Wipeout 2048 sends your face to competitors

The Vita debut of PlayStation's flagship hovercraft racing series, Wipeout 2048, uses the handheld's hardware in interesting ways.

"We support up to eight players online. When you begin the race on PS Vita, the game takes a photo of your face," assistant producer Michael Pulst told the US PS Blog.

"At the end of the race, your face gets beamed to all the other players - kind of a glory moment."

Star Fox 64 3DS has a similar feature, but the Vita one-ups the 3DS by supporting cross-platform play with the PlayStation 3, meaning it has an even wider pool of potential players to draw on in its desire to humiliate you and your self-conscious photo face.

"Not only will PS Vita players be able to play 2048 with other PS Vita players, they will be able to play Wipeout HD against PS3 players using Wipeout HD tracks and ships. And the number of PS Vitas and PS3s doesn’t matter for crossplay. It can be seven PS3s and one PS Vita, seven PS Vitas and one PS3, or any number in between," Pulst explained.

Wipeout 2048 also uses the Vita's gyroscopic controls and touchscreens, but allows players to use traditional controls if desired.

"You can tilt to the left or right to steer. I like steering this way at times, particularly in the cockpit camera view. We also support the rear touchscreen for acceleration, while the front touchscreen is used for firing and regaining ship energy."

Pulst said the motion control's accuracy can be "a double-edged sword", as when someone startles you and you drive off the track.

Sony is yet to detail its software line-up for the Vita when it launches in February, but Wipeout 2048 is a strong contender for day-one release.