As many of you know, I’ve been going on and on the last couple of days (or is it weeks) about Patapon. Yes, it is a PSP must buy, and yes, it is a challenge to play. However, this post is not about that game. I actually ended up with something unexpected on top of Patapon.
While getting another game for my brother’s birthday (the greatest console game of all time, in my opinion) and trading in a bunch of games (a LOT, but not all, and if you’ve been following my little project here that may gave you a hint of another upcoming post), I was able to score Wipeout Pulse for $5 with a trade promotion and still keep a lot of my credit.
I’m not a big fan of the Wipeout games, but some people are diehard fanatics. Insane people. However, I have owned every Wipeout game on the PSP (there’s been only one) . At $5, how could I not pass it up. (I broke my “no new games” rule. I’ll confess later).
Anyway, this title is probably has the best presentation I’ve ever seen in a handheld game. Name any recent feature found in games and Wipeout Pulse has it: achievements, wifi play, major stat tracking, nostalgia play, minor rpg elements, a great soundtrack, custom soundtracks using your own MP3s, JPG screenshots you can save to the memory stick, and the list goes on. There’s even a browser link in game that let’s you get more vehicles, tracks, and other such goodies from a PSP formatted website. Oh, and there’s 8 person online play. That feature alone makes it that there is no excuse for any racing game on the PSP to not have online play.
In some respects this game appears to be a giant homage to the diehard fans. However, the game does appear to be getting favorable reviews from mainstream outlets. Their only complaint seems to be that the races really offer nothing new and that the endgame can be difficult. I find that to be ironic that most reviews mention that because the Wipeout games have never really changed all that much as far as gameplay is concerned.
According to my profile’s stat page, I’ve only played 2 minutes and 33 seconds on one race. (I finished 7th out of 8 slots), but I figure I’ll probably pick this game up from time to time for some fast-paced filler.
Oh, did I mention that you can create custom decals to share online for your racers? The only downside is that it appears that add-on content for some of the items will cost some moolah. That’s kind of a bummer because the previous game offered downloadable content for FREE. We can probably thank Xbox Live for that.
It’s Final Fantasy Tactics, and I need more parenthetical references (maybe?).
Brock says
Where did that last line come from?
Jason O says
I have no comment on Wipeout, sorry.
I really do respect what you’re trying to do with you attempt to complete all your games, but the no new games rule is going to be nigh impossible to keep.
You have inspired me to do better with my collection. I am trying to either finish all of my games or at least play enough of every game that I can honestly feel like I’ve gotten something out of it. At least play everything enough to give a fair shake. I’ve also decided if it’s reasonable, I will attempt to get at least one achievement on every 360 game I own (I think I finished that one)
What I am essentially doing now is that I have to mark at least one game complete or “done” (Meaning I’ve played it all I really care to) whenever I get a new one. Two games would be better.
Not buying new games seems like a self-imposed cruelty.
Nat says
@Brock – Quite possibly the greatest console game of all time and my post was pull of parenthesis.
@Jason- Haha. I understand. I’ll have more information later today. I am finding myself rationalize about new games and make myself deals. It’s when I break them and just buy willy-nilly or off the cuff that I get into trouble.
Brock says
Ah. You should have used asterii to link to that line from above…
And you can never have too many parenthesi.
Brock says
Did I mention that I hate you, Nat?
I spent the last 2-3 days driving to every EB Games and Futureshop between my house and the timeshare we stayed at 3 hours away trying to find Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops (not Plus… stupid Konami).
What does this have to do with me hating you? Every time I went into a game/electronics store looking for Portable Ops, I would invariably see Wipeout Pulse sitting there for about the same price that Portable Ops would cost me. Every time I saw Wipeout Pulse I’d have this line running through my head,
“Name any recent feature found in games and Wipeout Pulse has it: achievements, wifi play, major stat tracking, nostalgia play, minor rpg elements, a great soundtrack, custom soundtracks using your own MP3s, JPG screenshots you can save to the memory stick, and the list goes on.”
EVERY TIME.
I managed to keep myself from buying it until stopping at the last store today on the way home. There was no sign of Portable Ops and I figured that I should have something to show for stopping at every friggin’ store between here and Collingwood. Wipeout Pulse was also $5 less than every other store I’d been to so I broke down and got it. Sigh.
This had better be a good game, though it didn’t cost that much and I’m always down for pretend achievements.