WipEout Pulse, like the other titles in the series, is a futuristic racing game in which players control a hovercraft-like vehicle that hovers above the ground and can achieve extremely high speeds. The game takes place in 2207, and players compete in the FX400 Anti-Gravity Racing League, which has tracks worldwide.
The vehicles are organized into twelve teams (including downloads), each with their characteristics based on handling, speed, acceleration, and other factors. Moving over pads while racing grants boosts or offensive and defensive power-ups such as shields, rockets, a wall of fire, autopilot, a gun, or a turbo boost. They can now be absorbed instead of used as weapons to restore energy levels. A single button is employed to accelerate, with conventional steering and air brakes for abrupt curves. The visuals are rapid, and the audio is mainly electronic, as is typical of the series.
The main game features twelve tracks that can be driven either way (marked by black or white in the title). Waterfall-like drops, loops, and corkscrews are new additions to the track design. To pass through some sections, the vehicle is glued to the track. The redesigned progression mechanism is unique to the series. As usual, winning races unlock new circuits and faster models, but instead of a linear model, these are now arranged as hexagon-clustered grids with distinct forms of play. When available, players can select any of the sections to compete in a time trial, single race, head-to-head, eliminator games (reintroduced in Wipeout 3), and Zone games (introduced in Wipeout Fusion), in which the vehicle constantly accelerates and transforms into faster models until all health is depleted. A set number of races must be won to get access to a new grid, although, with this approach, certain challenging races can be avoided or disregarded. When all energy is expended, the vehicles of all races are destroyed. A bronze, silver, or gold medal is awarded based on performance, with three difficulty settings.
Using a specific team’s car regularly is rewarded with a loyalty scheme. The game offers Ad Hoc and Infrastructure access for game sharing and multiplayer modes. Up to 30 mp3 files can be loaded into a memory stick for use as the in-game soundtrack, there is a photo mode for taking snapshots during replays, and players can design their car skins for inclusion in the game using a flash client on the game’s official website. As in previous games, various expansion packs introduce new teams and tracks.
