Having never played a Wipeout game before I didn’t really know what to expect, I knew it was fast paced and required decent reflexes, but that’s it. What I didn’t expect was the amount of fun I’d have, and how sweaty my poor Playstation controller would get.

Booting up the game greets you with a hyper-modern (almost Mirror’s edge-esque) menu, the rather apt and motivating soundtrack is pumping, encouraging you to get amongst it – really amping you up for the experience. There’s a selection of the three games that come in the collection and after making your choice are thrown into your first race.

The game takes it easy on you initially – a simple antigravity vehicle, almost reminiscent of a Star Wars pod racer or star fighter, that handles well and can take a hefty amount of hits. The speed you’re required to zip, boost, shoot and slide through increases steadily on from that point on, and will definitely test the skills of even the most alert and capable gamer.

What I did not expect was the amount of variety in the game modes available. The events are divided up, including combat runs, races, time trials and a very interesting mode called ‘zone’ where you’re required to survive as long as possible as the game steadily increases in speed – all the while throwing ‘acid-trip’ like visuals at you that increase in severity the longer you survive.

Wipeout OC is an assault on the senses – it’s a stylistically eye-catching, flurry of blur and beat that you only stop playing once your eyes, ears and nerve have had it’s fill. It’s a racer for those who are bored with the typical racer that strives for realism because there is nothing realistic about Wipeout OC, and that’s completely fine with me.