Areet, thought I' d drop some impressions on the full version of GRID which I got yesterday on 360. Decided to not to get it on PC in the end, because even though the demo worked well with my wheel, its not really the type of game that gets the best out of it, like other more sim-focused racers.
GRID is a nice mixture of arcade and sim, carrying on in the same ethos that the TOCA/Race Driver series always has. Like PGR the physics engine is tailored to look and feel realistic, but be fun and easy to access at the same time. GRID does a good job of letting you adjust things to your liking more than PGR however, allowing you to have all the assists on and tone down the AI if you want to have fun crashing a lot and still win, or having traction and stability control and ABS off, manual gears and fast aggressive AI if you fancy keeping things as challenging and reaslitic as possible.
The new easy to remember 4-letter name, much like DIRT was to Colin Mcrae Rally, symbolises what Codies have done to refine and streamline the series. From graphics, to menus, dramatic replays, to commentators and sound, the presentation is impeccable. The layout and pacing of the game is tuned to give a nice sense of progression and achievement. And even the most ardent sim-hater can get into this and have fun.
On the other side, those who like a bit of realism get a healthy dose, with accurate track designs, cars, teams and sponsors. There are even planty of famous and less famous racing drivers' names that pop up to make you feel you really are immersed in a huge world of racing. There are loads of cars and series to race in like touring cars, single seaters, GT racing, endurance racing, american muscle, demolition derbies and japanese drifting chamionships. Its a big game.
One thing I didn' t like is how easy the game can be, at least initially. If you know anything about racing lines and track driving, you can use that to your advantage which is good, but you demolish the opposition by miles. I' m currently playing on Savage with ABS off and manual gears, and I find this a nice balance.
I also didn' t like how your buddy is constantly congratulating you as if you' d saved the world every time you overtake someone. Would have been cooler to have your radio buddy give you useful info like how many seconds drivers are either side of you for example, or what your teammate is up to.
Overall GRID has done a great job of making you feel as though you' re immersed in the real world of racing, and progressing up the career ladder from the bottom. It looks great, and feels very dramatic almost as if you' re Tom Cruise in Days of Thunder. Its a fun racer, but can be challenging too if you want it to be. I' d recommend it to anyone, much moreso that I would have DIRT. DIRT was rubbish.
