Scott "E"
Second Unit
- Joined
- May 3, 2002
- Messages
- 309
After some rather lack luster reviews on various gaming sites I went to my local EB to purchase Quantum Redshift. One question to the reviewers of this game, what the hell were you guys smoking and can I have some? If you are a racing fan and or a fan of Wipeout go buy this game, one word describes this game, WOW.
Graphics
The first thing that you'll notice when you first start the game is that it is absolutely beautiful. Everything in this game is bump mapped and there are some outstanding lighting effects going on as well. There are some nice varieties in the courses, which there are a total of 16 of. At times you'll start to lose focus on the race by some of the backgrounds, but this will pass as you unlock the different skill levels, because it's gonna be kind of hard to focus on something that is nothing but a blur
. Speaking of speed, 60 frames a second with not a sign of slowdown to be seen, anywhere, this game is freakishly fast!! The one complaint I have is that the water interaction with your ship could have been more than what it is. You'll get a spray that projects from the back of your ship, but no ripple effects. They made up for the mistake however by including the same water effect on the windshield that Moto GP uses, this will get your friends drooling. The only thing that could make the graphics better would be HD support, but you still get 480p and 16:9 support.
Sound
Here you'll be getting the typical experience you've grown accustom to on the Xbox. That's right another titles soundtrack put to good use by the powers of Dolby Digital 5.1. You'll be able to here the opponents ships coming up from behind you on either side, although depending on how fast they're closing on you, you might not here them until it's too late. The music in the game is mostly forgettable IMO, but not to worry, because as is becoming more common lately, especially in racing games, is the ability to use custom soundtracks. The soundtrack interface has a lot in common with PGR, in that if you have more than one playlist it will let you pick and choose from them to make your soundtrack.
Gameplay
If there is one thing that can ruin any game, especially a racing game, it's the control. Well, good news, Quantum Redshift does not have this problem. The controls are very responsive and very easy to learn. The right trigger is the gas, the left trigger is to powerslide, the "A" button is turbo, the "X" button is for non homing weapons, the "B" button is for homing weapons, and the "Y" button is for your shield. When you first start the game you can select from 7 characters. Each characters ship has different strengths and weaknesses, these range from better turning to being faster on the different surfaces found through out the levels. Once you pick your character you'll be put into action against 5 opponents, one of which will be your characters rival. You'll race through 3 events and then you'll be put into a head to head race against your rival. If you succeed you will then have access to that character and there home track. There are a total of 16 playable characters to match the 16 tracks in the game. There are a total of 5 different classes in the game, in the beginning you will only have access to the beginner class, but as you win the various tournaments you will unlock the other classes. Things really start getting interesting when you unlock the third class, but be warned, because when you unlock the "Redshift" class you'll be wishing this game had slowdown. The story in the game is pretty cheesy IMO, before each race your character gets a little camera time and 9 times out of 10 you'll think your character is going to say something else, but they don't. IMO, this part of the game could have been left out. There are some Easter eggs that are unlockable as well as you progress through the game, fans of Moto GP will appreciate these extras, although I haven't unlocked anything yet that comes close to the "Bring, Ding, Ding" effect.
Conclusion
Well, as you can tell I really like this game. It's a solid game inside and out, if it had Live support and or system link support I'd be in heaven, but you still get 4 player splitscreen action. Oh, and it still doesn't slow down in this mode either. This very well may be the best looking game to date on the box, it really has to be seen to be believed. With all the racers on the Xbox, it would be a shame if you passed over this title do to the reviews it received. Do yourself a favor and at least give it a rent, trust me, it will be worth it.
Graphics
The first thing that you'll notice when you first start the game is that it is absolutely beautiful. Everything in this game is bump mapped and there are some outstanding lighting effects going on as well. There are some nice varieties in the courses, which there are a total of 16 of. At times you'll start to lose focus on the race by some of the backgrounds, but this will pass as you unlock the different skill levels, because it's gonna be kind of hard to focus on something that is nothing but a blur
. Speaking of speed, 60 frames a second with not a sign of slowdown to be seen, anywhere, this game is freakishly fast!! The one complaint I have is that the water interaction with your ship could have been more than what it is. You'll get a spray that projects from the back of your ship, but no ripple effects. They made up for the mistake however by including the same water effect on the windshield that Moto GP uses, this will get your friends drooling. The only thing that could make the graphics better would be HD support, but you still get 480p and 16:9 support.Sound
Here you'll be getting the typical experience you've grown accustom to on the Xbox. That's right another titles soundtrack put to good use by the powers of Dolby Digital 5.1. You'll be able to here the opponents ships coming up from behind you on either side, although depending on how fast they're closing on you, you might not here them until it's too late. The music in the game is mostly forgettable IMO, but not to worry, because as is becoming more common lately, especially in racing games, is the ability to use custom soundtracks. The soundtrack interface has a lot in common with PGR, in that if you have more than one playlist it will let you pick and choose from them to make your soundtrack.
Gameplay
If there is one thing that can ruin any game, especially a racing game, it's the control. Well, good news, Quantum Redshift does not have this problem. The controls are very responsive and very easy to learn. The right trigger is the gas, the left trigger is to powerslide, the "A" button is turbo, the "X" button is for non homing weapons, the "B" button is for homing weapons, and the "Y" button is for your shield. When you first start the game you can select from 7 characters. Each characters ship has different strengths and weaknesses, these range from better turning to being faster on the different surfaces found through out the levels. Once you pick your character you'll be put into action against 5 opponents, one of which will be your characters rival. You'll race through 3 events and then you'll be put into a head to head race against your rival. If you succeed you will then have access to that character and there home track. There are a total of 16 playable characters to match the 16 tracks in the game. There are a total of 5 different classes in the game, in the beginning you will only have access to the beginner class, but as you win the various tournaments you will unlock the other classes. Things really start getting interesting when you unlock the third class, but be warned, because when you unlock the "Redshift" class you'll be wishing this game had slowdown
. The story in the game is pretty cheesy IMO, before each race your character gets a little camera time and 9 times out of 10 you'll think your character is going to say something else, but they don't. IMO, this part of the game could have been left out. There are some Easter eggs that are unlockable as well as you progress through the game, fans of Moto GP will appreciate these extras, although I haven't unlocked anything yet that comes close to the "Bring, Ding, Ding" effect.Conclusion
Well, as you can tell I really like this game. It's a solid game inside and out, if it had Live support and or system link support I'd be in heaven, but you still get 4 player splitscreen action. Oh, and it still doesn't slow down in this mode either. This very well may be the best looking game to date on the box, it really has to be seen to be believed. With all the racers on the Xbox, it would be a shame if you passed over this title do to the reviews it received. Do yourself a favor and at least give it a rent, trust me, it will be worth it.
