yo! one more time in case you didn't see the Pure review, this is a continuation of my wipeout review series i started on my Cohost over the summer. if you didn't get the chance to read those before Cohost shut down, (rest in peace, sweet prince) i've got you covered. listed below are links to reuploads of each review on my backloggd, and if you want a better idea of what's going on, i recommend you go ahead and catch up. don't worry, i'll still be here when you get back. go do some required reading.

1. wipE'out"
2. Wipeout XL
3. wipE'out" 64
4. wipEout 3
5. wipEout Fusion

folks, i've got great news. we've finally arrived at my favorite entry in the whole series, and my introduction to the Wipeout games as a whole. this was the second and last PSP entry, and it's astonishingly good for what it is. if Pure was a stepping stone to something great, Pulse is the other side of the lake you arrive at. it takes everything Pure did and expands on it tenfold.

alright, technically Pulse isn't a PSP exclusive. it came out on the PS2 as well, but only in Europe for some reason. actually, its launch order is pretty weird. it came out first in Australia, of all places, then in Europe a day later, and then finally in North America about two months later. no Japanese release this time, strangely enough. i've never played the PS2 version, but due to the PSP's heavy focus on things like online play and DLC, i'd imagine the console port is not the way to go this time. apparently it does include all the DLC, but because it was exclusive to Europe, it's locked to 50hz. not to mention, blowing up PSP games to run on the TV doesn't usually look all that great. they're meant to run on the smaller screen, and putting them on the big screen just makes their flaws stand out more. that's not to say Pulse is a bad looking game, far from it. it's one of the best looking games on the system, and runs at a very respectable framerate for the PSP. it chunks out a little here and there, but for the most part it looks great. back to the PS2 version, it's also missing the custom soundtrack feature, and overall i've just heard it's a sloppy port. you know the drill, poor optimization, input delay, and apparently it's even got a save data glitch that can corrupt your file. all that is to say, just play the PSP version, it's way better.

in terms of gameplay, Pulse takes everything Pure tried to do and does it way, WAY better. instead of the single race medal setup WO3 and Pure had, we now have the Grid. the Grid contains a set of trials you must complete to earn medals, and these can be anything from Single Races, Time Trials, Speed Laps, Eliminator matches, and even Zone endurance challenges. just like before, you can get Gold, Silver and Bronze, and it's super satisfying to work your way through every mission, and seeing the grid slowly fill in with gold medals. there's also difficulty settings in case you're struggling, which is greatly appreciated. i think this is the best single player the series has done so far, and isn't rivaled until we reach the final stop on our world tour. (2048) and while there are only 12 tracks in the base game, they really get a lot of mileage out of these. first of all, the track design here is excellent. Pure's tracks felt rather boring, due to the pretty flat layouts and sluggish controls. Pulse, on the other hand, introduces one new thing that really blows the track design possibilities wide open: Mag-Strips. these are certain sections of the track that make the driver "stick" to the track, allowing for unique setups such as racing on walls, going through loop-de-loops, 90 degree hills, and much more. if Pure was Mario Kart 7, Pulse is more like Mario Kart 8. they seem very similar on the surface, but after playing each for a bit, it's plain to see that one is much more fleshed out than the other. not to mention, all of my issues regarding the physics with Pure have been smoothed out here, ships feel way more responsive and easy to control, and i'm no longer slamming my face into walls every couple of turns.

this brings us to the wifi functionality of the game, which i would love to say has been thoroughly expanded upon, except... y'know, i can't really access that stuff anymore. that being said, i CAN research what it was originally like, and give you the basic gist of it. originally, you'd be able to access the wipeout-game.com website from the psp, and download some extras. you could get new tracks, some globally tracked stats, and the coolest thing to me: create and download custom ship skins, which you could then utilize in game. really creative stuff here, i wish it still worked. aside from the website itself, there was of course the DLC packs and online play. for the DLC packs, we have the Mirage, Icaras, Harimau and Auricom packs, each containing two tracks and a ship. just like Pure, though, i couldn't get these to work, and this time it's not due to my incompetence. for whatever reason, the DLC for Pulse only ever released in Europe, and i have the North American version of the game. so even if i could figure out PSP DLC, it wouldn't matter, because my copy of the game doesn't support it anyways. if you ask me though, the base game's content is pretty beefy as is, so i really don't mind this. one more thing about wireless is that Pulse actually supports game sharing! yes, the very rarely used Download Play feature the PSP had actually gets to shine here, you can send other PSP users who don't have the game a small demo that can be used to play single-copy multiplayer. i recall one time in 9th grade i got to play this with my friend Bailey at lunch, and i remember it working surprisingly well. you know, i've actually just now realized that custom content is a huge part of Pulse. you can import your own soundtracks, unlock different ship skins by racking up loyalty points (or just make your own), create a custom campaign in the form of the grid editor, it's a weirdly prevalent aspect that permeates the whole game, and i kind of love that.
and finally, this brings us to everyone's favorite segment: Mot talks about the soundtrack! and listen, i think this might be the best lineup yet. DJ Fresh's X-Project is a perfect high energy main theme for Wipeout, and gets you pumped up to get into the game. Aphex Twin returns with Fenux Funk 5, which is somehow both invigorating and melancholy at the same time, it's pure focus distilled into a 3 minute song and it's earned its spot as one of my favorite electronic tracks ever. Move Ya! and Steve Lavers team up to create Chemical, a track with an uncertain funk to it that's full of springy synths and beeps, and i simply can't get enough of it. DJ Mason's Exceeder had me convinced it was Daft Punk for a second with its disco flavored undertones and digitized vocal flairs, and it's just excellent in that regard. an excellent lineup that works perfectly for Wipeout's usual flavor of electronic, and it's my favorite tracklist in the series so far.

Pulse is a great package and a perfect starting point for anyone wanting to get into the modern Wipeouts. there's tons to do, an amazing soundtrack, tons of customization options, and some of the best feeling gameplay thus far. it's an excellent starting point, and i can't recommend it enough. my only issue is that it didn't get as much support as Pure did, and if you're going in with the DLC, Pure has it beat in that regard. but the base tracks of Pulse are so much fun that i honestly don't even mind.