90
From the get-go, Gripshift promises a puzzle, platform, driving and action experience. Sure enough, the game is an oddly hobbled-together bag of tricks with a strange style of gameplay.
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90
I'm not a driving game fan, being more into puzzle and platform titles on console, so you might not think this game should really be my cup of tea, but it's one of those wonderful genre-busters that comes along so rarely. It doesn't really matter what sort of games you usually buy; odds are you'll like Gripshift.
It was developed by Sidhe in New Zealand, a studio that doesn't get enough press outside of Australasia, and I think with this title they've really made their mark in terms of the quality of games coming out of the region.
The game is slick, fun, and perfectly suited to the pick up/put down aspect of PSP, as well as prolonged play. The production values, innovation, and polish of Gripshift are high, and it's genuinely addictive, as well as being stupidly cheap.
Gripshift has a powerful map editor, which extends gameplay into infinity, and even if it were priced up there with the dearest PSP titles out there it'd be a bargain. I'd consider Gripshift a must-have for any PSP library.
You'll find yourself replaying levels to reach all the goals available, and the zero load-time between attempts puts a smile on your dial, and on top of that even the initial loads are very short.
The game has good sound, great levels, good art, and brilliant design, forcing some lateral thinking (and driving), and keeping interest piqued with its platformer/puzzler elements. This game has a long life and solid replay value.
This is in my top three for PSP. Buy it.
95
I thought the premise looked awesome, and the gameplay looked sweet. It is AWESOME. For whatever reason, this game has gotten no publicity, and didn't get great reviews, but it is awesome. It is so original -- the idea has never been done before. It's not your average racer. After playing this game, I had to recommend it to you, so you don't miss out. It's one of those games that never gets big -- it's a hidden gem. If you like car games, and want an original spin on it, go pick this up.
95
Introduction
I must say I was a little bit nervous buying this game because of its mixed reviews and I have generally disappointed with the quality of PSP games, except with the obvious exceptions listed on this website. However, I am glad I took the plunge.
Gameplay
The game is as described a racing cum puzzle solving with some very nice extras thrown in. You choose a driver and car, which you then customise. After which, in single player mode, you have the following options:
• Challenge mode where you go through from Beginner to Insane levels of puzzles and races, collecting stars and completing other objectives like finishing the race to get medals. These earn you points to unlock features in the game. Challenge mode is initially very easy, but gets really tough really fast. One of only gripes with this game is here in that the challenge tracks are often very unforgiving, a little acceleration at the wrong moment can send you spiralling off.
• Race mode where you have a choice of a single race, time challenge, championship and practice options. The races are unlocked as you go through challenge mode.
• Bonus games where there are some pretty cool games, so far I've only unlocked the Pengiun Bowling (which is terrific).
There is also a multi player mode, which I've not tried, I'm sure its a load of fun to race your friends. There is also a Track Editor built into the game, and really adds a great deal to the game. You can go to the game website and download tracks, you can share tracks you've designed also.
Graphics and Sound
The game moves fast and without skipping. The sound is excellent with a few nice comedic fx.
Load Times
One of the biggest disappointments with the PSP is load times for games. Luckily this game has pretty short load times. Restarting the PSP to continue playing typically is 1-2 seconds. Load times for levels are under 10 seconds.
Overall Value
I can see myself playing this for a while. You have to have some patience due to the unforgiving tracks, but the game is very satisfying and will provide many many hours of fun.
71
I bought this game on a whim and I had mixed emotions. I feel that I have more gripes than "hoorahs" for the game however I will try to be fair in this review.
Playability
It's fun, I enjoyed it. I can see it being played over and over. But it also has the one hang up that I hate about games -- "things that you easily fall off of." If there is one thing I HATE about games is the fact that you have some levitating pads or stones that hover back and forth...and you're supposed to jump from one to one.
Okay sure, yeah, it wouldn't be a challenge if they weren't there, but couldn't they invent a button of "screw it, I'm sick these floating pads, float me over NOW!" Anyway, Gripshift is full of them not to mention the banks you fall off of as well.
All that said, I still found myself strangely drawn back to playing it. Oh well, I guess I'm a glutton for punishment.
Load Times
No complaints here.
Graphics
They are pretty sweet graphics. A lot of times I felt like I was in a bad early 80's cartoon. This is not a bad thing, mind you. It made me feel like I was a kid again.
Sound
It starts out kind of cool but the beats get redundant and boring. Why can't they get Enya or Yoko Ono to do any of the soundtracks? (I'm kidding of course, but I wish there was a "customize your songs from your mem stick" feature...or is there?)
Overall Value
For the casual gamer (such as I), I had more gripes about the game however I do recognize it's potential to be a great game. I do like the fact you can just turn it on, race and then turn it off (that was the seller for me right there). But I just wish they had a "so you're a stupid idiot" option for people like me who can't leap from pad to pad and/or zoom off the side of a cliff too often.
100
Ive played all the neat games out there that are "genre twisting", but this one has just too many features to be labled as a racer. I have played Trackmania, and Trackmania Sunrise, they both sport the generic racing and timed races and blah blah blah.
The huge upside is that the game sports a massive editor in which to make tracks that your fellow monkies will drive themselves insane trying to beat. Oh well back to this game. Its a pocket Trackmania with action missiles.
And for once you can clip the cars and bash their cheap A.I. @$$es off the track. Also this game sports the editor, the holy of holiest of editors that man has ever faced, when he can't be in front of his massive death machine.
The game is amazing, the replay value is endless, and the music will grow on you like that huge mole thats on your grandpa's back. "watcha wanna do? GRIP! SHIFT! Back...." (the theme song). Oh sorry, anyways.
The game is solid, quite possibly the best looking PSP game, the cleanest running and the easiest to play, unless you like real racing games. Buy this game!
98
Ive wanted this game for awhile now, it got pretty bad reviews in EGM but it didn't scare me because I thought this game looked so fun from the screen shots. Well I was right!
The main gameplay is challange mode. This is where you have to collect starts, get fast times for medals, and bonus point credits. It starts off pretty easy but it's so much fun. There are different modes of play in challange: beginner, easy, intermediate, hard and insane. I'm not very far, just on easy, but the game is great. There are other modes of play: race mode and 6 bonus games. The racing if fun but so far easy but I know it will get harder. All the bonus games are very tough so far. Probably the coolest thing in the game is the track editor. You can make your own track from scratch, it's like tony hawks but a LOT better, you can make your own goals and such and then send them to people.
The controls in this game are very different. The physics system is all wacko, you can turn around 180 in midair and start going the other way, control yourself in midair and boost in midair. You can run in the ground and bounce yourself onto places. It's not very hard to learn the controls or to do all the things I just described.
This is probably the most fun game I have played for PSP. I'm not just looking for direct ports for PSP, I want some originality. And this brings originality and lots of fun. I've been playing it a lot whenever I have some free time. For only having 4 different worlds, each level seems different and they have got some crazy levels.
I think I'll be playing this game for a long time. It's going take me awhile just to beat challange mode, and all the others, but I think the track editor just makes the game almost endless. Even though you have to replay the levels over and over to get all the goals, I have no problem doing them again, it's a lot of fun.
This game is meant for anyone loooking for a differnt kind of game, with all the racing games out there, you'll probably just pass this up because you think its just another racing game. Its HARDLY a racing game, you just so happen to have a car to get you through all these challanges. I think this game is very very good and definatly on my top 5 list for PSP. I completely recommend this game to anyone.
95
You like Mercury? You like Wipeout? Well, mix the two and you get GripShift. I love both of those games, but I wasn't sure at first that GripShift would grip me (hehe;-). After I saw a gameplay trailer of the Penguin Bowling game, I knew it was something I had to check out. Since I came home with it, I haven't been able to stop playing it. I love this game! It's a hoot and a holler to play, has tons of replay value, and is quite challenging for those who strive for that satisfying 100% in a game.
Is it playable? Well, sure! The controls are easy to understand, but they do take some getting used to. For one thing, you can stop, start, and change direction, all in mid air (while rising or falling, of course. You can't stop yourself from falling. That would make it REALLY easy). Each car available has different levels of speed, acceleration, handling and stuff, so you'll find that while one car will get you the gold, you'll need another to get all the pickups or the elusive GS logo. Once you get the basics down, it becomes an effort of refining your skills at using those controls to complete each level.
Almost non existent compared to many games out there. By the time you consider counting the seconds for the load time, it's done. Restarting a level is instant, so there's not even the short load time to wait while you try and try to get all objectives for each level.
Nothing to write home about, but this isn't a game that's trying to wow you with its polygon count. It's a silly cartoony racing game. It has the look and feel of Splashdown: Rides Gone Wild, if that helps you much. The framerate is nice and high. I've not noticed a single stutter throughout 20+ levels so far.
Could be better. I'm not a big fan of the sounds they use, which tend to get repetitive, but they don't grate on my nerves. They're catchy, and I find myself humming along sometimes, but I can predict there will be people that will never touch this game after their first session just 'cus of the music. Really, on the PSP, more games should let you play MP3 from the Audio directory on the memory stick as an option. Alas, as with most PSP games, this one does not allow that, so you're stuck with the silly techno/rap/whatever tracks they chose.
As you play through each level, you unlock things as you earn credits for completing goals. The more goals for each level you complete, the faster you'll unlock things. Unlockables include new levels, new cars, new paint jobs, new hood decals, new drivers, and best of all, the bonus games! That's where you'll find Penguin Bowling, Bomb Pool, and more!
I mentioned this before, but it bears repeating. This game has replay value written all over it. Not only does it support ad-hoc multiplayer like all PSP games, but also it has a ton of bonus games, and to top it all off, it has a TRACK EDITOR! Hello? That means an endless supply of new tracks to challenge you as other player's on the net upload them for you to download to your memory stick! Woot! It's like Wipeout's downloadable packs, but better! I can't wait to see what fun and challenging tracks people come up with.
Worth every penny, in my honest opinion. Anyone who likes platform games and driving games should get this. Same with anyone who likes Puzzle games and driving games. You kind of need to love driving games, though. I'm glad I bought this, and I think if you're at all interested after reading this review, that you'll be glad you bought it too.
98
You can never get tired of this game!
67
I'm not sure how this game gets such a high ranking, when something truely great like Burnout gets such a rubbish score here. The two good things about this game are that the graphics really are quite great, and the funky-ass physics are pretty fun. But outside of that, the gameplay is boring and really unoriginal, and so far, I must say, the makers of this game managed to somehow create the WORST soundtrack the console has ever seen. You must realise it's a bad sign when your only inspiration for ending a course, is so that you can stop listening to the aweful music track that's playing. And what's with the menu theme-song? I know I'm not into rap music, but if thats what passes for a great rap track, then I'm glad I listen to real music.
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10