Graphically, GripShift is an interesting game. The graphical treatment is cartoon-like, and the tracks are whimsical and defy the laws of physics. There are a few different types of cars that you can use in GripShift, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. Three of them are available from the beginning of the game, while there are a couple of cars that have to be unlocked.

There are four characters you can play as: two girls and two guys. All four are very animated (in every way). However, during the actual gameplay, the character isn’t seen very much and character selection doesn’t seem to impact gameplay. You will, however, have to listen to your character, so you may want to choose based on which voice you find most agreeable.

Other than the voices, the sound effects in GripShift are not bad. The engine sound is not overly realistic, but realism is not necessarily the focal point of this game. The graphics and sound work together to present this game in a nice light and allow you to concentrate on working you way through GripShift’s rather unique...

GripShift is not your average game. It’s crossing genres like they’re going out of style and arriving at a gameplay experience that is almost as fun as it is unique.

Touting itself as a “Puzzle Platform Driving Action” game, GripShift is a strange game to try to describe. It’s got time limits and (in some cases) racing opponents, but it’s not all about speed. My first time through the game, I got to the end of the first “world” without much trouble, only to discover that I hadn’t earned enough points to continue. There are various ways to win points as you progress and you can’t proceed to the next “world” until you go back and collect your quota. You can earn points by getting bronze, silver, and gold medals, by collecting all of the stars in a given level and by finding and collecting bonus point awards hidden in hard to find and hard to reach areas of the levels.

If the crazy levels that come with GripShift aren’t enough for you, you can create your own insane levels using the included track editor, and share your tracks with friends.

The early levels act as a tutorial and are quite simply as easy as can possibly be imagined – but only for the first few. GripShift lets you learn by playing your way through, presenting one new concept at a time. This makes it easy for anyone to pick up and jump right in and play. As you proceed, however, you will get to levels that take more and more control and finesse to get past and some that actually require a bit of thought to figure out how to get past the level.

Since the earlier levels are as easy as they are, they are quickly passed. In this manner, you’ll find that you will arrive at a point in the game that actually offers a challenge in a relatively short time-frame and then, once there, will be entertained as you try to work your way through these more worthy levels.

If you’re looking for a unique game, you’ve found it. GripShift does a nice job of intermingling so many genres, making it the best Puzzle Platform Driving Action game yet!

Nice presentation applied to a solid concept that offers unique, innovative gameplay with levels that offer multiple levels of challenge based on the particular goal you have for that given race on a track... why aren’t you out buying this game instead of reading this?