstation 3 console. The franchise had spent much of it's more recent time on Sony's Playstation Portable console and it felt as it it were time that we got something with a bit more kick. Eventually WipeoutHD was born and released in September of last year, it was a very well received digital download only title and although it felt limited in areas compared to past games. It was clear that both the developers and Sony had big ideas for the future of the game, and now we have the first big update in the form of WipeoutHD Fury. But is it worth your hard earned cash?

WipeoutHD Fury looks to simply had another spark to an already exciting title, adding some rather intriguing new content to go perfectly along with what was already well in place with the original game. Fury infact adds an impressive eight new tracks, thirteen new ship models and three new game modes. That's a lot of new content right there and it's nowhere near as exciting until you hear how much all this new content actually costs, a rather cheap £7.99 ($9.99). That's a lot of content for your buck, and it's hard not to take that into account when reviewing this piece of downloadable content. Afterall, we live in an age where we are to use to being over charged for the most pathetic of add-ons. So it's nice to see Sony give a little love in the form of this Fury update. Of course you'll still have to own the original game. 

Fury is a clearly distinctive pack with a clear overall vision, while it does add the much expected content such as new tracks and new game modes. It's the actual visual and gameplay styles of these new modes that split it apart from the original game. The three new modes that tag along with the Fury pack are Eliminator, Detonator and Zone Battle. All three modes bring something a little different, from Eliminator's frantic battles to Zone Battle's strategic requirements. They all suit the overall WipeoutHD package perfectly and don't feel out of place. If this is what we can expect from future downloadable content packs for the game, then someone build me a time machine now. It's hard to pick out the most impressive of the three new modes, but I can see a lot of people having a blast with Eliminator especially online. Zone Battle is fun though a little confusing at first, it also suffers from feeling rather basic when playing the mode against your A.I opponent though when online things vastly change and strategy is required.

The final new mode is detonator, which offers some variation in WipeoutHD's overall modes available. While it does feel very much like the Zone modes already in place, as in you don't control the speed of your ship. You do need to use your guns to take down mines sitting in the path of the track, the game rewarks accuracy and while it can feel rather easy at first. Like all good Zone modes, things start to pick up rather quickly and then the real challenge kicks in. It's the visual style of these modes that will take ones breath away and it's easy to forget what a visually stunning game WipeoutHD is. Despite it being a downloadable game, it still looks better then most current Playstation 3 retail titles. Mixed in with some of your favourite custom music and you get your own little trance party to enjoy. Speaking of music, Fury does add a number of new tracks to WipeoutHD's soundtrack and while there are a number of worthy tunes, you'll eventually find yourself sticking with your own custom soundtracks. It's also worth noting that only Eliminator and Zone Battle are playable online for obvious reasons. 

Thankfully you also get a seperate campaign to enjoy all this new content with, the Fury campaign works identically the same way as the original game and it's hard not to feel as if this form of progress needs reimagining. It's not to say that it's dull, afterall the loyalty feature to the campaign still works well. But it can feel rather bland and when compared with the rest of WipeoutHD's style, well it simply feels dull. But it does allow you to experience all this new content and it's hard not to be happy with what Studio Liverpool have added. There might be other modes fans would have wanted, but it's the fact that these new game modes are both enjoyable and visually pleasing that makes Fury stand out of the downloadable content crowd. If you weren't a fan of WipeoutHD, then Fury won't be changing your mind. But if you have even the slightest interest in the game but are yet to purchase, then this is as better time then ever. 

We gamers are use to spending a lot of money are often useless virtual content, be it an over priced Darth Vader character for Soul Calibur 4 or a new game mode that was probably in the retail game all along and simply needed a key to unlock. Rarely are we treated with content more then worthy of it's price, Fury is such a game that feels as if it should have arrived with a high pricetag and while some might still question the decision to purchase it, it's hard not to say no to such a great overall package. It's pleasant to see Sony continually offering a fair price for their downloadable content and I hope it continues long into the future. The new content added with Fury is definatly worth it's price and while it won't change the minds of the Wipeout haters, it will make those interested smile with joy at potentially the best £7.99 they've spent. The new modes are both a blast to play and visually pleasing to the eye. The new thirteen ship models are dripping with gorgeous design and the new eight tracks offer even more variation for fans to thrill race or battle on.

If I were to lay any heavy amounts of criticism towards the Fury update, it would be small and I shan't deny the wish for a more meatier campaign mode. Yes some of the new tracks won't blow you away and even feel a little dull compared to even the original set and yes, it would be nice to see some of the more extreme Wipeout tracks. But these types of things can up in future updates hopefully. If Fury is anything to go by, then we are in for one hell of a treat. It's easily worth the purchase price and adds a whole new degree of variation to WipeoutHD's arsenal, it's visually stunning and with the right choice of your favourite drum and bass tunes. Well let's just say that heaven can be a place of futuristic ships racing and battling their way to victory to you know. Some might not totally enjoy Wipeout's more graphical direction being taken by the developers, but it's differcult to hate such a style when it's blowing you away on your HDTV screen. Overall I couldn't recommend you spending your £7.99 ($9.99) on this update enough, even if your not a heavy WipeoutHD player. I experienced the Fury, and it was sweet!

SCORE: 5 STARS OUT OF 5!