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Summary

Wipeout XL thrusts you into the year 2097, where the F5000 anti‑gravity league has replaced the original F3600 circuit. The ships zip through neon‑lit tracks at breakneck speeds, and the new damage interface means a single hit can vaporize your craft unless you’ve saved enough shield energy for a pit‑stop recharge. Weapons are scattered across the courses, with the Quake Disruptor standing out as a track‑wide wave that launches opponents into the air, adding a chaotic layer to every lap.

The game’s four teams—FEISAR, Auricom, AG Systems, and Qirex—each deliver a distinct handling feel, from balanced turning to raw speed with compromised steering, letting you match a vehicle to your personal style. Difficulty classes (Vector, Venom, Rapier) ramp up speed and AI aggression, while the Challenge mode forces you to win each race outright or lose a life, making every finish feel earned. Unlocking gold medals across the first three classes opens a full season mode and hidden tracks, rewarding persistence with extra content.

A standout feature for its era was the licensed electronic soundtrack, packing tracks from The Chemical Brothers, The Prodigy, Underworld and more onto the disc so you could listen to the music as a CD. The optional NeGcon twist controller gave analogue precision that made the high‑speed cornering feel buttery smooth, a detail reviewers praised alongside the revamped graphics and frame rate. Developed in just seven months by Psygnosis, the team overhauled collision code, built tracks in Softimage, and even added ghost vehicles for the European release, all while The Designers Republic supplied the iconic futuristic art.

Critics hailed Wipeout XL as a landmark PlayStation racer, and it sold around a million copies, landing among the UK’s best‑selling titles of 1996. Its blend of blistering speed, aggressive AI, and a pulse‑pounding soundtrack still makes it a benchmark for anti‑gravity racing games.

Storyline

Wipeout XL, known on PlayStation as Wipeout 2097, pushes the anti‑gravity racing series forward. The original title introduced the F3600 league in 2052, but this sequel jumps four decades ahead.

The game centers on the blister‑fast F5000 league, billed as more competitive and dangerous than its predecessor. It is set exactly 101 years after the year the original game was released (the Saturn port counted 100 years).

On the PlayStation, players could tap into analog steering using the optional Negcon twist controller, mirroring the series’ debut. The Sega Saturn version, meanwhile, offered analog input via the 3D Control Pad.