I feel like I should have payed for this. It's that good.
"Harm's Way" is a clever mix between a racer and a shooter. When you start up the game you can choose from single player, online multiplayer, and split-screen multiplayer.
In the single player mode you can go through the career as a racer or a shooter. If you elect to be a racer you choose from one of four vehicles with varying stats to drive with. Your objective is to complete three laps on one of the three available tracks before the other racers while at the same time trying to avoid being blown up by the various turrets dotted around the track. While driving you can pick up a few power ups that are littered along the course such as boost, shields, and some turret power ups for multiplayer but we'll get to those in a bit. If you go the shooter route however you take control of the aforementioned turrets and attempt to rack up points by destroying as many of the racers as possible using snipers, gatling guns, mines, and missiles. You switch between the turrets by using the RB and LB triggers and you'll need to be constantly switching perspectives to keep a bead on the racers as well as shoot the power ups so you can upgrade your turret.
In the multiplayer portion four teams of two (one driver and one shooter) team up to try and win the race. The main difference between this and the single player is that driver and shooter will have to work as a close team in order to have a chance at a win. Unlike in the single player, shooters cannot shoot turret upgrades to power up their turrets, they must rely on their driver teammates to drive over the power ups mentioned before to collect them. In addition to the upgrade power ups there are downgrade power ups which will downgrade the turrets of all your opponents. The turret operators must keep a close eye on other racers and attempt to take them out as quickly as possible as well as defend their own teammate from opposing turrets. Shooters can shoot down small walls to open short cuts for their teammate as well as shoot environmental objects such as cranes, bridges, and boulders with missiles to send them crashing down to act as obstacles for the opposing racers.
"Harm's Way" is a great all around package especially when you throw on the fact that it's completely FREE. It has a great concept, good controls, good sound effects, a nice soundtrack, and some good looking graphics for just about any game let alone an arcade game that costs nothing. The only real complaints I could say I have is the lack of variety in the tracks, they all take place in a desert environment, and that it is difficult to find an online game at this time which is most likely just due to a lack of players which I hope will change soon.
So come one and come all to the deadliest race of all, tell all your friends on Xbox Live to download "Harm's Way", it would be a crying shame to miss this one.