Wipeout XL (also known as Wipeout 2097) is a legendary futuristic anti-gravity racing game developed by Psygnosis for the PlayStation in 1996. Renowned for its blistering sense of speed, iconic graphic design by The Designers Republic, and a groundbreaking licensed electronic soundtrack, it remains one of the defining titles of the PS1 era. You pilot heavily armed, high-speed hovercrafts across futuristic circuits, relying on split-second reflexes and a lethal arsenal of weapons to dominate the competition.
How to Play
The primary objective is to win races across increasingly demanding speed classes while managing your ship’s shield energy; taking too much damage from weapons or wall collisions will destroy your craft. Steer with the D-pad, hold the Cross button (often mapped to the Z or X key in the browser) to accelerate, and use the Square button to fire weapons picked up on the track. The most important controls are the L2 and R2 shoulder buttons, which activate your left and right airbrakes. Learning to tap the airbrakes is essential for cornering smoothly at high speeds.
Tips
- Pit lane strategy: Your shield does not recharge automatically. If you take too much damage, you must drive through the narrow pit lane located on each track to repair your craft. Balancing track position against taking time to pit is crucial on higher difficulties.
- Master the airbrakes: Tapping the inside airbrake (L2 or R2) while turning allows you to slide smoothly through tight corners. Mastering this is the only way to avoid grinding against walls and losing speed.
- Hit the speed pads: Memorize the track layouts to consistently hit the glowing blue chevron speed pads. Stringing these together is necessary to beat the AI in the demanding Rapier and Phantom speed classes.
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