Wipeout 2097 is a 1996 racing game developed and published by Psygnosis. The game was first released as an exclusive for the original PlayStation, but was later rolled out for PC, Sega Saturn, and Mac.
Upon release, Wipeout 2097 was met with critical acclaim from critics. The game holds a 93 average score on Metacritic, indicating universal acclaim across the board. It was mainly praised for how it improved upon the mechanics of the original Wipeout, and was rewarded with generally strong sales figures.
Wipeout 2097 Premise
©Screenshot from Wipeout 2097
Wipeout 2097 has extremely similar gameplay to the original game. It remains a fast-paced racer, in which you control a futuristic anti-gravity vehicle throughout a variety of circuits against a computer AI, with the objective to win the race.
What really sets Wipeout 2097 apart from the competition is the sheer straight-line speed you can obtain. It’s almost disorienting how fast you go, and the game does a great job at managing turns to ensure you stay as close to that speed as possible throughout every race. Even today, Wipeout 2097‘s core racing mechanics are a blast to play, despite years of innovation from other developers on similar ideas.
Another mechanic at the heart of the game is its weapons. Wipeout 2097 isn’t just a straight racer. You can also pick up weapons, and eliminate the competition. They’ll fight back, too, so you can actually be blown up mid-race to halt your progress. Much like Formula 1, you can take a pit stop to heal, but this will cost you in terms of time.
To progress in the game, Wipeout 2097 takes an interesting approach. Rather than unlocking every level freely, you must come first on a track before you unlock the next one. This encourages mastery of a track before you can progress, which isn’t something you see often these days.
Wipeout 2097 Main Characters
©Screenshot from Wipeout 2097
Although Wipeout 2097 has deeper lore than you might expect for a racing game, it still doesn’t exactly have a massive cast of main characters. As a matter of fact, it doesn’t have any characters at all. Gameplay is the main focus of the game, and it never wavers from that.
There are five different teams that you can choose to play as in the F5000 Anti-Gravity Racing League.
- Federal European Industrial Science and Research (FEISAR)
- Anti-Gravity Systems
- Auricom Research Industries
- Qirex Industries
- Piranha Advancements (Unlockable)
Each of these teams has its own in-game advantages and disadvantages, so you’ll have to choose based on which one feels best for your playstyle.
Wipeout 2097 Titles in the Series
©Screenshot from Wipeout 2097
The Wipeout series was a staple of the racing genre in the late ’90s and early 2000s, and it’s hard not to feel that its best days are behind us. Around the time of the original PlayStation, it was one of the console’s killer apps, with developer Psygnosis / Studio Liverpool being owned by Sony.
However, wavering interest in the series meant that games became less frequent, with other titles taking the mantle of futuristic racing games. The closure of Studio Liverpool in 2012 was essentially a nail in the coffin for any new titles in the series, with every release since being either a mobile title or a re-release.
Even still, Wipeout is exactly the type of series you would expect Sony to find interesting for a comeback in the future. Its name still holds value among gamers, so if Sony wanted to have another crack at it, there’s sure to be some form of audience there.
- Wipeout (1995)
- Wipeout 2097 (1996)
- Wipeout 64 (1998)
- Wipeout 3 (1999)
- Wipeout Fusion (2002)
- Wipeout Pure (2005)
- Wipeout Pulse (2007)
- Wipeout HD (2008)
- Wipeout 2048 (2012)
- Wipeout 2D (2013)
- Wipeout Omega Collection (2017)
- Wipeout Merge (2021)
Wipeout 2097 Cheat Codes
©Screenshot from Wipeout 2097
Across all platforms, there are plenty of cheat codes in Wipeout 2097 to keep you occupied. Some unlock some items in-game, while others make the gameplay easier. Then, there are some that are simply for fun. While most of these cheats are available for use on all platforms, there are just a few that are exclusive to certain ones, for unknown reasons. Some need to be entered in different places to others, and we’ve covered that in our tables below.
To use these cheats, you must hold down L1 + R1 + Select on PlayStation, and L + R + Down on Sega Saturn. This applies to ALL of them.
Wipeout 2097 Cheats (All Platforms)
| Cheat Effect | Where To Enter | Cheat Code (PlayStation) | Cheat Code (Sega Saturn) | Cheat Code (PC) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allows you to access all Tracks per Class | Main Menu | Square, Circle, Triangle, Circle, Square | X, X, Y, Y, Z, Z | xtrack |
| Allows you to access the Phantom Class | Main Menu | Triangle, Triangle, Triangle, Circle, Circle, Circle | A, A, B, B, C, C | xclass |
| Unlocks the Piranha Team | Main Menu | X, X, X, X, Circle, Triangle, Square | A, X, B, Y, C, Z | xteam |
| Gives you Infinite Shield Energy | In-game Pause Menu | Triangle, X, Square, Circle, Triangle, X, Square, Circle | B, B | psyprotect |
| Gives you Infinite Time | In-game Pause Menu | Triangle, Square, Circle, X, Triangle, Square, Circle, X | C, C | psyticker |
| Gives you Infinite Weapons | In-game Pause Menu | X, X, Square, Square, Circle, Circle, Triangle | A, A | psymega |
| Gives you a Machine Gun | In-game Pause Menu | Square, Circle, X, Square, Circle, X, Triangle | X, X | psyrapid |
| Unlocks the Phantom Challenge | Password Screen (Options) | Square, Circle, Square, Triangle, Circle, Triangle, X, Square, X, Triangle, Triangle, X, Circle, Circle | N/A | N/A |
| Unlocks the Piranha Challenge | Password Screen (Options) | Square, Circle, Square, Triangle, Circle, Triangle, X, Square, X, Triangle, Triangle, X, Circle, Circle | N/A | N/A |
| Unlocks All Challenges | Password Screen (Options) | Square, Circle, Square, Triangle, Circle, Triangle, X, Square, X, X, Square, Circle, Triangle, Square | N/A | N/A |
| Unlocks Silly Ships | During game load-up screen | L1, R2, Start, Select | N/A | rush |
| Activates Wireframe Mode | In-game Pause Menu | N/A | Z, Z | N/A |
| Activates Autopilot Mode (Press C to use in-game) | In-game Pause Menu | N/A | X, Y, Z, X, Y, Z, X, Y, Z | N/A |
Wipeout 2097 Cheat Code FAQ
©Screenshot from Wipeout 2097
Are There Achievements For Wipeout 2097?
Unfortunately no. Wipeout 2097 is one of the few games in the series that was never re-released in some form for modern platforms, meaning an achievement/trophy list was never added to the game. It’s a shame for retro achievement hunters, but with older games, that’s sometimes the way it goes.
What Do I Do If My Wipeout 2097 Cheats Aren’t Working?
If you’re playing the game on either PlayStation or Sega Saturn, it’s likely you’re forgetting the prerequisite for using cheats on these platforms. You need to hold either L1 + R1 + Select (PlayStation) or L + R + Down (Sega Saturn) throughout the entry for these cheats to work as intended. This should apply to all of them, so if they aren’t working, ensure that you’re doing this.
Do Wipeout 2097 Cheats Work on an Emulator?
Yes, even if you’re playing on an emulated version of the game, it shouldn’t matter. The cheats should all work as normal, so long as your controller button set-up is the same as the original game.
Do Wipeout 2097 Cheats Work on All Platforms?
No. Some of the cheats that you can use in Wipeout 2097 are exclusive to certain platforms. For example, the Wireframe Mode cheat is only available on the Sega Saturn, while the Piranha and Phantom Challenge cheats can only be used on the PlayStation version. This carries over to the emulated versions, too.
It isn’t clear exactly why this is the case, but it may be due to different technical difficulties the developers encountered across platforms back in 1996.
The image featured at the top of this post is ©Screenshot from Wipeout 2097.