I was browsing through the New Arrivals area of the Xbox Marketplace when I noticed a new arcade game called GripShift. I first heard about this game for the PSP and saw some game play videos on it. It looked to be pretty fun, and I was thinking about getting it for my PSP. But once I saw it on the Marketplace, I immediately purchased it there and didn't think twice about the PSP. Good move!

GripShift is this crazy little racecar game that includes high speeds, twisting courses, and different challenges. The game immediately reminds me of Super Monkey Ball, in that it takes place on these themed floating islands way, way up in the sky. Also like Super Monkey Ball, you take your character and have to move/drive them through this crazy obstacle course to the finish line at the end.

A lot of these courses are great. They include all sorts of obstacles like loops, jumps, magnets, launch pads, moving platforms, metal crushers, etc. And did I mention the courses take place on these floating islands? Fall off the track or island and you lose. Being this high up seems to have an effect on gravity as your vehicles kind of float through the air when you hit a launch pad or ramp. You can also control your car in mid-air, making it so you can cut corners and land on other pieces of the track far below. This is what you have to do to get the best time in most cases.

The game kind of started off slow for me, as the first several courses are extremely easy and kind of unimagined. But the game includes several different difficulty levels including Hard, Insane, and Evil. Plus, each difficulty level has its own set of 10-20 courses. I haven't unlocked Evil's courses yet, but trying out Insane's which were close to impossible, I can't image what Evil has in store. Once you get into the higher difficulty levels, the game gets more challenging and you gain a better sense of accomplishment when you beat the level.

The game includes single player and multiplayer. For single player you get two types of game play. There is the Race mode which is a lot like Mario Kart in that you get special weapons or power-ups that you can use against your opponents. But the mode that I like better is the Challenge mode. In here they throw you on a track and have you complete several objectives (get the best time, collect all the stars, find the secret item). Again, in the beginning levels, this is kind of lame, but in the advanced levels it's damn fun...and frustrating.

In the end I think this is a great game and well worth the 800 point purchase. I really just wanted to write a quick article on this game, but it doesn't look like that happened. Anyways, you can also download a demo of it to try it out first, but get the damn game. I want to play some multiplayer!