classic races to time trials, combat races, elimination
and the ubiquitous Zone mode represented.
As a compilation, the Omega Collection offers a
ton of content. 2048, HD and Fury were all pretty
sizeable games in their own rights, and they’re neatly
partitioned off into their own separate campaign
modes here. Each has a distinct feel; 2048 is
something of a series prequel, with a slightly grittier,
rougher edge, whilst HD offers utopian cityscapes
and skyways. Fury, meanwhile, leans heavily into
the combat side of WipEout with a darker style that
wouldn’t feel out of place in a Tron movie.
Sitting alongside these is a robust Racebox mode,
which offers up the full selection of 26 tracks and
46 ships to choose from, and includes online and
splitscreen multiplayer. The tracks are a wonderfully
designed with their own challenges and distinctive
characters; from the vertical drops of Metropia and
Empire Climb, the urban sprawl of Capital Reach
to the high-flying utopia of Sol 2 and the industrial
underpinnings of Talon’s Junction and Subway.
Frustratingly, you can’t mix and match between
games - WipEout 2048 ships can only race on 2048
circuits, and HD / Fury ships on HD / Fury circuits -
which feels like a missed opportunity, but it’s far from
a deal breaker.
Sadly, none of the content is actually new, apart from
the addition of a Tigron ship to WipEout HD. Whilst
it’s great to be able to play the games - especially 2048,
which struggled on the PS Vita - with overhauled
visuals on a current console, it would have been
nice if a couple of extra tracks could have been
added or ported over from other WipEout titles as
an additional incentive. Thankfully Clever Beans
has managed to fix a few of the niggles from prior
games, such as making the 2048 race select screen
much clearer and adding Racebox for all 2048, HD
and Fury tracks, though there are still a few oddities,
and it would have been nice to have a more unified
frontend for the whole package instead of separating
each game’s campaign modes out.
These are minor niggles at best though, as the
quality of the racing and the breadth of content
speak for themselves. Packaged together for £29.99,
the WipEout Omega Collection is an absolute steal.
10/10
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