Wipeout HD: A speedy trippy experience

PlayStation classic Wipeout has made its way onto the PS3 in 1080p HD.

Some games never die. Wipeout, an arcade racer and Sony hit since 1995 and the early days of the original PlayStation has just been reborn in striking 1080p HD visuals, 60 frames a second and in Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound as a download from the PS3. Light years from the old PSOne (relive that one

here

).

Downloading is easy, it's only a gig and an easy way to get a game on impulse.

There's still something about high-speed hover racing that gets the heart pounding with those futuristic phantom racers speeding around corners, picking up weapons, slathering the competition, gathering speed boosts, attempting barrel rolls and still accompanied by the techno music which sounded radical back then.

All those gaudy colours and unsettling angles as you go through tunnels still feel like some sort of psychedelic trip. When I had mates around to relive their gaming past, a few had forgotten how hard the ride was as you get up speeds. Oddly, it feels a lot faster than many of today's games.

This gives you a taste of how it looks:

This version is not a new game and is borrowed from recent Wipeout versions like Pure and Pulse but that's fine. Modes are; single race, time trial, speed lap tournament, and the most fun one called Zone where you speed up to the point you blow up or exhaust your energy!

There's plenty of weapons - the usual missiles, rockets and mines plus a leach beam that zaps the speed and energy of opponents.

Here's one reason it works besides the extraordinary eye candy (this old-timer may be a contender for the best looker so far on PS3) : it's so easy to play. Anyone can pick up the controller and go for it. It doesn't take long to unlock the vehicles. There's not a steep learning curve unless you are totally un-co-ordinated. So this is just arcade-style adrenaline packed fun for all ages.

You can switch on an AI helper to stop you slamming into walls if you're getting motion sick or had a few too many. There's a photo mode to take screenshots, add a few effects and save to your hard drive. There's online play for eight.

Drenched in HD on my big screen and keeping to tradition, Wipeout HD is impossible to fault.

MadGamer's rating: 10 / 10

Time Crisis 4

PS3

Another recent step into nostalgia updated on PS3 that I've been enjoying was the arcade shooter Time Crisis with a rather accurate new G-Con 3 light gun for use on LCD/Plasma screens with the fourth edition in the franchise to appear on Sony's new HD console.

Namco Bandai's Time Crisis 4 is familiar territory but again easy to play so highly enjoyable. Like Wipeout, it looks great in HD and feels re-born with a stellar arcade mode that played co-op is hard to beat. The addition of features such as new weapon types and extending lives the more you play (and die) as well as first person shooter mode (5 stages) and the odd-ball minigames lend the game a welcome reception on the new console.

You're playing as a member of a global task force stopping terrorists from getting their hands on new biological weapons. And boy do I mean biological - bugs with brains after-your-hide ferocity. You aim the G-con 3 (using a healthy length of USB cable - sadly it's not wireless) at the TV screen to shoot your way out of trouble and save the world from the evil guys or use the other in-game weapons such as the infallible semi-automatic and shotgun. Duck for cover and practice your aiming accuracy as you sneakily lob grenades at the bosses.

There's a new FPS complete mission mode, crisis missions and heaps of mini-games for multiplayer. Plenty of unlockable stuff make this the sort of game you can keep picking up and having a blast at. Plenty of action, good for 30-inch LCD screens or better, but a high price at $159.95.

Yes, some things old reborn can be hard to beat.

MadGamer's rating: 7.5 / 10