Hello everybody! What you’ll find below is a specially narrated cut of the cinematic intro to WipEout 2048 on PlayStation Vita. Essentially, the movie’s goal is to take you on a journey through the evolution of motorsport in Studio Liverpool’s vision of the world, up until the point where Anti-Gravity technology has replaced modern day automotive technology and the first season of the Anti-Gravity Racing Championships has kicked off on the streets of Nova State City. So, without further ado, sit back, press play and let Game Director Graeme Ankers and Art Director Lee Carus take you on a trip through time to the year 2048.

(more…)

Score:

• 31 Comments
• Share on Twitter
• Share on Facebook

Hi Everyone, this is Karl Jones (Lead Designer) and Stuart Tilley (Game Director) of WipEout 2048 for PS Vita.

The new WipEout game is our biggest and most adventurous ever, with loads of awesome new stuff for you to get your hands on come February 22nd. But almost every game has at least one cool feature that sadly finds its way to the cutting room floor, and WipEout 2048 is no exception L. Earlier this year we prototyped a new (hidden) game mode called ZOMBIE.

Now, this is WipEout, so our zombies were never going to be the sluggish, lumbering, flesh-eaters you’re familiar with. These are 1000mph steel and carbon fibre machines of menacing evil, and they want you dead…

The rules of ZOMBIE were simple enough – survive the horror for as long as possible by avoiding or taking out the Zombie ships. You start in darkness, alone on the track. Then you hear them in the distance, the digital scream of their engines filling you with dread. They start to show up on your Zombie radar, a handful at first in hot pursuit and full of ominous darkness. Then they’re on you, ramming you, destroying themselves if need be, but they’re taking you with them. You can pick up Cannons and the occasional (but very rare) Quake to defend yourself, but it’s only going to delay the inevitable – you will die. As time goes by, more and more Zombie ships appear, becoming more and more aggressive, until you are surrounded by a swarm of carbon-clad deliverers of Armageddon, and that’s before a Zombie Mother-ship even shows up…shudder!

Our prototypes showed that it was a lot of fun to flee from a horde of terrifying Zombie ships, but ZOMBIE was just one of a number of cool modes in prototype. In the final reckoning, we made the call to put Zombie mode on the back burner. That said, like a real-life Zombie, ZOMBIE mode is dead, but it’s not completely dead.

ZOMBIE mode won’t be in WipEout 2048, but we’ve still got loads of great game modes sprinkled in amongst our awesome Races. Head to Head, Speed Lap, Zone Mode, Time Trial and Combat events – every one of them with its own online leaderboard so you can fight for position against your friends and even the rest of the world.

That’s all from us for now. Don’t have nightmares.

Score:

• 81 Comments
• Share on Twitter
• Share on Facebook

If there’s any game series that’s synonymous with PlayStation, it’s Wipeout. This fast-paced combat racer has appeared on every single PlayStation console, and now it’s preparing to make the jump to PS Vita with Wipeout 2048. We recently interviewed producer Michael Pulst, who gave us a tour of the new control options (front and rear touchscreen as well as motion controls), gameplay refinements, and multiplayer support between PS Vita and PS3. Read on for highlights from our interview.
(more…)

Score:

• 22 Comments
• Share on Twitter
• Share on Facebook

The WipEout series is synonymous with PlayStation hardware launches and so there’s a warm feeling of familiarity to knowing that WipEout 2048 is coming to PlayStation Vita during the launch window.

The game focuses on the birth of Anti-grav racing and the Liverpool Studio team is keen to focus on how the architecture of the futuristic city shapes both look and gameplay. I caught up with Graeme Ankers and Stuart Tilley out in the sunshine between presentations.

It’s fantastic to see a new WipEout game on its way, particularly one that is looking to take the series in a new direction. We already know that it will support cross platform play allowing Vita and PS3 players to go head-to-head online and I’ve just learned that the soundtrack – a vital ingredient in the WipEout DNA – features new remixes of Underworld and Leftfield tracks from the original game, as well as a new track from Deadmau5.

Can’t wait!

Score:

• 19 Comments
• Share on Twitter
• Share on Facebook