The core gameplay of Gripshift revolves around its challenge mode, where you'll be presented with a variety of courses that all entail three separate goals: Find the hidden Gripshift logo, win a gold standing time, and collect all the gold stars on each map. At first this stuff seems pretty basic, and ends up being incredibly easy, but then the map designs start to expand and become more and more convoluted, and you'll find yourself forced to make use of Gripshift's unique take on air based controls to navigate the increasingly disconnected map layout to achieve your goals.

There are tons and tons of maps to choose from, and you can either tackle them in order or simply pick and choose, along with a few difficulty options to pick from. Certain maps will carry a particular theme to help you wrap your head around how to figure them out, but as you advance you'll end up having to use every trick in the Gripshift book to complete an area.

Gripshift also offers a basic race mode that plays out like your typical kart racer. You can either race against the computer or compete online with other players, but I found the race elements to be pretty dull and uninspired. Its there if you want to check it out, but the meat of the game definitely lies in the Challenge mode. Also, like most XBLA games, I had a lot of trouble finding enough people online to participate in a race to begin with, so I'd honestly say you're better off avoiding the experience all together.

While Gripshift is a port of a PS3 game which itself was a port of a PSP game, the visuals do manage to stand out nicely on the Xbox 360. There isn't a high level of detail, and the overall design isn't anything too noteworthy, but there's definitely a level of gloss that looks pretty nice in HD, and it's a step up from the PSP version for sure. Don't expect to be blown away, or use it as a showcase XBLA title, but you shouldn't be disappointed in the presentation.

Gripshift's soundtrack seems to be all over the place, at least for me. There were plenty of tunes that I really enjoyed, along with an equal amount that didn't do anything for me. It's a tad bit inconsistent, but I didn't find anything incredibly annoying about it either. It also expands as you play, with plenty of tracks being unlockable as you finish more and more challenges.

I'd absolutely suggest Gripshift to you 360 owners out there, based purely on the strength of the challenge mode gameplay. I still find myself going back to it time and again for random maps, and if you're a fan of achievements it'll take you quite a bit of time to actually "complete". It stands out as something pretty unique in the XBLA library, and if you haven't experienced the title on the PSP then I definitely suggest picking it up.