Metacritic Games

WipEout Fusion (Playstation 2)

It's WipEout time again, with the fourth instalment of the critically acclaimed series exploding onto PlayStation 2. Once again you must push your reactions and abilities to the limit in order to leave your rivals in the dust. With 45 futuristic race circuits to negotiate, WipEout Fusion will have you corkscrewing, jumping, barrel-rolling and looping like never before. Other enhancements include the addition of the Endurance and Zone modes, superior AI and the option to customise craft handling to match each course. [Sony Europe]

SCEE / BAM! Entertainment
Racing
Players: 2
E (Everyone)
Developer: Studio Liverpool
Released February 8, 2002

Overall Metascore

This is a weighted, normalized average of all individual scores given by critics, on a scale of 0 (worst) to 100 (best).

83 / 100

Critic Reviews

100 Play Magazine
A much deeper and more immersive racer. WipEout fusion less an exercise in memorization and precision than 3...A triumph, as expected. [June 2002, p.52]
95 GameZone
Every single aspect -- the controls, the gameplay, the graphics, etc. -- has been improved 110%. You may not notice all of the improvements at first, but the game will suck you in immediately.
91 TotalPlayStation
The most accessible, fastest, most potent version of the series. It’s arguably the best of the four games that make up the series, but nobody can deny that’s easily the prettiest.
91 GameNow
If you've never played this series before, Fusion will have you searching the bargain bins for the original PSone titles. [June 2002, p.62]
90 TotalGames.net
The response of each craft, no matter how demanding, feels gloriously authentic and exudes the same order of weighty behaviour which so successfully separates A-Spec from GT2.
90 IGN
There is so much to do and so many different ways to play that you will get at months of playing out of this game.
90 GamePro
Although it doesn't break much new ground and the series' vibe has become more mainstream with age, Wipeout Fusion is simply an excellent, action packed racing game. [July 2002, p.73]
90 Official U.S. Playstation Magazine
It was worth the wait; this is every bit the Wipeout you've been waiting for. [June 2002, p.100]
85 GameSpy
It is in many ways the best of the bunch, but somewhere along the line it has lost that cool edge that made the series so legendary.
85 GamerWeb Sony
Fast gameplay and tons of features turn what could be an ordinary churned out sequel into a new benchmark for anti-gravity racers.
85 Electronic Gaming Monthly
Fusion's control, graphics and tracks are so spot-on that once mastered, weaving through the curves at supersonic speeds becomes second-nature. [June 2002, p.112]
80 PSX Nation
Fast, slick, pretty and still fun despite only being related to the original “WipeOut” series by name, “Fusion” is as good as off-line futuristic racing can feel and play on the PS2 right now.
80 Maxim Online
Taking hairpin turns and navigating loop-the-loops at 500 mph is Wipeout’s equivalent of a boring straightaway.
80 GamePen
This is without a doubt the single best looking and playing hovercraft racing game on any next generation platform.
73 Games Radar UK (Pre-2006)
We've happily sat for ages playing around on Arcade mode and vamping our ship up to obscene speeds but, when the chips are down in the League and the autopilot flies you straight into a series of mines, it's all you can do not to chew off your own face.
73 GameSpot
A serviceable futuristic racing game that is perhaps a bit too similar to previous installments in the series.
70 Yahoo! Games
There's no next generation oomph that sneaks up and slaps you on the face like that little bald orange man from the old Tango drink ads, no real sense of feeling justified for making that step up from 32- to 128-bit.
70 PSM Magazine
The adrenaline-pumping thrill, sensory bombardment, and frantic combat have been cranked up for PS2. [June 2002, p.34]
70 Total Video Games
Wipeout fans will find something to like about the latest instalment, it’s everything that Wipeout was, however that may in part be a cause of the problem, we’ve seen it all before and done it.
65 Game Informer
I'm not saying the game is outdated, I just don't think a new console makes it much more compelling. [June 2002, p.79]
60 All Game Guide
While Wipeout Fusion does not stray too far from the formula created by the original, the small pieces it does alter often detract from what made the previous titles so great.

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