Seeing
stars? Trying to powerslide that corner to collect said stars while whittling
into the timer in that hot little vehicle sporting the Stars and Stripes?
If you are
doing all of this, and doing it on a handheld, chances are very good that you
are playing Gripshift, the PSP racing-puzzle title from Sony Online
Entertainment, Red Mile Entertainment and Sidhe.
At its core,
Gripshift is an innocuous little racing program featuring some minor puzzle
elements, some platform elements and some combat – all tied up in a neat little
package.
In the main
game, which begins with your basic race against the clock modes, the levels are
not overly large, but the tracks do a nice job of twisting away and require that
drivers exercise the right amount of handling versus all-out speed when
negotiating the courses. Failure to do so will result in a long drop into a
seemingly bottomless chasm, and the resulting level restart.
The game
begins with some tutorial levels that familiarize players with the various
aspects of the game, including the power-ups for that nitrous boost, which are
necessary when learning to jump from some of the game’s many ramps.
Each level
has certain goals that need to be achieved to unlock other items, such as skins
and drivers. There are stars on the track and you will gain bonus points for
collecting them. But what matters the most is the time taken to navigate the
courses. Your time will result in being awarded the bronze, silver or gold for
that level. In the single-player mode, you can repeat levels and race against a
ghost of your previous best time. The ghost can be turned off in the options, if
you so wish.
The game’s
controls are rather tight, with the brakes really grabbing – either in terms of
the hand brake or the general vehicle (read that as cyber foot) brake.
Acceleration is also well handled. The defining attributes of each vehicle come
in terms of acceleration, top speed, weight, start boost, braking and handling.
You can
unlock new skins for your vehicle, unlock two more characters and two more
vehicles (the Colt and the Bruiser), and unlock bonus games (more on that in a
moment). There are more than 70 tracks in this game, so – as stated – getting
that right mix of acceleration and handling is very important. You do have to
finish the easier courses and gain the necessary credits to unlock the more
difficult levels. There is also a track editor to allow players to design their
own puzzling tracks.
There is a
challenge mode and a race mode, as well as those entertaining bonus games. The
bonus games break down into single player and multiplayer. For example, Penguin
Bowling (your car is the ball and you drive down five alleys, knocking over –
what else? – penguins) is single player while Soccer Crazy or Bomb Pool are both
multiplayer. There are six bonus games, and multiplayer also has combat with
deathmatch and reverse tag games. Multiplayer is through WiFi connectivity.
The controls
will take time to master but are rather intuitive in the way they are set up.
The audio portion of the game is sound (pun intended), but hardly stands out.
Where the game shines is in the visual arena. The game is very lush and the
environments are well rendered. The vehicle physics do not emulate real-world
hot rods or off-road vehicles, but rather have their own set of characteristics
that take a bit to get used to.
Gripshift is
a compilation of different ideas packed into one title what has racing at its
core. But if you look at the game merely from that perspective, it is somewhat
lacking. Take in the entire package – track editor, multiplayer, combat and
bonus games as well as the racing aspect, and you have a fun little package that
offers something different and does a good job in handling the different
elements.
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Gameplay:
7.8
There are some
load times, but they are not overly long. It will take time to get used to the
way the vehicles handle. The in-game physics are not much like auto racing, so
discard that notion at the start.
Graphics:
8.3
Imaginative
tracks, solid environments and vehicle customization all add up to a fun time at
the old track. The bonus games can also be a lot of fun visually.
Sound:
6.8
The sounds here
are decent, but don’t really stand out.
Difficulty: Medium
There are five
settings here, and the game begins on the easier settings before unlocking the
harder tracks.
Concept:
8.0
Broken down, each
of the segments of this game is merely average for their respective genres. But
combined in the manner they are here makes for a well-rounded and entertaining
experience.
Multiplayer: 8.0
This is much more
entertaining than single player, especially if you have a bonus game unlocked.
Anyone up for a rousing game of Bomb Pool?
Overall:
7.8
Gripshift has
variety; it has visual appeal and entertainment value. You may have to work to
unlock the bonus games and more difficult tracks, but there is something about
this game that will compel you to do so, playing some of the levels over and
over until you accomplish the deed to advance. With the addition of the track
editor and multiplayer, this turns out to be a very substantial and enjoyable
title.
