The Official Quantum Redshift thread

[bahn]

I am just minutes into firing this up, but since Green has been requesting impressions and I already checked for an official thread - I decided to give the game it's own um...official one

Anyone picked it up yet? (Decided to lay down some cash for this just because some of the original Wipeout developers had a hand in this).

Edit: Formal impressions avaialable <a href="http://www.the-nextlevel.com/board/showthread.php?s=&threadid=9500">here</a>. (For those who don't want to comb through this thread).

[Tracer]

Yeah, but I haven't played it as much as I fell like I should :/ It's a great game, but I haven't great time to play it

ºTracer

[Prince Planet]

Yay for official threads! I remain really tempted to pick this up. Initial impressions on this board seemed favorable. A few more like that, and it's goodbye Robotech, hello QR.

[EThugg]

QR kills RT.

[Prince Planet]

Originally posted by EThugg
QR kills RT.

Yep, I was beginning to suspect that...

[Green]

I know Ammadau (sp) and Tracer like it, and I seen nothing but favorable impressions over at Gamefaqs. I'll be getting it in a few days.

Question: Does the game have a limit on how many of your own songs you can have? I think PGR had a limit of 45. I\'ve been making my own QR mix in anticipation.

[kabuki]

Just bought it today - will play it as soon as Buffy is completed.
The guy at EB was GUSHING over the game, so I am stoked to play it !!
- Kabuki

[AaronChance]

This thread is so last week. I've already moved on to DW3.

Managed to clear QR with all characters on expert, but master level is damn tough, so I'm gonna wuss out on it for a while.

[kabuki]

Originally posted by kabuki
Just bought it today - will play it as soon as Buffy is completed.
- Kabuki

Funny thing, mere minutes after posting this I went to go talk to my girlfriend and she was already asleep. So I said, "I'll go play some videogames then." I gravitated to Quantum Redshift, unwrapped it, and played it for about two hours straight. I am a weak, weak man.

Great game though! Kabuki ProTip: Skip the easiest setting (too slow!!) and go right for the Tournaments. I beat the two easiest Tournaments with one character and tried the Middle Tourney and kept getting my ass kicked. Funny thing was, I'd lose, but never get pissed. I enjoyed playing/losing/trying again repeatedly! Great game
- Kabuki

[bahn]

Amm: DW3 is how old now? looks like you're out of date.

Anyways, onto the breakdown...

Level Design Holy shite! The visuals for the game are really impressive. Makes the level design in Wipeout Fusion look so like a first-genearation game (oh, wait - I did say that before?) Crafts zip through rivers, city locales, ice plain/caverns and more. The track design is also much wider than those you'd expect from conventional racing games (Wipeout included), so you're not confined and have relative freedom to go where you wish within the circuit path - this also means that you can expect plenty of hidden paths and alternate routes to explore. Some which are more recommended than others, but you'll need to figure out which is the best route. Very nice.

Airbrakes are out - (Well, duh) Feels more like you're driving a race car (w/o wheels of course). Still adjusting to the handling, doesn't seem as smooth like the Wipeout style

Power Ups - Ick...huge crystals? Unless grids is to be considered a Wipeout trademark, I am not too highly thrilled about these large crystalline objects sitting all over the circuit; most of which block your field of vision at times.

Character design - Unique. Reshift puts a much greater emphasis on the characters themselves to develop its entire theme (though we all know that you're primarily just racing and nothing else). Wipeout has only casually touched on this, and I am looking to see how this has been incorporated into the gameplay itself. Hopefully this isn't just a filler...

Craft design - Odd, but far from dull. They may not be Auricom or Pirahna, but they're very detailed. Nice texture design (Tara's craft for example sporting the patriotic red, white and blue look). Would be slick if they could upgrade to new designs (of course, that would be a shameless rip from Fusion)

Music - Hm...perhaps the only area where I won't be rushing to turn up my stereo. No licensed music talent, which means generic vocalists galore. Some techno and ambient stuff throw in by Soundelux Audio. Not bad, but not quite on the "wow factor" either. Maybe it will grow on me.

Sound - Above average effects, nothing groundbreaking.

Speed - Tight, and I like the scalable difficulty level. You'll start out with two basic levels (novice/amateur) - as you advance throughout the game (which you'll need to play through Tournament Mode to unlock characters and other factors), a speedometer will show the maximum speed rate which your craft can achieve. No objections here - now if only I can master the brake system, and race addicts are in for a treat.

Weapons: Ok. I am biased here...not only is the weapon delivery system pretty bland, there's no real charcteristics, unlike Wipeout. Basically, as you navigate throughout the track, you'll pick up three types of weapons (Red designates homing weapons, Blue for non-homing; Yellow is for activating your shield defenses. Then there's Mega-Up - a large star-shaped object which delivers red, blue and yellow at once. Yuck. No real "fun toys" here.

Conclusion: It's definitely got enough unique features that anyone fond of Wipeout or looking for a fun, combat racing game for the Xbox should not miss out on. The game is definitely challenging (as Kabuki noted in his own thoughts). Redshift is a perfect example of what Fusion should've been on the PS2, which makes me wonder why MS couldn't just put out the cash to get the franchise developed on their platform too. I expect many Wipeout fans to match Redshift up against the popular franchise. You might need to take awhile to warm up to it (much like many of us did with Fusion), but it definitely earns the merit of a "must-own" in my opinion.