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.
Gameplay
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.
Load times
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.
Graphics
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.
Sound
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.
Unlockables
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!
Replay
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.
Overall value
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.
Great, another crap game for PSP. Good thing BURNOUT came out, thank god for that. I just played this one and I really disliked it. After spending 6 hours playing Burnout, the handling in Grip was THE terrible.
Why oh why does the 'crap game' contingent have to post anything at all? I know it's a free world, and I know everybody has their own opinion, but please PLEASE just STFU if you don't like 'crap games'.
Buddha came into it with the wrong attitude, I think. I just got 100% on Midnight Club 3, so I know how different this game's physics and play style are from other "normal" racing games. That's why I tried to make it clear that this was NOT a normal racing game. Burnout is all about speed and smashing things, which is fun and all, but GripShift isn't even considering trying to be like that. It's a whole new type of game, imho, and should absolutely not be compared to things like MC3 or BL, or even RR.
At least Buddha played it, while most "this game is crap" people only look at screen shots and trailers to formulate their feeble opinions. Yes, the handling in GripShift is different than Burnout. But it's not terrible FOR THIS TYPE OF GAME. This game would not be playable at all with Burnout's physics. If you can't handle it, then steeer away from this game.
ilian123 said: "sounds nice, but i think i would regret if i got it. i'll get bored pretty fast"
That's where you have to be inventive and use the track editor! It's basically the same one used to create the tracks that shipped with the game, so the sky's the limit!
A comprehensive track editor guide can be found here
I agree. If PSP games would allow us to play MP3 music from the Mem stick, not only would it save the makers money by not having to get the songs, but it would make everyone happy.
I bought Burnout and Gripshift at the same time. Wihle Burnout is far superior (in fun), I really like Gripshift. I'd give it a B- while giving Burnout an A-
The puzzles are basically platformer style driving challenges. I've only gotten to about 20%, but already there's stuff like launch pads that send you sky high to get to other places, fans that you need to slow down to be affected by, moving track sections of various kinds, and magnets that pulse and pull you toward them, slowing down your progress. There's also teleports to send you to other parts of a level and turn you around unexpectedly... and there's more stuff I haven't even unlocked yet. Puzzling aspects tend to be "how in the world do I get that pickup and still finish within the time limit?" or "how can I get a gold medal at 15s when my fastest time is 20s?" You have to understand how all the features of the level relate to each other, and figure out the best way to reach those goals.
[quote=lyam]Why oh why does the 'crap game' contingent have to post anything at all? I know it's a free world, and I know everybody has their own opinion, but please PLEASE just STFU if you don't like 'crap games'.
So let me get this straight LYAM, you only want to hear peoples opinion that agree with you???? Dude, you should work in the whitehouse !!!
buddha said: "[quote=lyam]Why oh why does the 'crap game' contingent have to post anything at all? I know it's a free world, and I know everybody has their own opinion, but please PLEASE just STFU if you don't like 'crap games'.
So let me get this straight LYAM, you only want to hear peoples opinion that agree with you???? Dude, you should work in the whitehouse !!!
So how old are you Lyam? 15?
"
Nah, no Whitehouse job for me, I have a tendency to speak my mind without the spin. I posted what I did becuase I'm tired of 'This is a crap game .' responses with little to no info to back it up. I could have ignored you, but I decided not to because it was a stupid post. Not all of your posts are stupid, just this one. I rather liked your post about Zork. Pretty Funny. This one sucked, though.
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