Why is Wipeout Fusion hated

[Goteki]

It's an awesome game, love the handling over Wip3out's floatiness (but I only ever played two ships on the demo, Goteki 45 and Feisar) and the weird handling on Pulse (only played Feisar). I'm fine with the upgrade system. The soundtrack is awesome (beats Pulse) and the race day atmosphere is spot on with how you see the ships make it to the starting grid. I like the weapons focused racing, because you can get some great races of attrition and when you make it to the end of those and see how many eliminations you got it feels like an achievement. It felt like a proper event (although it lacked gaps to the other racers). Also, was lurking these forums and someone pointed out something I had begun to notice, there's an actual pecking order on the grid. Xios, Pirhana and a team I can't remember always seem to be at the sharp end of the grid (I noticed I seemed to always be fighting them for first place) or I'd be up against Tigron all the time in my upgraded Feisar. Also, playing Pulse and having only 8 races isn't doing it for me, give me 16 racers for a more full grid any day.

I don't have a PS3 or my PS2 anymore (I emulate the PS2 and PS1 Wipeouts) so I can't compare to Wipeout HD or Fury.

I got into Wipeout when I got a PS1. There was a demo disc that came with it and it had the Wip3out demo and I thought this is awesome, so I played it endlessly. When I got wind of Fusion I bought it and loved, then I traded it, then I missed it and bought it again pre-owned. Got 100% on everything but Zone if I remember right, then my PS2 failed, years later built a PC and found it could emulate PS2 really well so I found the ISO for Fusion and it was like old times

So, yeah, why is Fusion hated?

EDIT: How'd I forget the bloodthirsty AI. Made it better

[PureSpeed7]

I liked this game too, my favorite part was the gritty feel to it. It gets your heart pounding.

[stinkleroy]

I only played Fusion for about 2 hours but that was enough for me.

I can't exactly say why I didn't like it, only that it did not feel as though I was playing a Wipeout game, the handling was rather clunky and I hated the track design. I'm sure others have more profound reasons as to why they didn't like Fusion but those are my mine

[AGgamer]

I've never had the oppertunity to play fusion, but I know just from looking at it that it would be my favorite WipEout. It looks fast, feels fast, intense, challenging and balanced.

The new focus on combat was something the series had always needed in order to make shield energy actually make a difference in a race. In HD energy was almost worthless since absorbing could restore more than a weapon could deal. And more often than not you got weapons you didn't want at that moment and you would absorb them. In fusion you can't absorb, if you want to heal in fusion you have to go through the pit-stop and lose precious seconds of speed; punishing you for not being able to manage your health. The shield stat was what it always should have been: A risk versus reward stat. Do you dare risk having less energy in exchange for more preformance? Or will you play it safe and not risk elimination? HD this risk almost doesn't even exist, how many top players do you see using Qirex, Auri, or Triakis? not too many, most go with Ica, Hari, and Feisar, and it really upsets me how much attention those teams get because of the game's faulty balance between combat and speed. Speed is favored too much in HD in my opinion.

[mannjon]

I liked each individual game for what it uniquely was personally, but I always felt Fusion was the black sheep of the set. Although each game had it quirks, Fusion was the only one that had a radical change in the controls and physics compared to the rest of the titles.

My first and biggest problem was the controls, especially the braking. In all the other games, braking was incremental, allowing for precise handling. Even in the PS1 titles, you could partially brake and maintain a smooth line. Fusion had the worst mechanics for braking imaginable. You tap on the brakes, and its almost as if nothing happens. The brake simply nudges your ship over a little bit, and doesn't really slow it down. You have to power tap the brakes repeatedly to get any kind of reliable precision braking, and even that felt loose. For me, this alone was enough to make it a noticeable inferior title. It didn't feel like a Wipeout game, the mechanics are just that different.

Next, the track design, while not completely regrettable, didn't really have any memorable standouts. The track design was just not up to par with the rest of the series. Different sections of the track would open and close based on the track selection, which was kind of cool, but the tracks themselves felt uninspired. This was not a huge deal for me, rather a minor disappointment. I liked the addition of the open track sections that took you through mud and snow, and I even liked the concept of losing traction over the ice patches, but the overall clunky controls really shadowed this aspect of the game and was more of a nuisance than a challenge.

Upgrading ships with credits... was AWESOME! I think I liked that part the most, and for me was the redeeming factor of the game. The ship choices were already unique, but the addition of upgrades made it better. While this did allow for an opportunity to truly customize your favorite ship, it also had the side effect of creating a ship hierarchy which I did NOT like. Essentially, you are given the Feisar at the beginning of the game, and told "this is a n00b ship, upgrade it a little to progress further." Later at the end of the game, you are essentially told "this is the Piranha, it is the best ship in this game by far, no contest." In all the other games, there wasn't an outright "best" ship. The ships were diverse in their handling so that the term "best" was objective. You could be just as quick in a ship with high top speed as a ship with good acceleration. In Fusion, there was an obvious progression and a vast inequality between the different ship classes when fully upgraded.

Lastly, a lot of players that are fans likely started out playing Fusion, then moved on to Pulse, then to HD. So they don't have any comparison to the older PS1 titles. In my opinion, and speaking with a lot of other players that started in the PS1 days, they have similar feelings to me about the clunky controls. If you started with Fusion, you likely thought that the handling started out there, and only got better with Pulse, Pure, and finally HD. If you started out with the first Wipeout, you likely loved the controls through Wip3out, then hated Fusion because it was so odd.

@AG: I'm curious which games you've played to say that speed is favored too much in HD. Speed has always been the main attraction. Weapons have historically been a way to slow down the competition, and this Eliminator nonsense is a fairly new thing. Wipeout has always been a combat racer, but speed has always been the main reason to race. The emphasis prior to HD was always racing, NOT elimination. I think that a lot of inexperienced players are attracted to Icaras, Harimau, and Feisar because they are easy to play without having to master. That doesn't mean there is a lack of balance between combat and speed, it just means there is a lack of experienced pilots you've met. I personally have a "top pilot" on my friend's list of each ship type. If "combat" is your thing, there is always Elimination but keep in mind a race is a race afterall, and all that matters in racing is getting across the finish line first.

[AGgamer]

I find it funny that most of the time people don't fully understand what I mean when I say 'balance.' For me, the shield stat is one that is nearly worthless in HD (I'm ignoring eliminator for this argument since I hate that mode and it almost entirely relies on shields rather than the speedy / agility stats). I say shields are worthless because of how rarely eliminations actually happen between experienced players. The shields should represent the odds that you could be eliminated in a race, even if you are experienced.

Lets compare Auricom and Icaras. Auri straight up has worse stats than Ica, but has much more shield energy. In order for this exchange to be fair, shield needs to play a pivotal role in strategy: speed an risk elimination? or play it safe. But this risk really isn't here, in fact I think it's more likely that Auri will be eliminated than Ica. This is because of absorbing and a strategy I call "weapon-hoarding." Have you ever been in second? Right behind the lead pilot? A missile would be perfect! Maybe some rockets to really do some damage! But guess what: YOU HAVE NO WEAPONS. This speedy Icaras in front of you is eating up all the weapon pads on the track and absorbing them. If there was any damage on him, it's gone now. Auricom in the meantime is sitting back in second, low energy from rolling, trying to keep up with the Ica but it's energy is thin. I must slow down so it can get a weapon to heal. Fat load of help shields are now, huh? Of course I realize Auricom could do this to an Icaras, yes. But Icaras can naturally employ this strategy better since it has better stats.

2097 / 64 did not have this problem (ignoring Piranha of course). Each of the four ships was unique in their stats and balanced. Shields meant something since damage from weapons and collisions was higher. Rather than trying to slowly weather someone down in HD, if you got into a serious fight with someone in 2097 / 64, one of you would probably be dying before the lap was out. What about absorbing? Never there! To heal you need to sacrifice your precious speed by going through the pits. High energy craft like Feisar were slower but safer from the very real risk of elimination. A risk that is almost non existant in HD.

I hope I conveyed that a little bit better.

[miljoneir]

Fusion had the worst mechanics for braking imaginable. You tap on the brakes, and its almost as if nothing happens. For me, this alone was enough to make it a noticeable inferior title. It didn't feel like a Wipeout game, the mechanics are just that different.

I just finished playing the game for the first time (on an emulator at decent speed). I don't know where your opinion about the air brakes come from. Tapping them while turning allows me to perform a smooth slide, useful for those semi-elevated corners. It's less straightforward, I know. But this feels more realistic imo because the ships don't look aerodynamic at all which can not explain, let say, Wipeout 3-style handling on these things. I guess this would also make the game too hard. Did you ever race on that oval prototype track on wipeout 3 SE? Accelerating beyond 600 kph would cause your ship to take of with the slightest steering mistake.

Next, the track design, while not completely regrettable, didn't really have any memorable standouts. The track design was just not up to par with the rest of the series. Different sections of the track would open and close based on the track selection, which was kind of cool, but the tracks themselves felt uninspired.

I think most will agree that the huge drop on Florion height is one of the most memorable track sections of the whole series.
Other than that, I think the overall design of the game needs to be taken into consideration, in which case all the track designs fit well as they form that dark atmosphere we all like from XL but with a more modern take on it. (I think Pure applies to it in some way as well but it added lots of sunlight). Both Fusion and Pure have the best looks in the way that they use 'normal' architectural designs, rather than the Star wars neon bleep bleep of Pulse and HD.

In all the other games, there wasn't an outright "best" ship. The ships were diverse in their handling so that the term "best" was objective. You could be just as quick in a ship with high top speed as a ship with good acceleration. In Fusion, there was an obvious progression and a vast inequality between the different ship classes when fully upgraded.

I felt disappointed about that too, but I discussed this already elsewhere on the forums. The point is that this is a realistic approach, (see real F1) as the guys with the most R&D (read: most money) can build the best racing vehicles, and are as such always better at anything (safe for reliability).

That doesn't mean I find the game pure awesomeness at all times though. What I hate the most where the abrupt stops a ship would do if hit by anything from any direction. Especially later on when you unlock stuff like the gravity bomb. It's for the first time in the game's series that the AI is fully armed, but this just shows how overpowered some weapons are. (one of the races I did today ended in a mere three contenders reaching the finish line - not good)

[Rovenami]

The new focus on combat was something the series had always needed in order to make shield energy actually make a difference in a race. In HD energy was almost worthless since absorbing could restore more than a weapon could deal. And more often than not you got weapons you didn't want at that moment and you would absorb them. In fusion you can't absorb, if you want to heal in fusion you have to go through the pit-stop and lose precious seconds of speed; punishing you for not being able to manage your health. The shield stat was what it always should have been: A risk versus reward stat.

Sure, in later installments you can eliminate someone in a race if enough hits were given but in races they were highly uncommon (for me at least).

[mannjon]

I'm on the same page as you on this one. I didn't feel like eliminations were common at all until HD/Fury. And even then they aren't common, rather more frequent than they used to be. Elminations are a part of the game, but it certainly isn't the focus. I personally still find the shield stat relevant.

Additionally for HD, when you absorb, you get an amount of energy back based on the weapon. Absorbing a plasma bolt can restore as much as half of your ship energy while absorbing a leech beam restores less than 20%. Absorbing gives you close to the same amount of energy back as what the weapon could deal, and in most cases actually less. So the comment above: "In HD energy was almost worthless since absorbing could restore more than a weapon could deal" is false.

[Rapier Racer]

Just a small two cents on the energy and stuff. I think one of the toughest games to play online was Pure. I know it does not have full online but we fixed that with tunneling software and boom online Pure. Sheild mattered a lot here, the energy you got from absorbing was minimal at best even the plasma didn't offer a great deal compared to the damage it could do so you had to be sure you were making the right call when you chose to fire off those rockets. Playing it online every week I can tell you that eliminations were rife all over the place with up to 4 or 5 players being destroyed at a time! And I'm talking about skilled players. Anyone who played those sessions will tell you eliminations were very much alive and well before HD came along. I feel Wipeout Pure brought a large tactical element to the series one that is no longer present and one that meant despite the new absorb mechanic you were still at huge risk of death if you made the wrong call or took that risk which didn't quite pay off. No respawn either so you really had to choose wisely!

[stin]

RR, yes, you`re right!, Pure`s online is a total different televish! (sp?) But imagine, me, asa, Rapier, mad-ice and Lunar! that year were awesome!

Sorry for off topic!

stevie