Originally Posted by
Delci
The only thing that irks me are the Time Trial and Speed Lap races in general; I find myself frowning every time I see either event in a grid. The harshly strict gold medal time-limit they expect you to cross the finish-line under borders on needing near-supernatural skill.
That, or select the 'race again' option four to seven times until you reach the limit just nanoseconds before silver or - ugh - bronze. The only way to achieve gold in those challenges seems to rely entirely on not hitting anything, crossing every mag-strip (again without colliding into anything) and using the free turbo in just the right spots: with all of these accomplished, you will be lucky to make it with barely under a second left to spare.
One thing I agree on is how in Rapier, the AI tear you apart with weapons...but that's not as annoying as, again, the time-limits of Time Trial and Speed Lap. I haven't made it to Phantom yet, though, and I hear that's where the frustration kindles...
On a completely different note, I find myself missing the old sound-effects of the menus from earlier games. My favorite WipEout incarnation so far was the original for the PS1 in 1995 (it was just plain 36K, I think); the quirky menu-sounds, the weapon-grid activation sounds during races, the 'dark' atmosphere and most definitely the music.
Pulse's vibrant colors, intricate graphics for its type and the almost-poetic descriptions of the tracks spoken by a robotic voiceover before each race makes it a highly worthy WipEout installment; there are some good music tracks here and there, but others lack the classic WipEout 'feel'; even so, this version hits home, even with the flaws that people seem to be finding.