Wipeout HD

The game revolves around players competing in the FX350 anti-gravity racing league, and features selected tracks from its predecessing PlayStation Portable games Wipeout Pure and Wipeout Pulse, although the content has been upgraded to render 1080p visuals in 60 frames per second, and supports stereoscopic 3D. Wipeout HD was developed by Studio Liverpool, who had desired to release a game for the PlayStation Store to stress that downloadable content was not reserved for smaller games. The game was delayed for a few months due to reports of it failing epilepsy tests. HD and its expansion pack received positive reviews upon release. Critics unanimously praised the game's 1080p visuals, smooth frame rate, and techno soundtrack – a feature many critics recognised as a hallmark of the Wipeout series. The game received controversy over its in-game advertising at the time of the Fury expansion pack's release, with many players complaining of extended loading times due to in-game advertisements. Wipeout HD, along with its Fury expansion pack, was also chosen as a free offering as part of Sony's "Welcome Back" programme due to the 2011 PlayStation Network outage. The expanded Fury version and the subsequent Wipeout 2048 were remastered for PlayStation 4 and released as Wipeout Omega Collection in 2017.

Wipeout HD is a racing game in which players compete in the FX350 anti-gravity racing league. The game features a selection of eight tracks originally used in Wipeout Pure and Wipeout Pulse, albeit updated in 1080p visuals and rendered in 60 frames per second. Players pilot anti-gravity ships owned by racing corporations (collectively referred to as "teams" in-game). The base game (excluding the Fury expansion pack) allows participation by up to twelve teams, with six ships each, trophy support, an online mode capable of holding eight players per race, and eight race tracks. The game has five race modes: the first is a standard single race, which involves the player racing to finish first to earn a gold medal; securing second or third place will reward the player with silver and bronze medals, respectively. Tournament mode consists of four single races in each tournament; the player who earns the most points wins. Time trials and speed laps involve obtaining the fastest time in either three laps or a single lap. The final race mode is called "Zone Mode", in which survival is the goal, as the player's ship increasingly accelerates to extreme speeds. In addition to the five race modes, Wipeout HD provides a "Photo Mode", which can be activated after the player completes a race. In "Photo Mode", the player can take screenshots of the completed race and may change the exposure, saturation, lens focus, or add effects such as depth of field or motion blur. Every ship in the game has its own characteristics; depending on the team selected, a ship will vary in terms of speed, acceleration, manoeuvrability, and shield strength. Each ship is equipped with an energy shield which absorbs damage sustained; energy is lost whenever the player's ship collides or is hit by weapon fire. If the shield runs out, the ship and player in question will explode, resulting in elimination from the race. However, players may replenish energy by absorbing unwanted weapon pick-ups. The weapons are the same ones featured in Wipeout Pulse; defensive weapons range from shields—which temporarily make the player's ship invulnerable to damage—to land mines and stationary bombs. Offensive weapons include machine guns, missiles, rockets, and a "quake" – which comes in the form of a devastating earthquake that damages all opponents situated in front of the player. In addition, every ship is equipped with air brakes which can be used for manoeuvring through corners at high speed. An introduction to the series is the Pilot Assist feature. Intended for players new to the series, it is a passive auto-piloting feature that pushes the player away from walls. The strength of this effect is inconsistent, making it undesirable for those trying to set competitive lap times or racing against skilled opponents. Wipeout HD allows players to control their craft by using the motion-sensitive features of the PlayStation 3's Sixaxis controller. Motion control comes in two variants: pitch and steering, or pitch only. The former allows the craft to be totally controlled by moving the controller, while the latter only allows the nose of the craft to be raised or lowered by motion control, with the steering either controlled by an analogue stick or D-pad.

A major expansion pack titled Wipeout HD Fury was released on the PlayStation Store worldwide on 23 July 2009. The pack consisted of four new race tracks, four "Zone Event" tracks, 13 new ship models, and three new game modes: Eliminator, "Zone Battle" and Detonator. The add-on also included a new 80-event campaign mode, a redesigned menu interface, several new trophies and six new music tracks. Eliminator mode is taken directly from Wipeout Pulse and centres around players destroying other competitors for points and finishing laps. "Zone Battle" is an eight-player version of the normal "Zone Mode". In it, players must fly over zone pads in order to gain enough speed and reach the target. The first player to reach the target wins, therefore ending the game. The final mode is Detonator, in which a single player scores points by shooting mines scattered throughout a race track.

Wipeout HD was developed by Liverpudlian developer Studio Liverpool. The studio wanted to take advantage of the PlayStation 3's rendering capabilities to make the game run in full 1080p and 60 frames per second. In a retrospective interview, director Tony Buckley said that the team made the decision to release the game as a PlayStation Store exclusive title before development, to stress that downloadable content does not have to be focused on minor games. Wipeout HD was first announced during E3 2007, where it was initially said to be a download-only title featuring remastered versions of old race tracks. It was also revealed that the game runs in full high-definition and in 1080p. Later in the year at the Tokyo Game Show, Sony revealed to journalists that the game would be available before the end of 2007, and would include two further game modes that were ultimately not included for the final release. This release was not forthcoming; development continued through 2008, and a shifting release date was eventually finalised in the middle of September 2008, for a release later that month. The delay from the initial summer time frame was widely reported as being due to a technical issue in development. David Reeves, CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE), stated that it was a technical problem with the game that they were yet to solve. Reports soon emerged that the game had failed epilepsy testing, and that it would have to be re-engineered before it could be released. These reports were addressed by a SCEE representative, who claimed that the delay was due to numerous improvements and added features, which included the reverse tracks, four extra ships, two new heads-up displays, the addition of a two-player offline split screen mode, and trophy support. Addressing the reports of health issues, they affirmed that they strongly consider consumer safety and maintain it with frequent care. A comparison video between the preview and final builds later showed greatly toned down equaliser visuals in the game's "Zone Mode". The issues were confirmed when Wipeout HD's director, Tony Buckley, spoke about the tests, saying that although he felt the tests were subjective and the exact issues hard to identify, they took them seriously and that the game has emerged finely with additional features, despite their initial fears that the game would "look poorer as a result". Wipeout HD, along with its Fury expansion pack, were chosen as a free PlayStation Store offering as part of Sony's "Welcome Back" programme due to the 2011 PlayStation Network outage.

The same update released alongside the Fury expansion pack introduced in-game advertisements, found in the loading screens before a race. This move was met with criticism from gaming news outlets, particularly as the advertisements almost doubled the loading time between levels, and while the game content loads at the same speed, the advert must finish playing before the race can begin. The adverts were removed soon after numerous complaints were made by players. In addition to the load time problems, there had been consternation about advertising being retroactively added into a game that had already been paid for.