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The futuristic 3D racing genre has been practically owned by the Wipeout franchise ever since its inception. Other game publishers have even tried different takes on futuristic racing (Extreme G3, Kinetica, etc.), but none have been able to come close to the popularity and playability of Wipeout. However, Wipeout Fusion on the PS2 was somewhat of a letdown, opening the door for a new contender to challenge for the title. Microsoft's new racer, Quantum Redshift, easily takes the championship from Wipeout.

Graphics:
The graphics in QR are unbelievable. Everything is brightly colored, and the ships and tracks are very intricately designed and look incredible. The designs here are also pretty original. This game also runs at a rock-solid framerate, which doesn't drop even in multiplayer. Once you get into the later, faster races, this game simply scorches by you!

Score: 10/10

Sound:
The soundtrack in QR is very good and appropriate to the setting and style of game. The hard-hitting music really gets you in the mood to race! However, if you are annoyed by the soundtrack, QR also includes an option for a customizable soundtrack, so you really can't complain about the tunes in this one at all. I did feel that the sounds of the ships' engines were kind of weak. They just didn't seem to sound loud enough, but that is a minor quibble.

Score: 8/10

Gameplay:
This is where QR makes some significant strides over Wipeout. Nothing here is original, but it is executed better than has ever been done before. You have ability to pick one of a starting total of seven ships (you eventually unlock a total of sixteen) and race others in various modes. Six ships are on the screen at a time. The eight tracks (all of which have ''mirrored'' versions which play completely differently) have shortcuts and are very fun to race. Each of the ships has its own unique weapons, and you have the ability to get power-ups for them during the races. Also, the ships handle differently depending on the terrain of the track, so you must choose wisely. In tournament mode, you will begin on the Novice level and work your way through the ranks, progressing to Amateur, Expert, Master, and finally, the hardest and fastest of all, Redshift. Additionally, you have a single race mode, which allows you to hone your skills on each of the tracks before you race for the big time. Finally, a time attack mode and multiplayer round out the various options. All in all, this package is very hard to beat.

Score: 10/10

Replayability:
QR is not an easy game, and you will probably need several tries on the harder levels to be successful. Additionally, there are plenty of unlockables here, and you basically have to beat the game with each of the sixteen characters to get everything. This means that you will be playing this one for quite some time. QR is also very addictive and fun, and you will have a hard time putting this one down.

Score: 10/10

Overall impressions:
Quantum Redshift really hasn't received much publicity, which is a shame. It is a great racer that is far superior to Wipeout Fusion. I do wish that there was a little more originality here, but perhaps that can tackled in a sequel. I'm not a big racing game fan, but I love this game. If you're really not sure about this one, give it a rental, but you will probably end up buying this one. This is an underrated game for the Xbox, and hopefully, many gamers will take the time to play it and find out how great it really is.

Overall score (not an average): 10/10

Quantum Redshift is a high speed racing game set one hundred years in the future. Sixteen pilots from around the world suit up and strap into SPARCs, or Single Person Armed Racing Craft, in hopes of winning fame, fortune, and perhaps most important, the respect of millions around the globe. Each pilot has a nemesis, a rival pilot who will stop at nothing to prevent the other from winning the championship.

Story: The story is told through very bland and poorly written taunts before each race. The developers tried to give the game some sort of purpose, which is evident in the time spent making the character animations. With such gems as: ''You better keep a stiff upper lip before I blow you away, okay?'', I couldn't help but wonder why the developers did not hire a professional writer for a few days. Fortunately, the story (or lack of) does not really subtract anything from the game other than the few seconds it takes to load.

Visual: The graphics in Quantum Redshift are amazing. Each of the tracks and vehicles are bump-mapped and filled with bright, colorful textures. While nothing is breathtaking, mostly due to the fact that you will be racing past at 300+ miles per hour at first, the game is well polished and looks fantastic. Each vehicle retains the standard SPARC setup, yet they all have a very unique and detailed look. Some will have flaps that open and close as your turn, while others retract the twin jets as you hit the turbo. Overall, this is defiantly one of the best looking games available for the Xbox.

Gameplay: Gameplay is pretty standard high speed racer stuff. Each race consists of 6 racers going for the gold, reaching top speeds of one thousand miles per hour at Redshift level. The sense of speed is amazing on the higher difficulty levels. You'll rocket down straight sections, power slide through corners, propel hundreds of feet into the air, and take advantage of the track's shortcuts. While doing this you can pick up one of four powerups that charge homing missiles, regular weapons, over-shields, or all three at once. There is also a point bonus that takes advantage of the game's unique scoring system.

Once you finish a race, you are awarded points based on your performance that you may use to upgrade your vehicle's weapons, over-shields, turbo, or regular shields. You may re-race the track if you wish, but in order to gain more points to upgrade you must score more points than last time. For example: if your first race nabbed you five hundred points, and your second race scored you eight hundred points, you will get the difference between the two. That's three hundred points added to your total.

The weapons for each vehicle are unique to the driver. Tara, the advanced weapons expert, will fire missiles and grenades as weapons. Kumiko will fire weapons that disrupt the enemy's electronic systems and make them stall on the track for a few seconds. The differences between each character make you want to fully upgrade them to see exactly what they have up their sleeve. In addition, once you power up all weapons and over-shields to level three, you can access the characters mega-weapon. Just like regular weapons, each mega-weapon is unique to the character. Tara, our advanced weapons expert, fires a warhead that results in an impressive looking mushroom cloud. Very nice.

The nemesis element mentioned earlier does not add much to the game and could have been better implemented. It simply provides a bonus in points for killing that particular ship and adds a nemesis challenge, a one-on-one race at the end of every tournament. Although it is worth noting that your particular nemesis will shoot you every chance it gets during a race.

Audio: Sound is decent and nothing too remarkable but it gets the job done. For some reason the engines are very quiet and I had to turn them up in the sound menu. Music is done by Junkie XL, an electronic band that has recently hit mainstream. I listened to each of the songs a few times before I had to switch to something off my hard drive.

Overall: Quantum Redshift is a futuristic racer that perfects the aspects seen on every other racer before it. The sense of speed combined with the graphics and frantic use of weaponry is beyond comparison. Definitely a rental if you are interested, a must-buy if you've liked this type of game before.

Pros:
- Great Graphics
- Incredible sense of speed
- Plenty to unlock

Cons:
- Static backgrounds
- Horrible story
- We've seen all this before

Overall Score: 8