Wipeout XL Playstation Publisher: Psygnosis Developer: Psygnosis Players: 1-2 (via link cable) Difficulty: Variable Camera: Far Chase, Hood

The graphics of Wipeout XL are some of the best yet for a PSX racer You can blast your opponent off the track with any number of weapons The futuristic looking ships, along with the great soundtrack, make you feel like you're in the 21st century TACH- O -METER Control: (5) Graphics: (5) Sound: (5) Replay Value: (5) Overall: (5)

OK, maybe not the best game of all time. But Wipeout XL comes pretty close to the best racing game of all time. This much anticipated sequel to the popular futuristic hovercraft racing game improves on its predecessors in about every way imaginable.

The first thing you'll notice, after going through the amazing opening video, is the fact that this game doesn't play around. Instead of your normal "press start" screen, it drops you right into the action with a menu displaying your choices. There are three different categories in the beginning screen. They are:

RACE TYPE: Lets you select the type of race you want to play. You can choose between Arcade mode, where you race a number of enemy ships, all trying to blow you off the track. Time Trial, where you attempt to break both the records in the game, and your own personal best. Arcade Link, where you and someone else with a Playstation can link up for two player Arcade races against the computer controlled ships. Then there is One on one, where you and another person with a Playstation fight one on one. Additionally, if you come in first in all of the Arcade races, you open up an "Arcade Challenge" mode, where the competition is even fiercer than before. As you can see, Wipeout XL has its fair share of race types, which can keep you, and your best pal happy for hours and hours of ship-blowing-up-mayhem. The only gripe I have is the fact that to play with two players, you need a link cable, which not many people have. It would have been helpful to include a two-player mode in the game. I realize this might have slowed down frame-rates, but it still would have been nice.

TEAM: Wipeout XL allows you to choose the team that you race with. The four teams already available are Feisar, AG Systems, Auricom Research, and Qirex. As in most games, the craft in each of these teams range from the slow but very maneuverable, to the lightning fast, but out of control vehicles. I recommend using the maneuverable vehicles, as the tracks take many turns, most of which cannot be seen before hand. The vehicles in this game are simply beautiful. Each team's craft is distinctly different in appearance, adding even more to their differences. When racing, there are up to six craft on the screen of once, without a frame-rate hitch. I give much praise to Psygnosis for this.

CLASS AND TRACK: The "Class and Track" menu allows you to choose the difficulty and the type of track you want to race. The 3 levels of difficulty range from Vector, the easiest class, to Rapier, the hardest. In the middle is the Venom class. Again, praise goes to Psygnosis for superior design. Each track is completely different, and yet they all adhere to the futuristic theme of the game. Neon lights and steel structures gleam beside the track. And, depending on the track you're on, the geographical features stand out on the outside of the track, giving you the feel that everything else on Earth is gone, except for this track.

These are all great additions to a game, but Wipeout XL's standout feature is without a doubt the sound. The effects in the game are stellar, and sound like you really are piloting a late 21'ST century hovercraft. The jets howl as you proceed faster and faster down the track. Other sounds, such as weapons firing from your craft, or the sounds of a passing enemy ship, give their respective, and completely different, sounds, and it's all crystal clear. The music of Wipeout is even more impressive than the effects. With contributions from bands such as The Prodigy, The Chemical Brothers and Fluke, as well as Psygnosis' award winning in-house band, the pounding music in Wipeout XL gives you great "driving music" straight from the 21'st century.

The graphics of Wipeout XL are amazing. The polygonal ships are beautifully represented with brilliant colors, and respective team decals. The tracks are also eye candy, bringing some of the best graphics I've ever seen in a Playstation game. Frame-rates are always blazing, no matter if you have one ship on the screen or six. Additionally, load times in Wipeout XL are virtually non-existent. When a game is loading, you are present with a computer readout-type screen, which shows the loading progress. The load times of the original Wipeout, at least on my Playstation, were ridiculously long, and I'm very glad Psygnosis has remedied this problem.

Wipeout XL is, in this writer's opinion , the greatest Playstation racing game ever. I only hope that Wipeout 3 improves on this game as much as Wipeout XL improved on Wipeout. Or is that possible?

-Andrew Sturgeon