Gripshift was released as a PSP game two years ago, but for the majority of us who didn’t own that handheld (sorry Sony!), missed out. However, fear not. Microsoft is to the rescue. If you’ve been stuck playing Pac-Man or Double Dragon on the Xbox Live Arcade, hit the brakes and get ready for Gripshift, because it is truly worth every penny you drop on it – or in this case, Microsoft Points.

The gameplay premise of Gripshift is very interesting. It combines the furious racing of Wipeout with the power-up elements of Mario Kart. On top of that, in the puzzle challenges, the game becomes a platformer! The racing mode is a straight-up Wipeout-esque driving game, where power-ups will give you the edge. It’s a lot of fun, but the handling takes some getting used to. You can turn gradually around curves, but when you get to a certain point in the steer, the car will power slide. This is an effective mechanic when you are nimbly cornering turns in the puzzle challenges; but not in the race. It can actually become quite frustrating. There is also a death-match mode that takes the power-ups and puts them to an intently lethal use. The addition of this mode to Live really gives something for everyone.

 
“Whoa…I am already queasy.”

The puzzle challenge is the best part of Gripshift and the most innovative. Puzzles will become increasingly more complicated as you progress and unfold new gameplay elements. The beginning challenges are basically straightforward, get from point A to point B driving runs. Quickly, though, the game becomes more like Marble Madness, or Monkey Ball, especially after the Easy section. There will be jumps, loops, magnets, tiny tracks, etc… all trying to throw your car off. The platforming elements really come into play when you realize that the levels have multiple routes through them. You could boost a jump and try to hit this road over here, BUT you could also take this other path and boost over to this island, getting to the finish that way. In these levels, the bizarre handling becomes apparent. Braking and turning around the many zany puzzles will make you understand why it is indeed called Grip and Shift.

I really like the visuals and the decision to make everything an ethereal floating platform. That abstraction makes the other out-there gameplay elements feel right. The choice to make the roads asphalt, and not some sci-fi metal roads of the future was an interesting one, too. The cars resemble roadsters and have significant variation when it comes to speed or handling – which car you pick is a weighty decision.

The game is not without its faults. When you play the puzzle mode, you are forced to make several button presses in various menus to get to the next puzzle. It is strictly unnecessary and should have been designed to immediately plop you in the next level.

Gameplay: 7.5
While the racing is only ho-hum, the platforming puzzles are very impressive.

Graphics: 8.0
For what it is, a $10 DLC, the graphics are as good as a PS2 game. I like the use of asphalt and roadsters – it would have been easy to latch on to a corny sci-fi theme.

Sound: 7.5
The funky music suits the game fine. But it’s nothing too stand up for.

Difficulty: Medium
Races and puzzles will get increasingly difficult as you progress.

Concept: 8.0
The platforming elements are very unique to racing games.

Multiplayer: 8.0
It supports Live, which is a good thing. The bad thing is that when I was on there, no one else was playing. I mean no-one.

Overall: 8.0
For $10, you really can’t beat the value of this game. Not only do you get a fully fleshed-out Kart style racer, but also deathmatch, a platforming puzzler, and Xbox Live support! The developers are going to bring more DLC content to Live to keep the game going. This game is the perfect example of what Xbox 360 is doing right.