Race Driver: GRID - 9/10
Ever since I purchased ‘TOCA Touring Cars’ on the original Playstation, Codemasters has had my attention in racing games. Recently I discovered that their newest game was due to come out and after playing the demo, knew I would not be disappointed and went ahead and purchased the game. Heres my look at it.
In GRID, the action takes place on various tracks and locations around the world in Europe, Japan and the USA.
Europe has the ‘Touring Car’ and ‘GT’ track racing scene sown up, Japan focuses mainly on their trademark, high powered turbo underground ‘Drift Racing’ scene, whilst the USA is focused around the ‘Muscle Car’ enclosed city street racing scene.
As well as different styles of cars, each of these areas requires a different approach and set of skills to race at and offers a good variety which will help the longevity of the game.
In single player ‘Career’ mode, you take on the role of a race car driver, driving for other teams eventually forming your own and buying new or used cars in the way of race win money and sponsorship deals from reputations you earn as you progress through the game. In this game, you don’t upgrade your car in the way of bigger turbo’s or brakes etc., you just buy, sell or trade cars and therefore just have to settle with what you have. This really makes it a game to hone your skills as a driver rather than relying on better parts and such to help you race.
One downside of the game is that there is no ‘2 Player Split-Screen’ mode but it makes for this in the way of a ‘12 Player Online’ race mode. You can play in and create Private, Ranked and Unranked races. If you host a private game you get to choose the track, race length and damage, but in Ranked/Unranked games, the type of race comes in the way of a vote from all competitors in the lobby. Its playability online is excellent, of course this varies on the quality of your connection, but in games I’ve played from all around the world seems quite lag free, which is a good feature. Drift mode is my favorite followed closely by the ‘Demolition Derby’ race.
AI in this game is excellent, and it will react to what you give it, as in if you try and pinball your way through the game, the AI will smash you into oblivion without flinching. It offers varying degrees of difficulty and this determines how much cash you will win at the end of the race. There is a replay mode that comes on if you get written off that lets you choose from three options, Retire, Restart or Flashback. Flashback lets you rewind to whatever section of the race you wish to restart from and lets you retry the section again. Especially handy if you’re on the last lap of a long race and don’t want to have to start all over again, although you will not get the extra cash bonus if you use this feature.
Playability is another excellent feature of the game and enables you to make settings to make it easier or harder for yourself. Brake assist, Stability and Traction Control can be turned on or off depending on your skill level and makes this appealing to all ages instead of a frustrating experience for the lesser skilled which sees you spend more time spinning out in the grass than racing.
The controls are easy to learn and the car seems to react well to whatever you tell it to do.
Damage is great part of the game which makes it a more realistic experience as in if you want to smash every other car off the track in order to gain places, you will suffer in the way of top speed and steering as your components take a beating as well. Bumpers fly, windows smash, bonnets and doors get torn off and you car will soon look like its been on a tour of Iraq rather than a streamlined racing car, so therefore makes you really use your skills as a racer rather than a demolition derby driver to earn your way through the game.
Graphically this game is excellent and you would be extremely hard to please if you weren’t impressed by them. Shadows and glare as its hits the car looks great and you can taste the tyre smoke. There are several views to choose from and the In-Car view is one to behold and lets you see the driver do all the gear changes and movements and you can use your right thumbstick to look around. This is my favorite. Not only the cars look excellent, but the world does as well, and the crowd reacts to crashes also! When you hit a wall hard they will flinch and jump back and you can hear them go “OOHHHHH!” No matter what is happening in the game, the frame rate stays constant. Another downside is that there is no weather effects, but you don’t really seem to care anyway when the racing experience is this good.
Overall there aren't a lot of car models to choose from, 45 in all, but there are no duds, they are all performance cars. But don't let that detract you from getting this as the game itself is huge and will take some time to complete.
Pros:
- Looks great
- Excellent gameplay
- Great online experience
- Excellent AI
- Longevity
Cons:
- Can't adjust car settings eg; gearbox, brake, suspension etc.
- Engine sound could be better
So in closing, if you want a racing game that is fun, looks great and has great online multiplayer this is for you.
Submitted by Chooky
5 days ago
3
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