GripShift Review

By Tom Bramwell Published 17 December, 2007

Race to wiiiiiiin!

Version tested: Xbox 360

A few years ago, a friend of mine gave a popular Japanese videogame 8/10 in a British magazine. I like it more than that, and I was surprised by the response, so (it occurs to me you're going to like this story) I asked what stopped it getting a higher score. The answer came back: "I wasn't sure if people would like it the way I do."

Sometimes, the emphasis is definitely on "way". EG old boy Ronan didn't like the sequel to Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance as much as he thought he would because it wasn't as good for "loot racing". Kristan loves adventure games like Fahrenheit, but thinks action bits should go take a running jump (as, I suppose, is their wont).

Which bring me to GripShift, because it is so completely made for me. It's a racing game where each circuit is suspended in the sky and has three objectives: get round as quickly as possible, collect stars and get round as quickly as possible, and collect a "GS" token and get round as quickly as possible. As a straightforward racer, it's a bit floaty and derivative. But it's not really about that. It's not really even about racing against other people directly; it's about taking advantage of the abstract physics to uncover shortcuts; and it's about shaving your times until they're bald enough to top global leaderboards.

We first encountered it on the PSP, where it didn't quite gel. Individual goals were relatively easy to secure, and there was no imperative for self-improvement once you had conquered them - no added benefit to achieving more than one objective as part of the same attempt, and only the unlikely prospect of being active enough to regularly compare times with a friend to sustain it. But, with the advent of PlayStation 3's online service (for which GripShift joined the launch line-up), things changed. Being able to compete for the best times against international opposition made a good game very good.

'GripShift' Screenshot 1

I'm best in the world at this one. Was yesterday, anyway.

The same, thankfully, is true on Xbox Live Arcade. There are over 100 Challenge levels to tackle, tailored to various difficulty levels, and even the very easiest will be fought over. Even the very first, actually, where achieving the best time is about accelerating perfectly off the start, covering the ground to the first small hill quickly and then managing your speed so that you can slip between a pair of crash barriers on the left side of the track and descend toward the finish line below, pitching forward and flooring the gas pedal in flight to glide through the finish gate.

Unless that's not the best way to do it, of course, which is another part of the game's charm - each level has been designed, redesigned, tweaked, polished and road-tested so thoroughly that finding the most efficient routes is a battle not only against other players but also the designers. You develop and test new theories as you tackle a particular goal (perhaps I can use the bounce pad to fly round the back of the Woolly Mammoth encased in ice, thus getting better momentum when I aim for the ramp on the left) and sometimes they work (I wonder if I can cut that corner by flicking myself up off the upward slant of a sprouting crash barrier and using the pitch control and nitrous button to power myself through the goal) and sometimes they don't (aha, they've put a giant icicle in my way).

Asking you to do three different things, which often changes the way you approach the level significantly, also has its benefits in this area - giving you another perspective on your activities up to that point. Their separation felt like a design flaw on the PSP, but in the context of global leaderboards it's a way to invest yourself in a level without having to explore it for no tangible gain. As soon as you spot it, pull up the menu and restart and you're back on the grid in a split second.

'GripShift' Screenshot 2

And this one.

One difference between this and the PlayStation Network version is that there are no longer individual leaderboards for each discipline on each track. So while on PS3 you could compete to be fastest on any individual track even if you had no hope of being fastest to retrieve all the spinning stars, on Xbox Live Arcade your overall position on the leaderboard is dictated by some algorithmic determination of your average performance across all three objectives. In other words, you can still try and simply be the best at being fast, but if you're to be king of the world you will probably have to be best at two out of three things, or at least significantly better at one and only close behind on the other two.

And I've enjoyed that change, actually. If each individual discipline were decidedly different (say, running compared to clapping), it might be easier to complain about their newfound co-dependency, but the truth is that they are similar enough that the satisfaction of pursuing one is true of the others. And thus the measure of skill is probably more astute.

But you can see why GripShift is a "the way I like it", can't you? It can't escape this. There are 25 tracks used for a series of racing modes (challenges are one-on-one races where you also collect stars, time attacks are time attacks, single races are single races, championships are championships), and these incorporate a number of fairly standard kart-racing-style power-ups (homing projectile weapons, oil-slicks, mines, shields, etc.), but, while there's an increase in speed (and difficulty, obviously) from difficulty level to difficulty level, there are better competitive arcade racing games around.

The new deathmatch mode, added for Xbox Live Arcade, however, takes these basic kart-racing battle mode elements and combines them with the floaty physics and absurd aerial nitrous manoeuvring and suddenly flourishes. You can stack up to three power-ups in your arsenal and switch between them with X, and then fire with B as you're jetting around complicated networks of islands and racetrack suspended above a perilous drop. Maintaining sure footing (wheeling?) varies in difficulty between battlegrounds, and combines well with a diverse range of track elements to create distinct scenarios. The fast pace and cycle of death and respawning has you laughing manically one minute and cursing the next, but always dead by your own clumsiness rather than the game's design, and always eager to get back in the fray, particularly as you retain stored power-ups.

'GripShift' Screenshot 3

Don't remember this one. Must have embarrassed everyone instantly.

It's an interesting enough game mode on its own, and perfectly capable of maintaining your interest across the multiple tracks, weapon-sets and with varying numbers of players. It would be interesting to watch how it was received away from its host game. As it is, it's a welcome footnote to an already wicked game.

I wasn't even looking forward to it, really. I just wanted to play more GripShift. But with each iteration of the formula Sidhe has proven itself a developer worth watching. Whether you're simply racing to top your friends' scores, as you would in any Xbox Live Arcade games, or you're racing for the very top, this is an unbelievably addictive physics puzzle game with its roots in TrackMania, Mercury and games of their ilk and arguably the beating of most of them. A facility to save your replays would have made it better, as some of the things you'll need to do to get yourself to the top of the leaderboards are audacious enough that you will want to preserve them, but it's a forgivable oversight. Providing you like it the way I do. Hopefully the above will give you a sufficient clue as to whether that's the case.

8 / 10

Read the Eurogamer.net scoring policy
Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (53) Latest comment 4 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Tejstar #1 4 years ago

    Looks like great fun - I haven't had a chance to play this before. Any ideas on cost?

  • JonFE #2 4 years ago

    IIRC, it's 800 MS points; correct me if I'm wrong.

    Both me and my son have enjoyed the demo enormously; will definitely be purchased at first opportunity.

  • Tiel #3 4 years ago

    I love it too.

    And 800 points is a bragain for what was developed as a full priced game.

    The visuals are also very nice for DLC.

  • Xensor #4 4 years ago

    Looks like a slightly more otherworldly take on Trackmania, which ain't necessarily a bad thing :)

  • Der_tolle_Emil #5 4 years ago

    I enjoyed the demo but having played all the TrackMania games (which are simply fantastic) I think this lacks a bit. TrackMania doesn't offer challenges to collect all the stars or any logos but what it does is offer multiple ways to finish a track as fast as possible - and this is where TrackMania shines. GripShift does this very well as well but it doesn't really come close.

    I guess without having played TrackMania I would have purchased GripShift instantly and I pretty much think I will buy it at some point. After all it is a fun little game.

  • smurphs #6 4 years ago

    Thanks Tom. It was your PSP review 2 years ago that got me into Gripshift when I would otherwise have passed it by, and this review has convinced me to finally shell out for xbox live.

    Very 'personal' reviews like this are great, keep it up.

  • speedjack #7 4 years ago

    Great review.

    Bought this ages ago on PSP on the strength of the Eurogamer review and loved it.

    I traded in my PSP and probably missed it the most out of all my games so picking this up on XBLA was a no brainer.

    The gameplay has now been polished to to a fine sheen as have the visuals.

    Well worth the £6.80.

  • Anthony_UK #8 4 years ago

    Bought this over the weekend, awesome stuff!

  • smirny #9 4 years ago

    Having very much enjoyed TrackMania i was keen to give this a go, and arriving on XBLA gave the me the excuse i needed to try it out. As much as i wanted to love it, and even though i did enjoy it, the handling just bugged me, it seemed all to easy to screw up a run that was going so well. This has put it on the back burner of purchases for now.

  • barnard666 #10 4 years ago

    I think the art style, and sound put a lot of people off, I like the game, but after awhile it just makes me feel a bit sick. Its all so while its colourful its too nice to be arcadey, whilst its "fun" its too street to actually be cute. It has a direction deficiency, which is a shame because its a good game. I imagine its the kind of thing a board of directors for an aging company would come up with to get with the kids, missing what it is the kids actually like. It reminds me of...fuzion frenzy!

  • Darren #11 4 years ago

    I enjoyed this game on the PS3 and am liking it almost as much on the Xbox 360 but I was a bit surprised to see screen tearing on the Intermediate racing tracks where's there none at all on the PS3 version (that I've noticed anyway). Sure the 360 version has better anti-aliasing, marginally faster loading times and tweaked handling but surely the 360 can handle a simple but pretty looking racing game with just four cars on the track *and* a smooth tear-free framerate? This is the same console that can handle Burnout Revenge/Paradise at 60 fps and PGR 4 at 30 fps after all and both of those are pushing way more polygons and effects per second than GripShift. :?

    Terrific game though but I prefer the PS3 original as it runs smoother... :p

  • InsoFox #12 4 years ago

    I still have the demo so I can play this some more, because it's impressively feature packed and well-made.

    I was held back from a purchase because it seemed to me a bit lacking in the physics department. Or rather it was very old fashioned in that respect. It has tracks with all these impressive jumps and loops but it feels too programmed and restrictive in the way these things are handled. Perhaps I was expecting something that felt a bit more like TrackMania, but still, I'll see how I like it when I play a little more.

  • ReNo #13 4 years ago

    I love it, personally, and think the review is spot on. Unfortunately I've had trouble finding multiplayer games and only managed a single 1v1 deathmatch so far, but the single player challenges and the lure of topping the leaderboards is enough entertainment for the money.

    Anybody here been pushing for the top spots? I'm reno84 - only really been setting times on the beginner challenges so far, but I've held a couple of #1 spots and most others I've made top 10.

  • trav #14 4 years ago

    TrackMania on XBLA? How great would that be?

    Won't happen of course, but can still dream.

  • asphaltcowboy #15 4 years ago

    Played the demo, thought it was awful!

    /back to Trackmania

  • siro #16 4 years ago

    Seems to be a great game! "Unbelievably addictive" is a description which shouldn't lead to "only" an 8 tho.

  • miiiguel #17 4 years ago

    retrend, dude..., talk about bad mondays.... hate allover...

    tip: crawl back to bed.

  • BBIAJ #18 4 years ago

    Darren, I still haven't had any tearing!

    How much was your Phony Bravia: Tearing like no other HDTV again!?
    Edited by 1 at 17/12/07 @ 11:38

  • BBIAJ #19 4 years ago

    So a game you've never played, is terrible by virtue of the review alone?

    Right...

  • miiiguel #20 4 years ago

    retrend, you lucky bastard! It's freezing out here, yeah... even in Lisbon.

  • dllord #21 4 years ago

    I thought the trial game was complete and utter shite!

  • pfm #22 4 years ago

    A smart developer cashing in on the fact that Nadeo aren't interested in releasing a version of Trackmania on consoles...
    ...I think Trackmania United would rock on XBLA

  • Vermillion3000 #23 4 years ago

    okay I'll try the demo again...

    hated it the first time but I'll give it the benefit of the doubt.

    Also, the original Trackmania is still the best. Matchbox car racing is very obviously the future of motorsport...

  • Darren #24 4 years ago

    @BBIAJ - Well obviously the image quality on my "Phony Bravia" must be better than your cheap piece of shite HDTV if I can see tearing and you can't! :p

    Seriously though, tearing is an issue caused by the game NOT the TV, you'll see still see it on a 26" Samsung as much as a 46" Sony at the same resolution; the quality of the TV actually has nothing to do with it (although the larger the TV, the more obvious it'll be). The game basically doesn't wait for a frame to finish being displayed before it sends the next one hence the tearing which are bits of frames all overlapping. It has nothing to do with the HDTV because if it waited until an entire frame had been displayed before processing the next one you'd suffer from dreadful lag as the game would be further ahead than the TV!!! LOL

    I can accept that you might not see it, particularly as the tearing only occurs on the more complex racing circuits in the Intermediate stages. However, for you to dismiss it as a quality issue with someone's HDTV just shows how misinformed/ignorant you really are. Or maybe you need your eyes testing, one of the two. ;)

    Oh and you're overlooking the obvious point of why I see tearing in the Xbox 360 version of Gripshift and not the PS3 version ON THE SAME BLOODY HDTV!!! LOL

  • BBIAJ #25 4 years ago

    Darren, I'm not the only EG'er to suggest that it could be the TV's fault, and if my cheaper TV tears less than one you paid through the nose for, I'm happy with that.

    Clearly you're not though, otherwise you wouldn't be getting so het up and defensive about it.
    Edited by 1 at 17/12/07 @ 12:23

  • Darren #26 4 years ago

    @BBIAJ - Except that not ALL games tear on my HDTV, BBIAJ, only a few that clearly do not use v-sync all the time. /rolls eyes

    Those games will tear on ANY TV but not everyone will notice it. The fact that I can see this issue, just highlights to me how good my HDTV actually is. After all, I could easily play games on a blur-tastic 21" CRT TV if I choose, where this issue would be less apparent, but there's a good reason why I don't. And that is that the benefits far outweigh the few cons. ;)

    Oh and the PS3 version of Gripshift doesn't tear at all by the way, just in case you missed that part. Maybe the real reason is that the Xbox 360 isn't as powerful as the PS3...? :p LOL

  • BBIAJ #27 4 years ago

    So by your logic, the better the telly, the worse the tearing should be?

    That's such a crock of shit!

  • Darren #28 4 years ago

    No, BBIAJ, I never said that!

    I actually said that the LARGER your HDTV, the more OBVIOUS tearing will be for games that exhibit this issue. I said two posts back that it doesn't have anything to do with the QUALITY of your HDTV but I guess you missed the bit, huh? ;)

    However, CRT TVs use poorer technology which makes tearing less noticeable, particularly as the resolution is lower anyway. That's why more people apparently notice tearing with HDTVs than they did with their old CRT TVs. If you can't understand that then there's no hope for you! LOL

  • Darren #29 4 years ago

    Thank you, retrend.

    @BBIAJ - I suggest you go and do your research so you better understand this issue or simply resort to just saying that you don't see any tearing, which is fair enough, rather than appearing "uneducated" by passing it off as an HDTV fault. :p

    The nature of tearing means it isn't identical every time anyway, it depends on how much is going on as to its severity. For example, say you're in the lead in Gripshift then you may not actually see any, but fall back in fourth place with three cars onscreen and you might actually see it as the game struggles to draw everything in one frame.

  • Darren #30 4 years ago

    I'll just add that none of what I've said changes the fact that Gripshift is a great game as the tearing only occurs on a few of the more complicated racing tracks. I only mentioned it because I never saw any in the PS3 version and I've played that for a lot longer than I have the 360 version.

    The End. :)

  • snick #31 4 years ago

    Is this leaderboard only, or can you actually race against your mates? I simply can't make it out from the review.

  • Arcadiian #32 4 years ago

    I've not been using Eurogamer long, but I don't think i've seen a single message from Darren that doesn't involve tearing. I feel like i'm being taught "geek" subconsciously.

    Anyway, thought this game was dire. The handling made it almost unplayable for me, I don't know what you people see in it. o_O

  • Darren #33 4 years ago

    @Arcadiian - Sorry but if it's there, I'll mention it. Developers *do* read forums, something I know from my correspondence with Traveller's Tales, so if you don't complain then they won't be aware of it/do anything about it. It was people like myself that forced Volition to patch Saints Row and for Climax to make a better MotoGP '07... or I'd like to think that's the case! I know Peej will agree with me! LOL

  • BBIAJ #34 4 years ago

    Darren, you said nothing of the sort about size, you said it is because your TV is so good that you can see tearing in practically any game ever made, even Pong no doubt!

    Do try and re-read your posts so as not to contradict yourself quite so often in future.

  • Arcadiian #35 4 years ago

    Well, I meant no malice. But I am having a difficult time keeping everything you say out, just incase you manage to spoil a game for me. I'd never noticed tearing before, but I see it quite a lot now. :(

  • EffEmmGee #36 4 years ago

    Cant we just agree to disagree?
    Benjamin is happy with his reasonably priced 32" HDTV which displays 99.99% of 360 games with immaculate detail and clarity without those hideous tearing and ott jaggies etc.
    And Darren you're happy with your incredibly expensive Sony Bravia HDTV which displays 50% of 360 games with immaculate detail and clarity without those hideous tearing and ott jaggies etc. The other 50% I am assuming look unplayable?

    Am I right?

    I'm sorry but I can't see how a TV which displays games poorly can be better?

    Oh and yes we did our research and came to the decision that there was no point paying through the nose for something which produces an image quality damn near identical to something that is more affordable. We also tested an incredible amount of TV's in-store with our own equipment.

    And actually in a way your right and wrong Darren. HDTV's DO influence the end quality. Its not responsible for everything but HDTV's re-process the image before displaying it hence some TV's showing flaws and others don't. Also expensive HDTV's use more or less the same technology as cheaper models, we saw this on many HDTV's after examining them closely. Comet's own cheap Pro-Line brand was using the same tech as other better known names such as Goodmans and LG, the only difference being the price for the 'name'. Its like saying your Levi's are better than my non-branded jeans, they're both made of Denim!

    Anyhow back on topic. Gripshift is an amazing game, I unfortunately haven't had the pleasure of playing it first hand on the 360, only watching Benjamin play it. But I was a fan of it on the PSP...still play it now actually.

  • orac1971 #37 4 years ago

    does this have splitscreen multiplayer?

  • Arcadiian #38 4 years ago

    No orac, I don't think it does. I checked the Xbox.com page, it only lists online multiplayer.

  • ReNo #39 4 years ago

    No, no split screen sadly :(

  • orac1971 #40 4 years ago

    thanks for quick reply Arcadiian

    darn it... would like a good split screen mario kart type thing on the 360 for the kids

  • Arcadiian #41 4 years ago

    Um, check out Mad Tracks on XBLA, if you haven't already. It's 4 player offline. I didn't like it much, but kids might. :)

  • Retroid #42 4 years ago

    I wanted to like this game, I really did, but the demo just left me completely cold :(

  • Darren #43 4 years ago

    BBIAJ - "Darren, you said nothing of the sort about size, you said it is because your TV is so good that you can see tearing in practically any game ever made, even Pong no doubt!"

    I mentioned a comparison between a 26" Samsung and a 46" Sony in my FIRST post and when I said my HDTV is so good I can see tearing, I meant it's better than my 21" CRT TV, which I mentioned in the NEXT line. PLEASE read my posts properly next time. And, nope, I didn't say "practically any game ever made" either... go on, admit it, you just made that one up? ;) LOL

    @EffEmmGee - The image processing features of HDTVs only affects the quality of the displayed image, it does NOT and can NOT remove tearing since it's only processing what is displayed in the framebuffer, i.e. an image that already consists of parts from several different frames!!! I've seen static screenshots from games that show tearing so if you can imagine that being processed by an HDTV 30 or 60 times per second then you're closer to understanding how they work.

    Like BBIAJ, you're not understanding completely what it is that actually causes screen tearing in the first place. The reason some people see it and others don't depends on the quality of your eyesight, the viewing distance and the severity of the tearing in the first place. As this is different for everyone, not everyone will find it as annoying as others and not everyone will notice it either. And that's my final word on the subject. I'd imagine people are getting bored of reading this and, to be honest, I'm getting bored of explaining it! LOL
    Edited by 2 at 17/12/07 @ 13:50

  • BBIAJ #44 4 years ago

    Yay, Darren's never going to mention tearing ever again, woo-hoo!

  • Darren #45 4 years ago

    EffEmmGee - "And Darren you're happy with your incredibly expensive Sony Bravia HDTV which displays 50% of 360 games with immaculate detail and clarity without those hideous tearing and ott jaggies etc. The other 50% I am assuming look unplayable?"

    In answer to this question which I forgot to answer above... make that 95% of games for the first line and scratch the last one because tearing don't render a game unplayable at all, it's merely an annoyance. Besides which how can a game look unplayable?!? :? LOL

  • Darren #46 4 years ago

    Thanks again, retrend! Nice to know I have someone I can count on for support! :)

    Ah all this bickering, people, it's nearly Christmas...

    /goes off singing

    "'Tis the season to be jolly... tra-la-la-lah, la-la-la!"

    All the best to everyone (except lazy assed developers who don't bother to use... oh, right, I did say I wouldn't mention that word again, didn't I?)!

  • bengray66 #47 4 years ago

    It may look alright, but hardly worth the price is it? Especially when you can pick up games like Dead Rising and Condemned for about the same price if not less 2nd hand.

    But to a game that people do care about, Can anyone confirm that sensi is still coming out this Wednesday?

  • ReNo #48 4 years ago

    How much of a skinflint are you bengray? £6 odd for this game is a bargain, not a rip off! There's plenty of XBLA games that don't provide value for money, I agree, but Gripshift isn't one of them. The game isn't something everyone will enjoy and I wouldn't harp on at people who simply don't like it, but it's easily one of the most content packed XBLA games so far.

  • Vermillion3000 #49 4 years ago

    I downloaded this again and gave it another shot and was much more impressed.
    It's got a sort of Rollcage feel to it too which is a good thing. I think they left the "hidden" tokens out of the demo but still told you go and look for them, which was an "odd" decision.
    I think griping about unrealistic physics is missing the point - as is wanking off in public about your telly but there you go.


  • BBIAJ #50 4 years ago

    Erm, all the "hidden" tokens are in the demo!

    I should know, I totalled the demo 100%.

    Just watch the fly-by more closely, where they appear massive, in-game they're more tokeny sized.

  • ronuds #51 4 years ago

    I'll have to pass, what with Sensible Soccer coming out this week and all...

  • Vermillion3000 #52 4 years ago

    "hidden" tokens in demo.

    Ahh - monkey at the helm error then, my mistake!

    Definitely a good decision to make them bigger in the full version (which I'm playing now)
    Jolly good then.. move along..

  • McGeeza #53 4 years ago

    I didn't really 'get' the demo and was a bit meh about it. However, I was bored last night so thought fuck it, it's only £7 and I usually trust Tom's reviews...

    Really enjoying the full game. Not so keen on the race mode but the challenge mode is brilliant (although I don't think it would appeal as much without the Live leaderboards). I would suggest that if you are a trackmania and/or puzzle game fan this is a good purchase... racing fans i'm not so sure...

    PS: I checked the intermediate races Darren mentioned and there is indeed t***ing. Which is odd because the level I tried didn't look half as complicated geometry wise as some of the beginner challenge levels and the vehicles aren't exactly million poly masterpieces... Go PS3! :D