Since I have recently dusted off my W3O:SE copy, I thought to share some thoughts of mine concerning the game.
After having played WO2097 (on PC at first) and WO1 (also PC before changing my default WO-platform ) excessively for years, I finally laid my hands on W3O - and was utterly dissapointed. There was almost nothing left from the coolness and sci-finess from WOXL (in fact, I mean 2097, but XL is easier to type ). Then the game mechanics had been changed - wall scraping had become difficult to master and the resulting boost when getting fully back into track was annoying. Or so I thought. Last but not least, both graphics and music had been so heavily toned down (in comparison to WOXL again) that it felt more like driving in an urban go-kart race environment than the far and exciting future. And so - I didn't like the then new package. But continued to play since, after all, it WAS still Wipeout.
Some three or so years later I still find myself playing W3O (that is, W3O:SE now) more or less regularily and can't help admitting that the game has grown on me considerably. For all I find bad about W3O, I really have to say that it's the somewhat smoothest part of the first three. I don't know how else to describe what I mean. Even though the overall experience is still much more exciting in WOXL, mastering the crafts and courses in W3O is actually a bit more satisfying. I even have to admit that the music, which I didn't think was any good at first, fits the generally more fluent feel of the game. And finally, switching from W3O to W3O:SE and so replaying the courses from part 1 and 2 really taught my a thing or two about there being much more to W3O than met my eye in the beginning.
Am I the only one who made that kind of experience or is there anybody else? (Don't leave me here like that, please! )
Well, sorry for wasting your time. I just had to give that some thought and tell anyone about it. No one I know in person does even have an idea of what AG racing is, so I HAD to bring this before you people. *g*
Ben
P.S.: Although riding the quake wave in WOXL still has NO comparison in ANY game.
SCNR!