GRID
- March 11, 2008 16:32 PM PST
- Email this!
The masters of rally racing try to extend their reach.
Codemasters is one of the most proficient racing-game creators, having created some of the greatest rally racing titles of the last decade and a half. Unfortunately, the lack of interest in the sport outside of Europe kept the company from making inroads in the U.S. It wasn't until Codemasters started to break free with the off-road rally title DiRT that the company started to gain attention on this side of the pond. Now the company is producing its most ambitious racing game yet with GRID, attempting to branch out into other racing styles while staying true to its rally roots, and GamePro got the first test drive!
The drift races allow for some really nice particle effects. These are skid marks you want to see.
A Rally Good Time
With GRID, Codemasters has adopted a more worldwide racing ethic, with three major racing locales, each representing an extremely different style with different vehicle types. The first, and most familiar for Codemasters is the European rally racing circuit. The customized luxury cars like the Porsche 911 GT3-RSR and the Lamborghini are better fit to hit top speeds on the open roads of Le Mans, France and Milan, Italy. Unlike DiRT, GRID's rally races are strictly street-based, but you get a nice mixture of scenic city streets and famous rally tracks. This type of race has always been Codemaster's bread and butter, and it shows. This form of racing, woefully under-appreciated in the states is much more refined and its races more action-packed than NASCAR.
We got to test out the Jarama, Spain track, which is a replica of an actual touring car track that was decommissioned due to safety concerns. That was plenty obvious as the first corner became a battle royal of luxury cars. More than any other track we tried, Jarama required precise driving and a keen eye on your opponents. For those worried that Codemasters may have been ignoring its roots to focus on other aspects of racing--don't. GRID's rally races proudly stand up to the late Colin McRae's Rally series.
The better you get, the better the cars. The better the cars, the bigger the crowds.
Drift off the GRID
The first new racing style Codemasters is attempting to master is the Japanese Drift race. Featuring stylish and efficient Japanese-manufactured cars like the Mazda 787B and the Subaru Impreza, the Japanese courses really highlight the many different track designs in GRID. We tried out the Yokohama docks, which featured a very rustic and industrial design. It was probably our least favorite track, due to the warehouses and back alleys making it difficult to distinguish where the track barriers were, but the drifting mechanics were extremely solid. It's not entirely difficult to start a drift, but it's not something you'll slip into by mistake either. The scoring system, too, is pretty simple, but still manages to do justice to the many drift-based racetypes in GRID, including a GP mode where you compete alone to score points, or Drift Battle, where your race ranking affects your drift score. You can really tell Codemasters has done its homework regarding the world of drift, as the inside-the-car view includes custom displays used by real drift drivers to gauge their car's ability.
Striking a nice balance between the overdone arcade racers like Burnout and the more rigid style-based drifting of Project Gotham, we expect GRID's other drift stages to better approximate the authentic Japanese racing style. With the brilliantly lit city of Shibuya (which features realistically animated neon signs) and the beautiful winding mountains of Haruna being promised, we're excited to experience the gaming epicenter of the world in a whole new way.
The European rally races aren't for the drivers who enjoy privacy.
America, F-Yeah!
The more traditional racing fan should feel right at home in the US circuits. With old-school muscle cars like the Dodge Viper and 1970 Boss 302 Mustang engaging in roughneck racing in some of the most scenic American cities including Detroit, Washington DC, and GamePro's own San Francisco, GRID's US racing feels somewhat similar to its European rally races, but louder, bigger, and a bit more brash... just like Americans themselves!
We got to check out the San Francisco track, which runs through neighborhoods near our downtown office building, and we have to say, the attention to detail Codemasters has paid to recreating it is pretty amazing. If the city by the bay is any indication, you can expect to see tracks built almost exactly to the specifications of the city, with buildings textures featuring the same design as the ones in real-life. Of the three race types we got to try out, the San Francisco track felt the most rounded. The racing was straightforward, but still required skill and knowledge of the city. The racing was on par with the Project Gotham Racing series, but these races do away with the finesse and focus on getting ahead of the pack and staying there. No pit stops, no drift points... in the US, it's all about the win.
The US is where we got our best look at some of GRID's amazing advancements in the car damage and audience modeling departments. Quite simply, you'll be amazed at the level of abuse these licensed cars will show. Improving on DiRT's already impeccable damage system which included an amazing amount of impact points, GRID features more frames of animation for each crash, meaning more ways for more parts to break. With some of the longer races, you won't only be competing against fellow racers; you'll be fighting to keep your car intact in order for it to cross the finish line. Thankfully, Codemasters has included a neat new feature in the replay mode that appeals to the n00b racers, with a rewind feature reminiscent of Full Auto. Thankfully, it's turned off for online-based competition.
The crowds that come to see you race are also pretty impressive. While they may be a bit similar in terms of animation at this point, it's still impressive to see the sheer numbers that will crowd around the city tracks (we've been told up to 40,000 will attend the higher-profile races). The crowds will track the action realistically, and use more than just the stands and streets to get a good view of the action. Seeing supporters perched on the outcroppings of DC's statues and monuments was pretty cool, and it definitely added an unexpected layer of background beauty to the race.
You will have a better time with GRID than you did watching The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Driftt.
Cross-Continent Car Competition
GRID ties all of these varying racing modes with a sweet career mode and user-interface. In the career mode, your ultimate goal is to build the world's best racing team, which means you need to find a group of racers who are well-rounded enough to handle the muscle cars of the US, the compact drift-friendly Japanese models, and the speed demons of the European Rally. You've also got an individual goal of becoming the best racer in the world. Both objectives require a more worldly view, as you have to be ready to switch gears (and continents) at a moments notice. The world of racing won't stop for you, and the dominating drift team in Japan might change while you spend a few races trying to unseat the European rally champ. Thankfully, the intuitive garage-based menus mix the gorgeous 3D overlay menus of DiRT with the immersive garage environments of the Project Gotham Racing series and Pro Race Driver. The 3D overlays have made their way into almost every facet of the game, unifying the various modes and races with a similar look. The same slick display above your opponent's car at the starting line is used during loading screens to show your progress towards unlocking the game's many achievements.
Codemasters seems to have learned from its mistakes in the online department, beefing up DiRT's paltry online modes to the industry standard multiplayer races. It's not quite at the lofty league level the single-player mode boasts, but it's still a welcome improvement. We're not quite sure how this crazy mixture of racing styles will ultimately pan out, simply because no other title has promised such a broad range of concepts. GRID is an interesting cocktail of our favorite racing styles, and we're pretty confident it'll be a tasty one, too.
This screen shows only a fracture of the level of damage you can inflict on your car in GRID.
