Overview

The 2005 PSP instalment to the popular racing series, Wipeout Pure takes upon a similar style to earlier inclusions in the series, both in terms of gameplay and the soundtrack. Wipeout Pure: The Official Soundtrack is made up of a collection of electronica pieces from various underground artists. For the first time in the series, long-running composer Tim Wright (Cold Storage) finally gets to see his music feature on an album (albeit just one track). If you've read my other reviews of the albums in the series, you'll know that this pleases me a lot. I urge you to scroll down to read my opinions on this experimental album.

Body

Much like with Wipeout 2097 - The Soundtrack, the Wipeout Pure - The Official Soundtrack sees the return of a few artists who have contributed earlier in the series, namely Tim Wright, Paul Hartnoll (from Orbital) and Photek. Tim Wright, who actually contributes five tracks to the game, has "Onyx" as his sole contribution on this album. Though his remix "Onyx - Dark Side of the Moon Remix" on the Android Child original album is much better than the original, "Onyx" is a surprisingly fast-paced and gripping track with some great synth sounds.

Paul Hartnoll's tracks are surprisingly better than his earlier contributions to the series when he was paired alongside his brother Phil, forming electronica duo Obrital. "Ignition" is a track with fairly linear development, but one which is creative in the sounds and loops used. "Boot Up" is the shortest, but sweetest, of Hartnoll's two additions though; with a gorgeous ambient introduction, it quickly fires up into a futuristic fast-paced theme, completely representative of the game itself with its otherworldly sounds. Photek's "Note (Instrumental Mix)" is very much the same as his poor tracks in Wipeout 2097 though, with it featuring the same beat and motif all the way through with very little deviation from this.

The majority of the soundtrack is made up from new artists though, with the tracks either falling into two general categories of either being ragingly relentless or fairly funky. Aphex Twin's "Naks Acid" fits into the relentless group of tracks, with it being a raging cacophony of beats and peculiar rhythms. "Flu Shot" from LFO is a bit less in your face, despite its prominent bass, and makes use of some extremely eerie sound effects. "Room 2" from Jay Tripwire is my favourite of the more relentless tracks, with this being the only one which has some sort of an easy to follow melody and development! I much prefer the funkier tracks on the album though from the likes of the Drumatic Twins, Stanton Warriors, and Elite Force. "Twister" from the Drumatic Twins features addicitive brass interjections, "Night Movers" from Stanton Warriors features a quirky rock organ, and Elite Force's "Cross the Line" holds some great throbbing synth.

You may also be interested to know that three tracks are included on this album which didn't actually feature in the game. "Saxtrax" from Ils is exactly as it sounds; made up from randomly generated saxophone noises and ridiculously sampled vocals, it's a surprisingly catchy addition. Way out West's "Pulse of Life" is also enjoyable, with it taking upon a more ambient approach with its laidback synth and atmospheric pulses. The best part of the track comes in after 2:10 with the addition of a stronger bass rhythm and coming together of previously used effects. The last of the three non-game additions is the rather short but ominous "Zulu" from Hybrid. With the use of tribal drums, a repetitive synth sound and creative sampling, "Zulu" is the most dangerous and frightening track on the album. It seems a little out of place, but acts as a nice addition anyway.

Summary

Though this isn't the strongest album in the series, it's a good album to seek out for a couple of reasons. First of all, it accurately portrays the music which can be heard within the game, with the majority of the game's tracks making it to the album. Secondly, we finally get to hear one of Tim Wright's contributions outside of the game, and although "Onyx" is just one of a number of tracks he submitted to the game, it's still a great addition. Lastly, this album features three other tracks which aren't featured in the game, which pumps some originality and novelty into purchasing the disc. I feel as if this album has the perfect blend of music, having finally ironed out the hiccoughs from the earlier album releases.