Wednesday, October 08, 2008

The Vault: Quantum Redshift (Xbox)


Title:
Quantum Redshift
Format: Xbox
Genre: Racing
Expect to pay: £1 - £10


Nintendo has F-Zero, Sony has Wip3Out, and Microsoft has... Quantum Redshift? Let's be honest, it's not exactly a brand you would automatically associate with the company like the other two. That's because it didn't exactly set the world on fire when it was released. Nevertheless, Curly Monsters have put together an extremely solid future racer here, one which still looks good today. The tracks have a nice solid sheen to them and the most important factor for a game like this, the speed is most definitely present and correct once you get past the lowest difficulty setting.

Quantum Redshift does things a little differently from most other racing games in that the main tournament mode isn't the same fixed journey through all the tracks every time. In fact it is dictated by your choice of character and this also decides your difficulty level at the same time. It will probably take a while to get used to the handling of your craft anyway so you may not win on your first try, so don't be discouraged. After the first few easy characters are out of the way, the races can get extremely tough, and you will probably have to keep restarting them as I did.

You don't pick up individual weapons as in Wip3Out, instead each craft has it's own weapon and the red pickups on the track power it up, from level 1 to level 3. The same is also true for boost and shields, so you need to strategically decide whether to go for a short burst of boost for example, or build it up to level 3 and then release a longer burst. Winning races earns you cash which can be spent on upgrading your boost, weapons and shields, and also unlock new characters each with their own journey through the various tracks.


Quantum Redshift can be picked up incredibly cheaply - from as little as 1 or 2 quid which really is a bargain. It will take you quite some time to finish the tournament for each character, if you do manage it at all for the harder ones. What's more, I can confirm that it is fully compatible with the Xbox 360, so if your original Xbox has broken (like mine) you can still enjoy the game on your current gen system.

Quantum Redshift is a worthy alternative to F-Zero or Wip3Out

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