Xbox’s answer to WipEout, No relation to Quantum Break
A futuristic racing game release exclusively for the original Xbox in 2003 by Curly Monsters, which would be the first and last game developed by the studio. It’s not a bad game but there are a few flaws, but defiantly worth checking out if you’re a fan of futuristic racing games.

The graphics are one of there best for the original Xbox and really takes advantage of the effects the Nvidia GPU was capable of, with water lens effects appearing when your ship lands in the water, along with detailed textures that you would never find on the PS2. It certainly stood out from WipEout Fusion or Extreme EX G3 that were released at the same time.  The game also runs smoothly, with no noticeable lag or slowdown even during intense races, no matter how many ships are on screen.

Sound is where the game shines, with the soundtrack itself being composed by JunkieXL (also known as JXL, who is most known for that 2002 remix of an Elvis hit – A little Less Conversation). The music is segmented in sections that changes as you progress through the race, with some segments looping longer depending on your speed. This is similar to Tekken 4 on the PS2, or the arcade version of Tekken 3 that also progresses the soundtrack as you finish the rounds.

The music itself is your standard electronic/trance music that was also a main staple of WipEout and Extreme G3. But there is no support for custom soundtracks which was one of the exclusive features to the Xbox for that generation. Considering this game was built from the ground up for the Xbox, it’s odd that this feature wasn’t implemented.

As for the gameplay, it’s mostly the same as WipeOut but with a focus on combat and defence rather than speed, though you do travel at very high speeds on the later difficulties. You have to pickup powers which are either defence (yellow), homing weapon (red) or non-homing weapon (blue). Each ship/character has their own unique weapons that require you to master and seat specific points of the race, some will through grenade like weapons for when there are multiple opponents in front of you. 

Defence is also very important since your ship has limited life which when depleted, it’s game over. The game will warn you when an opponent is about to attack which will give you time to deploy the shield, providing you have picked up a defence power up. This isn’t always accurate and sometimes the opponents weapon will miss if they are far away or if you have passed a tight bend. It’s a bit of a gamble as you have to decide when to deploy your serene powerup (which gives a limited shield) or save it for later.  

You also get turbo that refills after you complete a lap, initially you are limited to a few second of turbo but as you earn points, you can increase the turbo time you have. I usually recommend to save your turbo until the last lap, since the AI is a bit cheaty with speed boosts once you are in the lead, and you will have to watch out for enemy attacks.

There isn’t much story to the game, mostly you are given cutscenes with your character and their rival before the race, some characters have a backstory that unfolds as you complete the races, and will need to complete the expert difficulty to view and unlock the complete set of cutscenes. Unlike WipEout, there is more focus on the character itself rather then the ships. The characters themselves are pretty diverse, being located around the globe though thankfully most of them speak English. Each character has a main rival that you will have to face in a duel in order to win, they also have a ‘home’ track depending on where the characters originate from. The voice acting is a bit cheesy and feels like you’re watching a budget soap opera, and most of the racers personality come off as arrogant and cringy. If you’re familiar with the cutscenes from fighting games like Dead Or Alive 2 or Tekken 5, its a very similar setup.

The racing tracks are also pretty diverse and varied, with interesting loops and bens that require precisions and mastery of your ship to win. A nice touch as the countdown voice being in the language where the track is set, Fukoushou City being in Japanese and Kalu wastelands being in Russian.

Despite the flaws, it’s a very nice looking game, and it defiantly is a worthy opponent to WipEout, competing favourable with WipEout Fusion. It’s one of the many true Xbox exclusives that are worth playing and preserving and it’s tragic it never got a sequel or a remaster. 

Also since it was released early into the Xbox life cycle, it lacks support for online play for Xbox Live, nor any support for downloadable DLC. The game was made comparable for the Xbox 360 but has yet to be made compatible with the Xbox One.