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        Wipeout 2097
 

BRIEF DESCRIPTION
        Wipeout 2097  Psygnosis' futuristic Anti Grav racing game. Originally released for the PlayStation, this game is finally seen on the Amiga.
 

AUTHOR/COMPANY INFORMATION
        Author: Psygnosis
        Amiga Version:Digital Images
        Distributor Amiga Version:Blittersoft
 

LIST PRICE
       £ 25.49 + VAT
       I paid $54.95 US Dollars  from my local Amiga Dealer
 

HARDWARE Minimum:
                                  PPC 603e (will not work with 040 LC combo you need a FPU )
                                  Warp3D supported graphics card
                                  1MB hard disk space 
                                  24 MB fast RAM 
                                  CD-ROM drive 
                                  Workbench 3.0 

 Hardware  Recommended:
                                  PPC 604e 
                                  70 MB hard disk space 
                                  32 MB RAM 
                                  Sound card 
 Software Required:
                                  Amiga DOS 3.0 or better(AmigaDOS 3.1 or Greater is Required for Joystick support)
                                  CybergraphX/Picasso 96 software
                                  WarpUP V4 software (included)
                                  Warp3D V2 software (included)

COPY PROTECTION

                None

MACHINE USED FOR TESTING
                                     Amiga A1200T
                                     Blizzard 50Mhz.060/ 240 MHz 603+ 
                                     64 MB Fast RAM
                                     Two 9 GB IBM SCSI Hard Drives
                                     BvisionPPC Graphics Card
                                     Nakamichi 4.8 SCSI CD-ROM Jukebox
                                     Yamaha 4260 SCSI CDRW
                                     Amiga M1764 Monitor
                                     CyberGraphics V4.2
                                     Amiga DOS 3.5

INSTALLATION
            Is an absolute snap using the Installer program and on disc instructions.

REVIEW
Wow is all I can say is that the screen shots can not even compare to playing the actual Game the music is fantastic and gets you in the proper mood to play. A very addictive game and on my setup 800 X 600 resolutions are blinding fast. If there is the one word to describe this game. That would be speed baby speed. Wipeout gives a fantastic sensation of speed and the controls are extremely responsive. Wipeout plays like most other racing games. Checkpoints are spread throughout the tracks, and passing one replenishes your timer. The ships' shields can be replenished in a pit area near the beginning of each track. Shields? ohh yea! besides from the normal collisions with other racers and  track walls, there are a number of one shot weapons that can be picked up by running over large X's on the track. Some of the weapons are simple missiles and mines, but there are also electric bolts that short-circuit opponents, and a huge earthquake missile that sends a rippling wave up the track, heavily damaging anything within its range. the are also speed ups and you can also pick up things like autopilot which gives you 3 seconds of computer controlled steering. 
    Features
                               Highly detailed 3D graphics 
                               8 tracks with up to 15 ships racing (two are hidden)
                               3 race modes (time trial/arcade/challenge) (challenge is hidden)
                               4 racing classes 
                               5 different ship models( one is hidden) 
                               8 weapons/power ups 
                               9 CD audio tracks 
                               16 bit sound 
                                MPEG animation's 
                                Keyboard/mouse/joy pad control (configurable) 

Amiga Specific Features

                               Runs in a resizable Workbench window 
                               Supports triple buffering at maximum speed 
                               Increased distance during a race 
                               Optional fogging (I Really like this option and makes some tracks easier to play)
                               Mip mapping/trilinear filtering (with suitable hardware) 
                               Gamma correction 
                               Optional frame rate limitation (prevents the game from getting too fast)

ohh yeah  you can save your games so you can continue where you left off.

DOCUMENTATION
            Excellent Installation and trouble shooting documentation is included on the CD-ROM.  But the game documentation other than Amiga specific controls and options is missing. There was no game instructions included with or on the CD-ROM. In contacting Digital Images they promised me that a scanned Instruction Manual would be emailed to me. But as of today two weeks later none has arrived. (I had to call my playstation owning nephew to get the skinny on the finer points of playing the game.)

 LIKES
          Stable and absolute joy to play

DISLIKES AND SUGGESTIONS
         No Game Manual. I guess they assume everybody knows how to play the Playstation Version
 

BUGS
           None found so far on my setup.
 

VENDOR SUPPORT
                  So far I would have to rate questionable they answered me back right away but, I have yet to receive the promised pages.
 

WARRANTY
        Unknown (None Specified)
 

CONCLUSIONS
                Excellent product that is  a feast for the eyes, and a blast to play. 
if you own a Powerful Amiga this is a must buy for your machine 
       Graphics 10/10
       Game Play 9/10
       Music 10/10