Hello all!

Just bought a used PS3 off craigslist last week, and the first game I bought is Wipeout HD with the Fury expansion. I played the crap out of Pure so I'm not totally new to the series, but am new to this version at least.

My impressions so far is that it's just as insanely fun as I remember Pure being, and also just as challenging. I'm working through the HD campaign on novice and have just under 60 golds so far. It's a bit disheartening since as I said, I'm on the lowest difficulty setting, but the game is notoriously hard right? Or do I just suck since I'm finding it really difficult? Particularly the rapier single race on Sebenco Climb in the Vertigo "cup". I've gotten 100% gold on the next several cups after that one, and I still can't beat that particular race. Yikes!

And finally, I can't seem to get the hang of side shifting. I've read around the 'net that it's important to learn if you want to be competitive, but my reaction times are too slow to even decide if I need to use it at a particular time, let alone doing the double tap to execute it. Is there any good way to practice it? Or any other tips on when it should be used?

Anyway, despite my difficulties, I'm having a blast. My PSN name is "n8thegreatest" if there are any fellow noobs that want to race with me or show me the ropes...

- Nate