WipeOut: The Game

by Activision

• In-game commentator caricatures voiced by John Anderson, John Henson and Jill Wagner
• 50+ insane obstacles, including TV favorites: Big Balls, Sucker Punch, The Sweeper and more
• Classic platform/scrolling gameplay
• Bone-crunching ragdoll wipeouts with slow-motion instant replays
• Competitive multiplayer with up to 4-player split-screen chaos -- you can even hurl objects at opponents from the sidelines when its not your turn

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0039XZGXG
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches ; 2.9 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: June 22, 2010
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (266 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #790 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
  • #11 in Video Games > Wii > Games > Action

Product Description

Platform: Nintendo Wii

Amazon.com

Based on the crowd-favorite ABC TV game show of the same name, Wipeout: The Game challenges fans to master speed, balance, and precision to overcome the world's largest obstacle course while enduring the inevitable hilarious falls that ensue. The game features more than 50 obstacle courses, a variety of playable characters, competitive 4-player game support and in-game commentary voiced by John Anderson, John Henson and Jill Wagner. All the over-the top obstacle course fun you love from the popular TV now on Wii. View larger. Play the Show Get ready to experience the thrills and spills from the hit ABC TV show as you run, jump and climb on the most ridiculous obstacle courses ever created. Players will use speed, balance and precision timing to climb past the "Sucker Punch," run over the "Big Balls" and perform spectacular wipeouts. Prove you have what it takes to make it all the way through to the grand finale "Wipeout Zone," score the fastest time and earn the most Wipeout Points for your chance to be the champion. This game aims to bring the crazy Wipeout experience into the living room by creating a fun and challenging video game version that the whole family can enjoy. Key Game Features 50+ insane obstacles, including TV favorites: Big Balls, Sucker Punch, The Sweeper and more Classic platform/scrolling gameplay Bone-crunching ragdoll wipeouts with slow-motion instant replays Competitive multiplayer with up to 4-player split-screen chaos -- you can even hurl objects at opponents from the sidelines when its not your turn In-game commentator caricatures voiced by John Anderson, John Henson and Jill Wagner Additional Screenshots: 50+ insane obstacles. View larger. Hilarious wipeouts with replays. View larger. Commentator caricatures. View larger. 4-player game support. View larger.

Product Description

All the Thrills and spills from the hit TV show! Run, jump and climb on the most ridiculous obstacle courses ever created. Experience the crazy Wipeouts in your living room with fun and competitive challenges that the whole family can enjoy!

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

243 of 248 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Fun ragdoll physics, but disappointing controls and gameplay July 10, 2010

By JC Chupack

Platform for Display:Nintendo Wii

Fun: 3.0 out of 5 stars   

I love the Wipeout game show, so when last week's episode promised a Wii edition, my husband and I couldn't wait to get it. After all, what could be better than the combination of Wipeout's challenges and the Wii's physical controls?

Unfortunately, this game uses almost none of the Wii's controls. You press A to jump, B to crouch, and you use the nunchuk joystick to run. When you halfway fall on an obstacle, you can shake the controller to get up faster, and when it's not your turn, you point and aim to shoot balls at the other players. That's the controls. There's no support for the balance board, but I wasn't expecting any based on the box. What I was expecting was some kind of gesture use, such as shaking the controllers to swim or something.

There's two modes of gameplay: show mode and challenge mode. In either mode, you're doing some number of Wipeout challenges, but show mode follows the same structure as the show whereas challenge mode has you singly competing against a clock or goal. Show mode is the only multi-player mode. Each player gets three attempts at each obstacle. Your first successful attempt is your score. If you wipeout, you get another attempt. But here's the crappy part: if you wipeout all three times, it just assigns you a default max value. So, for the big balls, it's pretty likely that everyone will just get the default max value in show mode (though it is possible to beat them). That kind of sucks the fun out of it. It would have been so much better to have you wipeout and then have to do some kind of swimming motion or running motion to get to the end of the obstacle, with the clock running. Also, sometimes you just can't tell what you did wrong. Your character seems to slow down for no reason or jumps go long or short for no reason. Some obstacles seem challenging for the wrong reasons, and others, that are very challenging on the show, are very easy on the game. The sweeper arm is a great example. My husband and I found that we could both jump/crouch for the sweeper arm way too long to be fun. Eventually, one of us just gets bored and jumps off. The scary-go-round is particularly dull, too.

One problem unique to challenge mode is that the game does not make it clear whether you're on track for the goal, and it makes you keep playing even when you have failed. For example, the easy goal on the wipeout zone is 2:15 and less than 3 wipeouts. It does not track your wipeouts on screen at all, so you just have to keep your own count. Your time is somewhat arbitrary, but at least you can see it while you're running the course. But most frustrating is when you've already wiped out 3 times, but the game just has you keep going as if you have some hope of completing it.

Who cares about the score on Wipeout, though, right? The fun is the wipeouts! Well, on this game, when you wipeout, your character just goes kind of ragdoll and flops around, which can be hilarious like the show. The replay graphics are really poor. Sometimes they don't match what you saw on the screen, too, especially if an obstacle in motion is involved. The game has definite clipping issues. Sometimes you go through parts of the obstacles or seem to land okay but then your character wipes out anyways. But, there are some funny wipeouts at least, and you can skip the replays when the wipeouts aren't as funny.

Random thoughts:
* I do appreciate that they have the actual hosts' voices.
* I wish they had enabled you to play with your Miis, though it's possible that's an unlockable feature that we just haven't seen yet.
* We have definitely found ourselves laughing at some of the wipeouts. Seeing Ballsy dance during the "loading" screen was enough to bring a little joy to our hearts.
* So far, Henson doesn't say his famous closing line, so that's a bit of a disappointment.

Overall, this seems like a great weekend rental game. If you can get it cheap or discounted, and you're a fan of the show, it's worth it. I would not pay full price for it, and I would not recommend it for anyone who isn't into the show. It just feels like it could have been so much better with just the tiniest amount of work on gameplay.

100 of 106 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for kids! June 24, 2010

By AnnieM

Platform for Display:Nintendo Wii

Fun: 5.0 out of 5 stars   

Our 5-year old son is OBSESSED with this show, so we promised the game to him when it came out. Happy to report he loves the game as much as the show. Would've liked it if it had somehow incorporated the Wii Balance Board as an optional item, but perhaps that would have increased the price, which WE were quite happy with ($29.95), considering most new Wii games are in the $39-49 price range.

It's nice that you have the option of 'interacting' with the other contestants, or skipping thru their turns entirely to speed things along. Also fun that the Johns and Jill become playable characters as well. Experienced gamers young & old may tire of this game quickly, but it's perfect for casual gaming families like ours, especially those with kids who love this show.

80 of 84 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars The laughter is infectious June 25, 2010

By K. Jenkins

Platform for Display:Nintendo Wii

Fun: 4.0 out of 5 stars   

I am writing this review at the urging of my 9 and 11 year old children who have played this game for three days straight (a rare feat for any game we have bought). I will concede that has been 95 degrees for 12 days straight here and playing outside has been a little more daunting but they absolutely love this game. The graphics actually seem pretty good. The commentary is definitely not as witty as the TV show but as uncomfortable as it always has been to hear my kids cackling about the "big balls" segment the game pushes the envelope with the "dirty balls" challenge. I try and keep focused on how much laughter the game is providing with them. Also the cutaways to the announcers are terrible in that the voice sync is not even close, not sure why they wasted the space trying.

After the second and third day they have started moving up in difficulty level but they are still trying to unlock the extra characters and features and they have convinced their mother to join in and her laughter is as much or more than theirs. For the price this game has been a winner in this household as most games do not make it past the first day. It should be quite entertaining for the next get together with friends too.

Only down side is for me has been that whistling in the background music that gets old for me (the tune gets stuck in your head for hours) especially when they have been playing for a couple of hours straight.

As to the one star review, we have not had any freezes but I have a noticed a problem with some graphics when players are knocked off in the water scenes. We had not played our Wii in a few weeks and this game did install an update upon start-up. The first try was unsuccessful and we had to restart the Wii but I attribute that to both kids were pressing buttons during that process and once we ran it for the second time, everything has been fine.