Quote Originally Posted by Koleax View Post
Not to sound cynical (merely sobering), but Wipeout has been dead for 10 years now. Its spirit has lived on in games called "Wipeout" and they are fun in their own right. I own and enjoy several, putting at least a couple hundred hours into them total. Mechanically, though, the last Wipeout game was SE. The floaty, air-lifting gameplay that made the game so unique and genre-defining has been gone since the 20th century.

The guys that left SL? Well, mechanically they turned Wipeout into an ordinary vehicle racing game with air-brakes and barrel rolls. The games are still very enjoyable. Aesthetically and musically they are spiritual kin to Wipeout. But, they don't fly like Wipeout and nothing has for over a decade.
I agree with the essence of your post (the handling) and honestly I prefer the handling of the classic PS1 games, but at the same time I respect all the games available for PS2, PSP and PS3: for me WipEout remains an experience, and WipEout has changed after the first 3 games, this was its natural evolution, expecially in handling.

NOTE: My firsts opinions about the WipEout future was full of sadness, but now I don't believe in any way that HD would be the last WipEout.