One thing that I didn't like was the handling. It's much easier and slicker than the previous WipEouts, but it's harder to get a perfect lap as the ships' centre of gravity is in the middle rather than at the back, whcih is how it used to be. I think I just don't like it because it's new; I'll get used to it. Each of the three PSX WipEouts has a different feel and it took a while to shape each controlling method for each one. And as someone on the WipEout Zone board said, "perfect laps are for Time Trial mode. It doesn't matter in a race". (although he may be eating his words now, as in Fusion's League mode you get extra money for perfect laps)
But one thing that was really heartbreaking was the fact that the ships 'stick' to the track, and are far more low-slung than they used to be. SL says the idea was to create a 'rollercoaster' feel for the game, and they've done it very well and I quite like the new feel. It's rather like Killer Loop. But in the previous WipEouts you could catch air off jumps and fly more. Instead of soaring through the air and off the track after a jump, you stick to the track and do an Alton Towers' Oblivion-like drop. Whizzo fun, but I miss the old system. On the few occasions when you do 'jump', you don't bounce along with a satisfying 'kathunk-kathunk-kathunk' like you used to before resuming level flight, but instead you resume level flight immediately on hitting the ground.
You can no longer configure the buttons to your liking either. All you get are some stupid presets which are all adequate but just have one or two stupidly placed buttons. And one of the configurations has L1 as thrust and Square and Circle as the airbrakes! What deranged madman conceived that one?! Probably a blind, incompetent underpaid temp with no hands. I'm almost tempted to buy one of those Mad Katz controllers that let you configure all the game buttons no matter what the original layout was. I've already invalidated my warranty by using JoyTech memory cards (on a sidenote, stay away from Blades memory cards; my brother bought a PSX one, and it doesn't even work!). I like to race with Square as Thrust and X as Fire, so I can shoot with the 'heel' of my thumb without taking my thumb off the accelerator. There is no longer an option for me.
It's also a tad too 'arcadey'. I was hoping it'd be more like a simulation, like 2097.
There are some stupid bugs too. The game's a year overdue and you'd have thought they could've used that extra time to iron them out, but no. In Cubiss Float there's a bit where you fly through an ice cave dodging stalagmites (a bit like that rocky cave in the pod race of The Phantom Menace). In this cave sometimes you just fall through the floor for no reason and plummet to your death. And then the screen annoyingly fades to black and you find yourself back on the track, no doubt in 16th place. And there's a totally weird bug in Vohl Square. Very occasionally, my ship whooshes straight upwards and won't come down for ages. It's great fun, but it always loses me the race.
Another stupid thing, or so I've heard, is the Autopilot. Apparently there's no countdown or voice telling you when it's disengaging. I think that's stupid, but it's not a problem for me as I make it a point of honour never to use the autopilot.
The whole weapons announcement system is rubbish as well. The commentator lady tells you what weapon you've just picked up. What? Why? I can SEE what bloody weapon I've picked up; its icon and full name (not an abbreviation like it Wip3out) are on the screen! Tell me what the others are going to do to ME! Like in Wip3out, the only warning you get is the lady saying 'warning: incoming', and her voice is lost among the thumping dance tunes. There's also a tinnily insistent siren when an impact is imminent (as opposed to potential). Don't like that.
SL listened to people's gripes about WipEout, and that's what made 2097 such a big improvement. virtually every pilot under the sun complained about Wip3out's stupid warning system (as opposed to the previous ones where you are told WHICH weapon is about to be used against you so you can take appropriate evasive action), and so we all hoped that they would change it back for Fusion. Alas, it is not so.
WipEout Fusion has left my nerves frayed and my head dancing with pyrotechnics whenever I close my eyes. It's made my hands ache and sweat, and I love it. It's not all I hoped for, but that's only because I've waited so long for it, anticipating it excitedly and unconsciously building it up in my mind's eye until no reality could possibly match my hyped expectations. Even now it still seems unreal; I sort of can't believe that I actually own it.
It's a beautiful beast. It has a beautiful skin on the surface and beautiful meat to chew on once you get into it and start opening it. A PS2 without this game is like Morcambe without wise, like dandelion without burdock, like Chris Evans without a sub machine gun blowing off his stupid bloody ginger head. If you have a PS2, you need this game.
Graphics: 9/10
Music: 11/10
Sound: 8/10
Gameplay: 9.5/10
Lifespan: 10/10
Overall (not an average): 9/10