The first thing that strikes you when you start playing is how pretty the game looks. Once you get onto the tracks, it looks incredible, particularly the futuristic parts of the tracks. While the non-futuristic sections (like bridges, ponds, concrete) aren't too bad, they feel really bland compared to the sleek and stylized aesthetics of the futuristic sections. I did find that the in-game photo mode (of which I used for this review) doesn't do the game justice at how amazing the visuals are. The screenshots seem less distinct and more blurred than the in-game footage. The controls are decent and the gameplay is fun. There are a few types of races - the normal races with or without power ups, time trials and combat focused. While these different types of races help mask the fact that there aren't a large number of tracks (only 10 unique tracks), by the time you get to the third season (2050), it becomes repetitive in terms of the environment because you have raced in them for many times now.
That isn't even noting that you'll be playing the same tracks in the multiplayer component. The speed as you're rushing through the tracks is huge fun. In the beginning, you don't need as much skill to keep progressing, which is good for beginners to slowly get a handle on how the game works. While the rushing speed is a plus, it is also a con in that it can get hectic and confusing, especially during combat type races where you may not see obstacles (tight corners, mines) until the last split second before you hit them. Add this with twisting turns that you need to pay attention to and airbrake to smoothly make the turn and you can find yourself smashing into walls and other vehicles often, especially if you're racing that event for the first time.
I wish that there were more weapon options, it feels really limited and you've effectively seen all the weapons on offer in your first two combat events (there are only eleven power-ups available, some of which are quite similar to each other). The single player campaign is effectively one race (of differing types as mentioned above) strung after another with literally no story or anything to connect the together. Slightly disappointing but not unexpected since racing games rarely have solid stories. It makes the single player feel like something is missing. Sure, you can imagine yourself as one of the contenders powering through each year's season but it's not the same. I like how there are two requirements for each event, a "pass" requirement which is easily doable and an "elite" requirement that requires more skill and patience. Usually the "pass" requirement isn't too strict (like finish 4th in a race) which means it doesn't hinder your progress through the game's seasons.
You can always come back to try to get 1st if you wish, this is great and streamlines the single play campaign (as well as the replay factor). The music is upbeat and appropriate, giving you a sense of speed. The race tracks themselves are not a pushover, there were those that were easy and a breeze to pass, but more often than not, they presented some difficulty. This is true especially towards the end of the campaign where you would often play the same event a few times as you learn the tracks to get a decent finish position. Things changes rapidly during the races, one second you may be 1st but the next you're 8th if you didn't take a corner perfectly or whatnot. While this presents more of a challenge, sometimes it gets slightly annoying. 2050 is where events gets much harder than anything before it. It also makes you realise the fact that you need to know the precise timing to airbrake to make tight corners, which is plain annoying if you're not a good racer.
The tracks can be too narrow for casual fun, you need perfection... otherwise you will bounce off from one wall to the next. You will end up raging in certain tracks, the ones I found hard (because I am not proficient enough) were the ones where you are restricted to a certain class of vehicles, racing against various other classes, which can be superior (in speed or combat). The multiplayer component feels grinding. The developers tries to make it more meaningful by placing objectives that you fulfill in the events to get to the next node (similar to single player). However, there are 210 of these events... and you don't get to choose which tracks or which type of gameplay you want. The game picks two randomly and players vote on which one they're prefer more. It takes away the choice when you just want to race.
I admit, the developers had the right idea to not focus on race rankings but the objectives are sometimes annoying (hit two specific players with a weapon which becomes hard if that player is much better than you), although if you fail an event three times, you can still progress to the next one. Other than that, multiplayer isn't too bad, it's more of the same. It's not hard to find a game although it's harder to find a game with eight players. Overall, Wipeout 2048 is a decent racing game that's quite fun to play. The visuals are amazing and while I would have loved heaps more variety in terms of tracks and weapons, it's worthwhile getting it on the Vita.
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