Originally starting as a surprisingly popular title for the PSP in 2005 (and being followed up by a comparatively recent PS3 release), GripShift has arrived on the Xbox Live Arcade platform. And while the “wacky fast-paced colorful racing game” approach has been done many times before, rarely have I seen it done with the degree of passion and dedication this game shows.
The main focus (and draw) is actually the unlockables. The game is split up over 120(!) “Challenge” and 25 “Race” tracks, along with a complementary set of competitive Deathmatch arenas for multiplayer. For each level in the game, there are typically three challenges to beat; win in a certain amount of time, collect a certain number of floating stars on a track, and the collection of hidden “GS tokens”. Completing these goals individually will net you credits, which unlock additional content (music tracks, add-ons for your car, or even new levels) once certain thresholds are reached. Part of the challenge to this however is that it’s very difficult (if not impossible) to accomplish all three of these goals in a single run, so often you’ll need to play a track multiple times to milk the level for all it’s worth.
Ordinarily being forced to play the same track over and over again might be a bad thing, but thankfully the tracks are anything but generic. The art staff went overboard to deliver detailed background vistas, colorful graphical effects, varied textures, and really interesting areas to drive through. Some maps take place in wintery terrain, filled with all sorts of animals and objects frozen in ice to get in your way, while others may take place in more temperate climates, each with their own unique little touches.
The individual tracks are made up of standard roads, ramps, loops, jump-pads, magnets, and even moving walls that will try and crush you or push you around. Some of the more abstract objects aren’t seen too commonly in the early levels, but the map complexity ramps up significantly as the more difficult arenas become unlocked, making it exciting just waiting to see what kind of curveball the game will throw at you next. The only weird thing is that all of the maps take place on an abstract set of floating islands, rather than being rooted to a ground location; this adds a bit of an unusual sci-fi theme to the entire game, but also seems to work well with the game’s bizarre low gravity environments and approach to jump-oriented puzzles.
GripShift is one of the best XBLA racing games available. The game is just too damn varied, wacky, and all around fun to summarize it any other way, and the feature-packed content makes it well worth the 800 point price tag. For anybody looking for a quick and convenient means to relieve their nostalgia for games like Wacky Wheels, Stunt Driver, and the Mario Kart series (ideally in a simultaneous manner), your search is over.
