WIPEOUT 2097/XL The Original FAQ
FAQ Edition 1.04 by Matthew Sephton
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CONTENTS
1.0 Introduction
1.1 The Game
1.2 Graphics
1.3 Music
1.4 Gameplay
2.0 Playing Concepts
2.1 The Joypad
2.2 Driving
2.3 Teams
2.4 Classes & Tracks
2.5 Weapons
2.6 Ghost Racers
3.0 Cheats
3.1 Challenges
3.2 Hidden Options
3.3 Shortcuts
3.4 Fast Starts
4.0 What Do You Know?
4.1 Contacting The Author
4.2 Release
4.3 E&OE
4.4 Thanks
5.0 Version history
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1.0 INTRODUCTION
This FAQ aims to be the definitive source of information for the PlayStation
game Wipeout 2097 (Wipeout XL in USA), henceforth WO2. It serves no other
purpose. The PAL manual for this game is really quite poor, with some aspects
of the game barely getting a mention.
1.1 THE GAME
What a game! WO2 is easily on par with Motor Toon Grand Prix 2 as
the best game on the Sony PlayStation. It's graphics are by far the
best I have ever seen on any games machine, arcades included. They
are shifted at such a rate that my eyes cannot keep up. It features
time trials, arcade racing, challenges, different difficulty levels
and lots more.
1.2 GRAPHICS
Unbelievable! The graphics are unprecedented, making the original
Wipeout look quite dated. Some of the explosion effects make a
great showcase for the PlayStation's hardware. You really won't
believe how fast the polygons are moved about (150k+ per second according to the Psygnosis web page). Track detail has also risen
to a new level, with more animated roadside objects, and there are
even up to 15 cars on track at once! The Designers Republic also
deserve a mention as they have once again outdone themselves with
their distinctive touch of graphic design.
1.3 MUSIC
Psygnosis have excelled themselves once more in putting together an even better line-up of artists for the soundtrack for WO2:
TRACK TITLE ARTIST TRACK TITLE ARTIST
Intro Herd Killing FSOL 6 Loops of Fury CHEM. BROS.
1 We Have Explosive FSOL 7 The Third Sequence PHOTEK
2 Landmass FSOL 8 Tin There UNDERWORLD
3 Atom Bomb (Instr.) FLUKE 9 Firestarter (Inst.) THE PRODIGY
4 V Six FLUKE 10 Canada COLD STORAGE
5 Dust Up Beats CHEM. BROS.11 Body In Motion COLD STORAGE
For those of you who are thirsty for more then 'Wipeout 2097: The
Soundtrack' is available to buy in the shops:
TRACK TITLE ARTIST TRACK TITLE ARTIST
1 We Have Explosive FSOL 8 Firestarter THE PRODIGY
2 Atom Bomb FLUKE 9 V Six FLUKE
3 Loops of Fury CHEM. BROS. 10 Musique DAFT PUNK
4 Tin There UNDERWORLD 11 2097 SOURCE DIRECT
5 The Third Sequence PHOTEK 12 Titan PHOTEK
6 Leave Home (UW2) CHEM. BROS. 13 P.E.T.R.O.L. ORBITAL
7 Herd Killing FSOL 14 Afro Ride LEFTFIELD
1.4 GAMEPLAY
Newcomers may find the game difficult at first, but perseverance
will be rewarded with hours of fun. Taking into account the
different game modes, the number of courses and the additional
bonuses makes for a great game.
Experimentation with driving lines is the only way to improve lap
times. Learning how each weapon operates and where is best to use
it is the key to ploughing through the field in a race.
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2.0 PLAYING CONCEPTS
As with any other game playing skills will improve over time.
Perseverance is the key. If you have played the original Wipeout
then, you can probably select the AG Systems or the Auricom cars
from the start without having too much bother. It's up to personal
preferences really.
2.1 DRIVING
Craft control may be the hardest part of the game, especially for
newcomers. It is essential to understand that they are anti-gravity
machines and so will handle more like a hover-craft than a
conventional car.
Steering can be difficult, especially when travelling at the high-
speeds of Rapier and Phantom classes. There is one method that can
be easily adopted. Instead of pressing left and right with separate
movements of your thumb (which is far from ideal when trying to
achieve quick reaction times) hold your thumb centrally on the
joypad and roll it in the relevant direction. I think you will find
that this saves time and increases reaction time.
To turn tight corners more easily tap the relevant air-brake whilst
still accelerating, causing your machine to skid or slide. It is
sometimes more beneficial to hold down the air-brake to really make
your back end slide out.
It is essential that a good driving line is taken. Try to enter
corners wide and get as close to the apex as you can without
hitting it, never forget that you do have left and right air-
brakes. Take time to learn the layout of each track, especially
prior to a challenge.
2.2 THE JOYPAD
Here is a list of the default joypad buttons and their functions.
BUTTON FUNCTION
Up Nose down
Down Nose up
Left Turn left
Right Turn right
Square Discard weapon
Triangle Change view
Circle Use weapon
Cross Accelerate
L2 Left air brake
R2 Right air brake
Start Pause menu
2.3 TEAMS
Each team has their strengths and weaknesses, with top speed
increasing through the teams. In my opinion the best all round
standard car is the Auricom. Die hard racers may prefer the Quirex.
There are five teams.
TEAM THRUST TOPSPEED TURNING AERODYNAMICS SHIELD
Feisar 6 3 7 7 6 Beginner
AG Systems 7 5 6 6 3 Amateur
Auricom 5 6 5 5 5 Intermediate
Quirex 4 7 3 5 7 Expert
Piranha 10 10 10 10 10 No Weapons
2.4 CLASSES & TRACKS
There are a total of eight tracks over the four classes. See 3.1,
gaining Phantom class also lets you race any of the 8 tracks at any
class - you are not limited to the first two at Vector, the next
two at Venom etc.
VECTOR VENOM
Talon's Reach EASY Valparaiso TRICKY
Sagarmatha EASY Phenitia Park TRICKY
RAPIER PHANTOM
Gare D'Europa HARD Vostok Island VERY HARD
Odessa Keys HARD Spilskinanke VERY HARD
2.5 WEAPONS
To master the game it is essential that you learn what each weapon
does and where or when is best to use it. Key usage of weapons
makes the game more forgiving if you make a mess of one part of a
track.
WEAPON USE IT WHEN?
Mines After overtaking.
E-pak Low shield level. Any time.
Autopilot Difficult chicane or turn. Just before the pit lane.
Turbo boost Any lengthy hill or straight.
Rockets Many enemy on screen. Mines ahead.
Missiles Lock on. Rear lock on. Mines ahead.
Electro bolt Lock on. In a group.
Thunder bomb Many enemy on screen.
Shield In a group. Difficult section. Low shield. Mines ahead.
Plasma bolt Sure fire target. Beware of charge period.
Quake disruptor Many enemy on screen. Just for fun.
For instance, Autopilot is best left until a section of the track
that you know is difficult - so you can make up for a previous
mistake. Also remember that you can cancel Autopilot whilst it is
activated by pressing SQUARE. This is very useful if you know that
you can handle a chicane etc. better than the Autopilot and you
aren't too sure if the Autopilot will last you through it.
2.6 GHOST RACERS
Time trials offer the ability to test your skills against ghost
racers. These are preset for each track and class. Once you have
beat the ghost your race will replace the ghost you beat and remain
valid until you change tracks, so you can still change cars. It
seems to me that the ghosts aren't saved to the memory card, so
they are only really useful for getting up to speed on a
certain track, or just to learn the racing line of a track.
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3.0 CHEATS
Here are a list of cheats known to date.
WHILST GAME LOADS
Animal Teams L1+R2+START+SELECT Normal team crafts are exchanged for
a bee, snail, UFO, pig and shark.
The following button press combinations can be used by holding down L1, R1
and SELECT anywhere in the relevant menu. Using the codes again will toggle
the cheat off/on. Are there any more?
PRE-GAME (MAIN MENUS) IN-GAME (PAUSE MENU)
Piranha Team X X X X O T S Machine Gun S O X S O X T
Phantom Class T T T O O O Infinite Energy T X S O T X S O
Eight Tracks S O T O S Infinite Weapons X X S S O O T
Infinite Time T S O X T S O X
The following passwords can be entered via the options menu:
PASSWORDS
Challenge I S O S T O T T O S S S T X S
Challenge II S O S T O T X S X T T X O O
3.1 CHALLENGES
Once you have got gold medals on the initial 6 tracks then
Challenge I becomes available. This consists of racing a season of
all six courses at Rapier class. Once this is completed, you get
Phantom class (which is 50% faster than Rapier!) and two extra hard
tracks to race on. When gold is achieved in the two Phantom tracks,
Challenge II becomes available which consists of all eight tracks
at Phantom speed. This will prove to be the most difficult
challenge of all.
3.2 HIDDEN OPTIONS
Inspection of the game CD reveals that there are nine track
folders, so there must be one more track after Phantom. There are
also four extro programs which means that it must be possible to
get one more bonus after Challenge II (Piranha challenge). What
bonus(es) could it reveal apart from the Piranha?
3.3 SHORTCUTS
There aren't any shortcuts in the true sense of the word, but it is
possible to save a lot of time by cutting corners. You can use a
turbo boost to do this in the extreme, or just pull back on the d-
pad to raise your nose over some shallow corners as seen in the
'chicane' along side the train on the Gare D'Europa track.
3.4 FAST STARTS
It is quite easy to get a fast start and essential if you want to
put in a fast time-trial or race. What you have to do is land the
gauge of the thrust- ometer in the first two large bars when Curly
says "Go"! It is probably equivalent to a turbo boost.
There are two ways to do this. The first is to accelerate until the
thrust-ometer is around that mark, then make it hover by repeatedly
pressing the accelerator until the race starts. The second,
inferior method, is to find a suiitable delay before the race
starts that is just enough for you to continually accelerate until
the race starts and still get a fast start.
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4.0 WHAT DO YOU KNOW?
If you have any additions which you think should be included in
this FAQ then please send them to me as below. Already there are a
number of questionsthat need answering.
1 What is the ninth track, and how do you get it?
2 How do you play the tracks from the original Wipeout CD under the new
game engine for Wipeout 2097/XL?
3 Are there any more cheat presses or secrets known?
4.1 CONTACTING THE AUTHOR
The author of this FAQ, Matthew Sephton, can be contacted by e-mail
or through his web page (which contains information about Bjork,
other types of music, the Sony PlayStation and contains some of my
Windows 95 Shareware).
e-mail: u5ms@csc.liv.ac.uk
www: http://www.csc.liv.ac.uk/~u5ms/
4.2 RELEASE
This FAQ is obtainable from various places on the internet, but the latest version can always be downloaded from this URL:
http://www.csc.liv.ac.uk/~u5ms/PS/w2097faq.txt
4.3 E&OE
All errors and omissions excluded. As far as I know the information
in this document is accurate. Correct me if I'm wrong. Use at your
own risk.
4.4 THANKS
Original FAQ by Matthew Sephton. Button press cheats from Daniel Beretzki
. Animal cheats from Klaus Timmermann (aka Mr Bean)
.
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5.0 VERSION HISTORY
1.00, 21 Oct 1996 Original release.
1.01, 23 Oct 1996 Cheats added. Challenges enhanced.
1.02, 28 Oct 1996 Slight modifications and tidying up.
1.03, 29 Oct 1996 Music, Ghost Racers and Fast Start sections improved.
1.04, 01 Nov 1996 Animal teams and challenge passwords added.
Return to Wipeout XL.