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WipEout HD Fury is a great example of the modern games industry at its finest.
It’s digital-only, cheap to download (13.99 the last time we looked), it runs in 1080p at 60fps and it’s absolutely brilliant. But what’s equally as important is its history.
The IP was born back in 1995 when a studio called Psygnosis (which later became Sony’s Studio Liverpool) released WipEout on PlayStation One, Sega Saturn and PC.
And while it wasn’t a single format release, the game was a perfect fit for the new PlayStation generation and became one of the main poster boys (alongside poster girl Lara Croft) that championed gaming’s new post-Nintendo era.
It wasn’t until the fourth release in the series, WipEout 3, that the brand devoted itself solely to Sony’s machine. Having starred on PSOne and PS2 – and delivering arguably the PSP’s best launch title in the form of 2005’s WipEout Pure – the game also made an appearance early on in PS3’s lifecycle.
WipEout HD was a technical masterpiece. As one of the few titles to run at both full resolution and full speed, on a large screen it was a sight to behold. Purists may have resisted the changes to the controls and item pickups, but it was a fantastic title that easily justified itself amongst the current generation of racers.
The release of the Fury expansion (and the subsequently bundling of the pair in WipEout HD Fury) cemented its brilliance even further, significantly increasing the content and bringing some new ideas to the table.
And while we’re yet to learn if the WipEout IP will live on, today brought the sad news that its home, Studio Liverpool, is no more.
We at MCV want to say thank you to everyone who has worked there – past and present – for making gaming that bit better. We know what we’ll be playing tonight.
