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An incremental improvement over Pure in many ways. Improved performance, a rock solid 60 FPS compared to the variable frame rate of Pure that targeted 60 but sometimes dropped into the 40's and even 30's during single races and tournaments. Also there is no more 30 FPS lock for Time Trial and Zone modes. But most of this is not the result of code optimization on Studio Liverpool's part. It is due to Sony's firmware update allowing developers to take advantage of the PSP's 333 MHz CPU clock (compared to 222 MHz at the PSP's launch). There are some improvements to the graphics such as more polygons for vehicles (which are beautifully modeled and even have cockpit interiors) and better texture detail, but there is one aspect of the graphics that took a step backwards (more on this later). There are subtle improvements to the A.I. and they fixed barrel rolls which is nice. There are more options and modes (such as Eliminator and Head-to-Head) which add variety but they aren't as well suited to the game's core design as the standard Single Race and Tournament modes. Structure and progression is much better. The new grid style is a welcomed change and fits well within the aesthetic of the game. They tweaked the controls and made them tighter. Veterans may prefer the old controls at first but its simply different and takes getting used to. The sense of speed in the game is slightly faster now which was a good change. The soundtrack in Pure was superb so its very hard to beat what came before. But Studio Liverpool managed to put together a soundtrack for Pulse that is fantastic. It may even be the best soundtrack in a WipEout game. And now you have the option to add your own songs which is great. Though there are a few less songs provided this time (16 in Pulse vs 19 in Pure). Honestly there is very little to nitpick about. The only sore spot would be the race tracks. Although the track design is generally great and there are even a few gems (Moa Therma comes to mind), some of the tracks are merely good. And many of them lack the visual appeal that made Pure's tracks amazing not only to play but to just look at. There are now two versions of each track, the "White" version (forward) and "Black" version (reverse). But the differences between them are more than just going in opposite directions. Some of them have fundamental changes that make them feel almost like different tracks. All of the tracks in Pulse are also available for Zone mode which was a great change and they are given an abstract visual makeover just for the mode and they look beautiful. Pure originally shipped with 12 tracks and Pulse also shipped with 12 tracks. So at first glance it might look like you are getting the same amount of content but Pulse makes far better use of the content it has compared to Pure. Even with all of Pure's DLC, Pulse still manages to be competitive in this regard. The issue of track design prevents Pulse from being an improvement in every way compared to Pure. Pulse is however the more polished and accessible WipEout with more options and ways to play making it slightly better overall. Even in 2016 I still find myself coming back to this game on PC with an emulator. I'm very impressed with how well it holds up today and it looks great in HD. A testament to the art direction and slick presentation. Graphically it doesn't look as good as WipEout HD of course but both games share a lot in common. After all, WipEout HD is essentially a remix of the PSP WipEout games and borrows heavily from the advancements made in Pulse. It is the closest you can get to WipEout HD on PC without actually having WipEout HD. And clearly I still love it, enough so to make a passionate review about it over 8 years later.

Great mechanics. Superb track design. Superb music. That is really all you need to know because that is the recipe for an awesome racing game. But there are a few other areas I'd like to touch on. There are some issues with structure and progression. Although the tournaments are very fun, after you unlock a new speed class its basically rinse and repeat. The game doesn't tell you how to unlock new tracks so its easy to get the feeling after completing the third or forth tournament that you've seen everything the game has to offer meanwhile there are still tracks to unlock. The game also has free DLC that nearly doubles the amount of content. Being a launch title for the PSP, Pure was stuck running on the CPU's 222 MHz clock speed. This caused some noticeable performance problems. In a firmware update that came years later, developers were allowed to use the PSP's full 333 MHz clock speed but Pure never took advantage of this. In Single Race and Tournament modes, the game held 60 FPS but when weapons fired it often caused a drop in the frame rate that lasted for a few seconds. Sometimes it would drop into the 40's and even 30's. Being a fast paced racing game, response time is paramount and my ability to play well was sometimes affected by these performance hiccups. It wasn't a constant problem but it happened enough to be annoying. Strangely the developers limited Zone, Time Trial, and Free Play modes to 30 FPS. This was an odd decision because you would think those were the modes that would be easier to maintain 60 FPS because there are no A.I. opponents or weapons to fire. So you lost a lot of fluidity in those modes that you need in a game like this. There were also a few bugs such as inconsistent thrust from performing barrel rolls. Regardless it still looks very good on PC with an emulator and you can run it at a perfect 60 FPS in all modes (using a cheat code for the emulator).