It’s always a shame when you know a game is good quality but you just can’t seem to gel with it. I enjoyed playing F-Zero X for the first time, even though I played F-Zero GX first, so I was hoping the same would be true with Wipeout 64, as I had played Wipeout 2048 on Vita. Sadly, I really could not get the hang of this game at all.

What I think is throwing me off is the camera. It’s not in line with your vehicle, it seems to be instead stuck to the track or something. Your racer is often towards the side of the screen, appearing at an angle. It looks fancy in screenshots, but I think it’s messing with my ability to judge turns. You also seem to “hit” the sides before it seems like you should be doing.

Instead of just having a series of races, there are challenges in multiple categories: racing, time trial and killing enemies. When you’ve completed all these, you then unlock a “super combo” mode where you have to win races while killing enough opponents.

It’s a good idea for extending the singleplayer, especially with only 7 tracks, I just wish I found the gameplay itself to be fun.

Fun

To start off with, Wipeout 64 is one of the most irritating games you’ll have ever played and, even when you’ve mastered it, it still penalises you for errors that F-Zero X and this month’s XG2 would be quite happy to let pass. But, in doing so, Wipeout 64 has secured itself as a bit of a rarity on N64: a racing game that you won’t have completed within a week of buying it. Not a perfect racing game, admittedly, but still a thrill-packed slice of racing brilliance.

Tim Weaver, N64 Magazine #23. Review Score: 88%

Remake or remaster?

A Wipeout remastered collection really should be done with the PS1 games, Wipeout 64 and the PS2 and PSP games. Even if they end up renaming Wipeout 64 as Wipeout 2098 or something.

Official ways to get the game.

There is no official way to get Wipeout 64