Quantum Redshift

"High Speed Racing At It's Finest"

I have been waiting for a high speed racing game for the Xbox for a good while, so that's why I was excited when I finally saw Quantum Redshift on shelves

Gameplay: This game is very similar to other futuristic racing games. You pilot a SPARC, or Single Person Armed Racing Craft (gotta love the ''A''). You race on tracks collecting gems that power up your weapons to destroy other racers, which is not anything new, what makes this a great game is the polish brought to it. Controls are tight are easy to pick up on, and this is a very good use of the Xbox Controller's rumble. One missing feature was the Xbox System link, i have been hoping for one Xbox racing game to support it, but i am still searching. One other annoying point is that this game is enabled for Xbox Live, and it is a shame, but i will not take points off for that. Overall good 8/10.

Story: Usually racing games do not need stories, and ones that do often detract from the overall game, but for each of the characters, there is a rival. These rivals are unlockable so you can see the story in his/her eyes. These rivalries are shown through short FMV's between races. These are strong except some weak voice acting, but most are in foreign languages. Overall good 8/10.

Graphics and Sound: Gorgeous, simply beautiful. They are so easy on the eye that I am amazed that i haven't found any slowdown after hours of play. My favorite effect is when over water, the camera lens gets little droplets of water that look stunning. You will be hard pressed to find tighter graphics on any console. The sound is good too, you can almost feel the gentle buzz of your SPARC before the race. Junkie XL adds a fitting soundtrack, but as it should be there is the Xbox's custom soundtrack feature. Overall very good 10/10.

Replayability: Fairly high, considering all of the things to unlock. I couldn't put this game down until i saw my first racers ultimate attack, and even then i had many more racers to unlock. It doesn't stop there either, there are a number of tracks begging to be played, weapons to be used, cheats and Easter Eggs to unlock on top of it all. Overall very good 10/10.

This is my favorite racing game for the Xbox and is worth picking it up when you find it, the prices right now are around $20, but I would easily pay $50 again for this game.

9/10 (not an average) Great find, great action.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 02/10/03, Updated 02/10/03