Entertainment

Games: WipEout remix celebrates what happened when raves and games had a baby

WipEout Omega Collection (PS4). Like mainlining nostalgia
WipEout Omega Collection (PS4). Like mainlining nostalgia WipEout Omega Collection (PS4). Like mainlining nostalgia

WipEout Omega Collection (PS4)

By: Sony

WIPEOUT was the epitome of 90s cool as Bob Monkhouse doled out the questions and yuks in equal measure. Even cooler was WipEout, the racer that dragged the decade's gaming from bedrooms, slipped it a Mitsubishi and added it to the guest list for a rave.

Psygnosis’ futuristic finery flew the flag for PlayStation as a cool new plaything for the hip masses, offering gravity-defying race thrills dressed in designer threads and a techno soundtrack that begged for decibels. For a brief period, PlayStations running WipEout were as ubiquitous in Britain’s finest clubs as ladettes, dummies and Vicks. Gaming would never be the same again.

A full-phat remaster of WipEout HD, Omega Collection adds its Fury expansion and the Vita’s WipEout 2048, turning the whole shebang up to 11, with a total of 26 circuits and 46 pointy ships to tear them up in. Like mainlining nostalgia, even the box is a carbon copy of the PlayStation original (thankfully, sans cracked lid and broken door hinge).

Like many’s a 90s club night, WipEout is all about the speed. Bombing down neon tubes and through futuristic metropoli with their sharp, clean, contours, it’s like trying to grab pole position in 2001’s Stargate (the original's early level designs were reportedly toned down for failing epilepsy tests).

It’s tough but with a fair learning curve as forgiving early tracks give way to overwrought fantasias requiring Zen-like mastery of handling and air brakes.

Being 2017, the clubs of our youth are now car parks, but online play means you can enjoy multiplayer without supping overpriced WKD. For a series that has always relied on audio-visual bliss as much as gameplay, Omega Collection’s 60fps visuals take your retinas on a neon thrill ride. And if you have a telly up to the task, WipEout in 4K is the game your eyeballs have been preparing for since 1995.

Lest your ears get jealous, there’s a groaning soundtrack featuring the clotted cream of the world’s best DJs, including, yes, The Chemical Brothers and The Prodigy.

Lara Croft may have made gaming sexy, but WipEout made it cool, defining a fledgling PlayStation generation that would soon conquer the industry. And despite the shuttering of Sony's Scouse division in 2012, Liverpool Studio's memory lives on in this bells n’ whistles celebration of what happened when raves and games had a baby.