Wipeout Pure

Antigravity machines slicing through neon tracks at breathtaking speed. Wipeout Pure, released in 2005, was one of the titles that accompanied the PSP launch and immediately showed what the handheld could do. Sony Liverpool, formerly known as Psygnosis, brought its iconic futuristic racing series to the handheld without compromise.

At its core it is a pure-blooded antigravity race. You pilot hovering craft, brake into tight corners with air brakes, pick up weapons and use boosts to overtake rivals. The pace is murderous and the controls demand precision. The Wipeout series always rested on a sense of speed married to tough, technical handling, and Pure carried that essence faithfully onto the smaller screen.

An inseparable part of it is the visual and audio side. Wipeout is famous for its clean, stylish design and electronic soundtrack that fuses with the polished aesthetic into a single whole. In this regard Pure fully lived up to the brand's reputation and delivered a PSP title that looked and sounded like something from the future.

In development and marketing terms, Wipeout Pure was important as a hardware showcase. It was among the games Sony used to demonstrate that the PSP could handle graphics and pacing previously unexpected from a handheld. In doing so it helped shape the first impression of the entire platform.

For series fans it was a joyful return to a beloved brand, and for newcomers a flashy entry into the world of futuristic racing. Wipeout Pure thus ranks among the titles that defined just how seriously you could play on the PSP.

Why play: A stylish, lightning-fast antigravity race with an iconic electronic soundtrack. A demonstration of what the PSP could do right from launch.