Owning a PlayStation 3 just got more attractive, thanks to the release of wipEout HD. Sony's fast-paced and futuristic racer has everything you'd want after dropping $400 on that shiny new console: speed, gorgeous visuals and online play, all for a wallet friendly $20 price.

Few games show off the PS3's graphics power like wipEout HD.

WipEout HD's graphics are its biggest selling feature. Sony took eight tracks from its PSP WipEout games, Pulse and Pure, and gave them a marvelous facelift using the PS3's advanced technology, bathing each track in 1080p high definition goodness. Environments that look impressive on the handheld are three times as beautiful stretched across an HDTV, with underground pathways bursting with fluorescent light, sweet-looking explosions, realistic sun glare and plenty of twists and turns. Eventually, you'll want to progress through the story mode and rack up gold medals, but sometimes, you'll find yourself soaking in this game's magnificence, unaware that you just slipped to last place. It's that amazing.

In traditional wipEout style, thumping techno beats add that extra something special to the presentation. Cranking up your subwoofer will further immerse you in the experience, as you feel each song's beats as you boost past the finish line or slam into an opponent.

Of course, there's more to wipEout HD than its various bells and whistles. Beneath its brain-melting exterior lies an intensely challenging racer that'll keep you playing past your bedtime. Its single player mode has eight events comprised of five race types: Single Race, Tournament, Speed Lap (complete a single lap as fast as possible), Time Trial (beat your best lap) and finally, Zone, a trippy mode that becomes progressively faster the longer you survive; blow up, and it's game over. The goal is to score bronze, silver and gold medals in each, as well as acquire points to unlock the next event. This becomes progressively difficult over time, since the required number of points to reach future events is directly tied to achieving gold medals, not an easy feat with a punishing artificial intelligence that has no qualms about hitting you with a rocket.

Yes, there are weapons. If you zip over a red marker on a track (blue markers give you a temporary speed boost), you receive a random weapon, such as landmines, a bomb, machine gun, and rockets, among other toys. You may also snag temporary boost or even a shield to protect you from your opponents. If you'd rather repair your ship, however, you can use this bonus item to add some health.

WipEout HD excels because it's so much fun. We've already spent countless hours competing for the best lap times, scoring gold medals and experimenting with the various types of ships, which differ in speed, handling and other features like the photo mode, which lets us take HD quality shots of our races and add various effects. The game just has this excellent addictive quality that grabs you the moment you punch the accelerator, and this carries over into the online arena, where you can race against seven other players with very little lag.

There's also the matter of it being a rehash and that's a fair criticism. However, WipEout HD's just too good for us to care, and with the opportunity for downloadable content (new tracks, vehicles and modes), Sony has a unique opportunity to create the most expansive game in the series. So whether you own those PSP games or just want to show off your PlayStation 3 (and your HDTV), wipEout HD is one of 2008's best racing games and a must play. See you on the track.

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WipEout HD Game Guide

Our Final ScoreExcellent

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