Printable View
What interests me about this game is that the first Wipeout game for the PS2 came out at the beginning of its life, now towards the end of it's life and with the PS3 established we have this, I would like to see how graphics have been improved on despite the game being for the same system.
I got this today (it took a bit of hunting around town; all the game shops round here seem to be phasing out PS2 games, and I eventually found a copy for a tenner at CEX of all places), and I've been playing it for the last hour or so.
Positives:
The frame rate is fine in 60Hz mode.
It actually HAS a 60Hz mode!
Seems to have split screen 2 player, but I haven't tried it yet because I have no friends.
The ship models look stunning.
It has ships and tracks that are DLC on the PSP.
I really like the Icaras.
Negatives (deep breath):
No 480p. Why the hell not?
Forced use of the godawful DualShock 2 pad. Even Fusion lets me use my old digital PS1 controller FFS.
It doesn't let you assign ANYTHING to L2 or R2. In a Wipeout game, this is incredibly stupid for obvious reasons. I've had to assign the airbrakes to face buttons (which I have also done on Pure and PSP Pulse), which actually somehow feels fairly natural with the non-floaty handling. But still, it's the principle that counts.
Insanely long load times between races, even when you restart a race and you'd think the game wouldn't have to load the entire sodding track all over again. Long loading times also apply when the game enters demo mode, which could cause annoyance in the future if I leave the console for a few minutes and then return to find it half way through loading some demo race, meaning I have to wait even LONGER to play the game. There doesn't seem to be any way to disable demo mode.
Lack of crowd noise and environmental sounds makes the races seem weirdly lifeless.
The game tries to play music and access data at the same time on the ship select screen, causing a very irritating skipping effect in the music.
Saving is now an exciting bonus game of chance, programmed by someone who needs their head nailing to the floor.
To sum up: Despite the flaws it's not bad for a tenner. If you get both versions, play this one first, then be amazed by the PSP version. Just make sure there's nothing important on your memory card before you try saving...
I've had the game for a few days now, and the memory card bug has become a huge annoyance. How the hell did this piece of crap get through QA?
When it actually deigns to allow me to play it, the game is superb and it looks amazing: there's even small details, like the new Eliminator skins and the extra thrusters that light up when you go over a boost pad, that aren't in the PSP version, so at least whoever was responsible for the bits between the loading screens put some love into it, but unfortunately the flakey, card-corrupting save/load system ruins it totally.
http://zibarre.iforumer.com/images/a...afccc74174.jpg
EDIT:
Ahhhh that explains it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Colin Berry
I played a lot of times and never i have any bug when i'm saving
in the memory card.
Is better having the official Sony 8MB memory cards, not the clon
cards, which can cause a lot of problems.
I don't know if you are talking about saving in the emulated
memory card in Ps3, which is knowed the emulation fails,
play the game in the Ps2.
And for the loading times, install the game on a hard disk,
the loading times are very reduced and you can really enjoy
a lot this fantastic game.
Off course having a hard disk is wonderful for any other game.:guitar
Regards.
Most memory card issues are caused by dirty contacts on the card itself (think back to the old Nintendo...well for people in North America and most of Europe anyway). Get a cotton swab and some window-cleaner or similar light chemical cleaner and just wipe down the metal tabs on the memory card.
As far as Pulse on PS2- fusion looked better, in my opinion. Pulse looks awful on PS2...
I'll second Patas' comment about a hard drive though... I have a 160gb drive in my PS2 and I use HDloader 0.8c (I think) and games boot like a dream. I ripped most of my games to the hard drive because my ps2's dvd lens was starting to die. Load times are almost non-existent, there's no further wear and tear on my DVD drive, and my discs stay in their boxes.
Wow, Pulse PS2 loading times will be non-existant then, the negative point of the game.
nah, it still has load times, just nowhere near as bad as playing it from the disc... That's just Pulse though... Games like Okami load WICKED fast compared to the disc; you jump straight into and out of battles for example...
Pulse has far more negative aspects than bad load time, though ;)
Ugh. I played grid for like 4 hours, and made sure that it saved properly. Then I loaded it up today and my profile was totally gone. I'm using regular sony memcards on a ps2 slim. I was like nooooooooooooo. Then I got sad.
After months and months of intensive Pulse PS2 playing...am returned to the "classic" PSP version, and I gotta say that the PSP version is more fascinating than the PS2 porting under every point of view.
PS2 positive points:
- All the teams and tracks form PSP's DLC;
- Great graphic/action at 60 HZ;
- Eliminator/Zone ships looks awesome, very original;
PS2 negative points:
- Memory Card bug is absolutely hateful, my PS2 memory card has a bit of damaged data for this;
- no Prototype ships;
- framerate is very crap in the most intensive sections of gameplay;
- some graphic bugs;
- L1/R1 used as airbrakes...why? And L2/R2? Strange idea.
PSP positive point:
- All.
PSP negative points:
- Now I need the Eliminator/Zone ships of the PS2 porting...
- Bonus contents downloadable only under payment.
Sadness :(
I was just watching videos for this game on youtube, and I thought it looked fantastic. Seeing all the negatives ppl talking about it on the PS2 are disappointing and upsetting.
Then again, I don't even know, even if I were to find a copy, if it would play in my American PS2, since this game was only released in Europe. And even if there are capable emulators for the psp, I doubt my laptop (2GB ram, 1.8 Ghz Core2Duo), would be able to run it well.
Oh and I don't have the money for a PSP, nor the desire, as I don't like handheld gaming. I just want this game.
Sadness
You need a European PS2, but the great news is that Pulse runs at 60hz, meaning you don't need a special tv to play it on (usually PAL region games don't run on American tvs).
The fact that you don't have to go through the hassle of importing foreign PSN cards just to get the DLC is pretty cool IMO.
But, a good alternative (to importing a PAL PS2, and a voltage converter as well) would be to get a PSP and use a video out cable to your tv. That way, it's not really handheld gaming...
I nearly died of old age waiting on the loading times for Pulse on PS2. Not so with the PSP.
Err, sorry, I didn't read your post carefully enough...
are their modchips for PS2's that let them read PAL format discs? That would be the cheapest route I'm sure.
Medusa, Pulse for PS2 is not a good purchase in my opinion: today I've played again, but the effect was a totally disgust!
At the first times that I've played Pulse on PS2 I've said that is a nice conversion, but at that time I don't have played the PSP version from months and months...now am playing it again on PSP and...I don't know, but the original for PSP is mooooore better, the PS2 porting is crappy...and the memory card's bug is absolutely F*****G HATEFUL :bomb!
I've took it again to drive my Auricom (because I don't have any DLC for PSP), but the driving system on PS2 is different, the ships are harder to handle than the PSP versions: the ships are more difficul to control at the higher speeds in the PS2 vrs that the original for PSP.
Bad new.
I finally found some time to play this conversion, and I must say that this version rocks for me :rock because I can play with "normal" analog stick :hyper. Lower fps and loading times are no problem for me. Maybe I will get angry when save bug will occur but after finishing 3 grids and few races from racebox, "save bug" this still not happen to me.
BTW. I think phantom in Pulse is craziest in whole series.
I'm enjoying the game for a couple of days now. It totally rocks! Way better than trying to play PSP version on big screen (but Pulse on PSP looks as good possible, I think only HD looks better). Yeah, there's the savebug and I have to switch memory card 2 to slot 1 while removing mc1 completely (both original Sony MCs) every time I launch Pulse, but other than that it's good, especially since I got original component cable. Only thing that really sucks is the lack of multiplayer or at least custom skins. I love my custom Assegai :|
I was playing this again recently, and I have to say, the actual gameplay I enjoy far more than PSP version, because:
-It's so much more comfortable using the Dualshock to play.
-The DLC tracks/ships are all integrated into the grids, so you don't practice the heck out of the regular tracks and then suddenly have all these new ones in just 2 grids at the end. This makes it so much more fun! The DLC tracks actually have some sort of identity to me now. I lumped them all together before, haha.
-Multiplayer. None of my friends have PSPs, so if I don't play online I have no multiplayer--this has split-screen and is really fun!
-The different ship skins. So cool!
-It does seem a bit faster. Even if it's just my perception, it's more fun!
But the major negative, as already mentioned, is the loading times (:yawn). And also the ghosted 321GO which stays on the screen after the race has started (Asa already mentioned this).
The minor negatives are that my pretty custom skins and custom playlists aren't available, and no online. With those loading times though, it's no wonder there's no online feature...can you imagine? *Start race, go make coffee, come back and drink it before it loads, race, repeat*
Install a hard drive into your PS2 then load this game on to it. Loading screen is about 5 seconds for me.
I picked up this game a month or so ago. I couldn't find a cheap PSP to play pulse, so I bought a UK PS2 copy of pulse instead, and soft modded my ps2.
I'm having a great time. The only gripe is that the framerate can drop during races with 7 cpu's. Also, they won't let you map r2 and l2 for airbrakes. I think it is missing some sound effects from the PSP version, like the crowds at the start line.
Otherwise, I love the controls. The ships look really good. And the track selection is great, I have yet to get bored with any track.
I'm going to be mastering this game for a while, until I can find a PS3 for a decent price then I'll join all of you online in HD!
I´ve been very frustrated with the PS2-version:
looong loading times and corrupted auto-saves :(
Now i play Pulse(and Pure) on PSPGo with PS3-Dualshock3-controller connected with component-AV-cable to HDTV :)
That rocks...but still i have to learn to master all the tracks since i´m a PSP-newbie and hope to meet some zoners via Adhoc-party in future!
Been playing this game in 480p thanks to this program:
http://psx-scene.com/forums/f19/gs-m...eedback-61808/
It's like WipeoutHD for poor people.
Seriously, though, it looks really good.
I don't know if I posted screenshots of it before, but I found the game again on one of my hard disks. Running on PCSX2 and a GTX 670 (That's my video card), rendered at 1080p with x16 MSAA (Downscaled to 1680x1050 because my monitor). There's still the shadow/alpha bug, but it plays at 60FPS. I think there is a slight lag with the steering, but I'm not sure because I think the handling has changed as well.
Unfortunately, no photo mode! But here's a screenshot. Or two.
Currently making progress in the grids hoping that since it's an emulator I don't get corruption. Unfortunately having an i5 3570K does not shorten loading times! God they are awful.
Maybe I can show some more screenshots in requests later. Hopefully I can manage video (Fraps doesn't seem to want to work with it for now).
There is an option to shorten loading times somewhere in PCSX2, did you try that?