GRID
- June 03, 2008 09:21 AM PST
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As gas prices continue to climb higher, speeding along miles of digital asphalt isn't a bad alternative. GRID rockets past other racers with its cinematic flair and spot-on handling, shifting into gear with an inventive flashback system and gorgeous graphics. That lead is short-lived, however, as the lack of vehicle tuning and basic structure leave it a bit square.
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Back To The Future
On the single player side, there's more than enough high-octane action in GRID to go around. A lengthy career mode called "GRID World" has you earning cash and acquiring reputation points by competing in events ranging from muscle car runs to endurance challenges to tuner races. The structure is exceedingly simple: win races and you progress deeper into the game. Similarly, multiplayer takes the same basic approach. All of the events and venues unlocked in "GRID World" mode can be accessed online with no added frills.
Since the lack of sophistication won't motivate you, the game relies on the sheer quality of its driving to get you working. Races are fast, furious, and undeniably satisfying. Handling is superb, straddling a fine line between simulation and arcade mechanics. You'll notice wild differences in handling among the various vehicle classes, enough so that there's a real challenge when moving from a muscle car to a tuner. Should you slip up on the track, an innovative flashback system enables you to literally rewind the action and resume the race. It's a forgiving addition that prevents you from having to restart events due to unintended errors.
Racing A La Carte?
Unfortunately, GRID lacks something that's common to most other racers: meaningful vehicle customization. While team branding allows you to set a color scheme and paint pattern, vehicle tuning is completely omitted. All of your hard-earned cash can only be spent on buying new cars, not refitting those already in your garage. With only two dozen available vehicles, there simply isn't enough variety to counter the egregious lack of tuning. To be fair, it's an intentional omission geared toward making the game widely accessible and in that regard the game succeeds but it was still disappointing to not be able to head into the garage and make tweaks to my car.
Still, despite its rather basic approach, GRID does deliver an intense model of racing that is as enjoyable as it is plain. The lack of vehicle tuning and the dearth of available cars leaves one corner of this square missing, but that doesn't keep it from rolling along. When you consider that it can cost as much to fill your gas tank as to buy a copy of the game, it's that much easier to be hip to the straightforward, yet energetic racing that GRID offers.
PROS: Best-looking racing game on the market; tons of variety with different vehicle classes, events, and venues.
CONS: No vehicle tuning; basic single player structure, plain multiplayer.
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Comments [8]
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- Jun 03 2008 at 03:31:40:PM PST
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Best looking racing game on the market are you blind Gran Turismo 5 Prologue is far better looking and more fun, not to say Grid is bad it's not, it is a viable source for an ok racing game maybe 3.5 out of 5 stars, but not a bad game, just lacking in substance.
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Where the hell did this reviewer go to school? "Two dozen" cars is only 24 - there are actually 43 distinct cars available in the game (not 45 as the game would have you believe, due to two Ferarris being dropped at the last minute because of licencing issues). Please check your basic facts before publishing misleading information on to your website - you are supposed to be a professional games journalist, for Christ's sake. If you actually played the game all the way through (like reviewers are supposed to do) then the number of cars would have been blindingly obvious. We can only assume that you did not. Slack, slack games reviewing. 'E' for effort. What are the chances of you correcting the review text before you put any more people off from buying this awesome game?
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I think the reviewer should be fired. All that is required to know the number of cars is to READ the BOX. 2 dozen = 24. Reviewer is ONLY off by 79%!!! What a joke.
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This game is ALL substance. What it lacks is more physics and a little better graphics
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Darke - I believe what you meant to say is the it's all STYLE and NO substance. It doesn't look like a GT-killer, that's for sure. Funny how the review doesn't mention body damage at all which is a sticking point for so many console-players who think that body damage reflects the overall quality of a game and possible processing power of this next-gen of consoles...give me real-world physics any day, that's the power of next-gen (even last -gen if you look at GT4). It honestly sounds like the $5 Burger King racing game with new graphics. No damage, no tuning, a handful of cars...I'll stick with Burnout and GT. I hope at least this is a sub-$60 game...
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I will probably end up picking up this game.... not much into racing but it looks pretty good...
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the_new_guy wrote:
Darke - I believe what you meant to say is the it's all and NO substance.It doesn't look like a GT-killer, that's for sure. Funny how the review doesn't mention body damage at all which is a sticking point for so many console-players who think that body damage reflects the overall quality of a game and possible processing power of this next-gen of consoles...give me real-world physics any day, that's the power of next-gen (even last -gen if you look at GT4).
It honestly sounds like the $5 Burger King racing game with new graphics. No damage, no tuning, a handful of cars...I'll stick with Burnout and GT. I hope at least this is a sub-$60 game...
stfu...
Why the hell do people say "oh, GT killer" - GT leans towards simulation more than GRID which is basically an arcade...
Real-world physics - you mean more realistic car behavior? If you want something realistic, then get into PC sims, as the consoles' offerings are not on the same level as the PC sims.
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