Update: We thought WipEout Rush was only available on Android, but it turns out you can get it from the App Store for your iPhone or iPad as well. Again, regional availability may vary, but it's certainly downloadable here in the UK.

Original Story: As pointed out by Push Square reader RadioHedgeFund in a previous article, smartphone spin-off WipEout Rush is already available on Android in select regions, including the UK. The game, which silently soft-launched late last year, is effectively an idle game based on the branding of Sony’s iconic futuristic racer.

We’ve embedded some gameplay below to give you a better idea of how it works:

The cel-shaded look is pretty neat, to be fair

Effectively, you’re not actually racing any of the familiar crafts in this cel-shaded effort. Instead, you’re acting as a kind of race “manager”, and you’re responsible for the timing of your ship’s launch and also its weapons. It’s a mobile game through and through: you can merge “loot” of the same type to craft better ones, and 3D Print various weapons.

Naturally, there are multiple currencies and timers attached – you can even watch ads in certain moments to multiply your results or speed up certain actions. While it does seem well-suited to the short-burst play sessions it’s intended for, a lot of reviews on the Google Play store are already pointing out how it’s not the type of experience WipEout is known for.

And thus begins the uphill battle of Sony’s mobile push. Smartphone games are, generally, successful because they’re simple to play, addictive, and free to start. But, of course, the appearance of ads and microtransactions in a WipEout game won’t be welcomed by franchise faithfuls – even if it’s something Sony itself famously tried to push in the PS3 game.

We’ve contacted the developer to find out when we can expect a proper, worldwide launch across iOS and Android, and we’ll update as and when we get a response.

[source play.google.com]