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GRID Review

by Beau King August 8th 2008 5:48 AM CDT0 Comments

Racing games are pretty easy to spot along the spectrum between arcade madness and realistic simulation. GRID however, presents itself somewhere amongst the grey. In vary many senses it looks and feels like a simulator, yet has enough flashy elements to pull some toward the other end. Nevertheless, it’s a fun ride that you're not going to want to miss.

The guys at Codemasters have done much to appeal to a very wide audience with this game. Name the type of racing you’re into and it’s there. To make things easier in deciding a more defined route, GRID is set up with regions: USA, Euro, and Japan. Each of which have a somewhat different style to them. While driving in the U.S. you may experience everything from a demolition derby dash or a sliding mess that is muscle cars rounding hairpin turns.

Across the way however, you will get to become a Drift King or Tuner Pro cruising across Japan‘s mountains and streets. Luckily you are not restricted to a certain region either. Each race you win in a respective region just allows you to advance the hierarchy within. The completionist like myself will just take a little longer to advance to the top.


No matter which route is decided, advancement is the name of the game. GRID sets you at the start in a tuned Viper, giving you a goal of simply trying to finish. It almost felt like someone threw me in a pool for the first time and said kick. Once you bang your car into oblivion, you become a driver for hire until a racing license is obtained. However, as you begin a full career the driver-for-hire option never expires allowing for some extra cash. The best part about all of this is that getting a first place trophy doesn’t necessarily lead to success.

In the hired races and regional stints alike, many objectives include simply beating another team or getting a podium finish. There is just more incentive to reach first as it makes your sponsors happy. And a sponsor’s happiness comes through in the form of cash. Although, these too can range from finish first or just finish and get X amount of money. As cool as it may be however, you receive sponsors with each race. Which then makes you have to go to the respective menu and switch and swap one for another to maximize earnings.

Then, if you’re really anal you move to the customization menu to decide size and placement of each sponsor. Speaking of customization for a moment, GRID is by no means Need For Speed. Enough is there simply to make a car look pretty and realistic. Each car added will then take on the same color and pattern as the previous until you’re bored again. Later down the line you also get a team mate to match your cars outfit and race under the same team name you picked in the beginning. For those conceited few, the beginning also offers a chance to pick from a premade list of names or nicknames. Since Beau is never available I had to settle for the nickname Maverick. Other worthy surnames were available, but being a child of the 80’s made more sense.

As fun as all this is however, in trying to be a middle man Codemasters has found itself taking on the disadvantages of both sides of the spectrum. A team mate and spotter are virtually worthless and pretty annoying as their pre-recorded dialogue hits repetitious quite quickly. At one point my team mate was letting me know he was in last place for the bazillionth time as my spotter pointed out a wreck a little ways ahead for the same person I was following 10 feet in front of me.


It doesn’t stop there as some cars are exceptionally realistic feeling as you round corners where others like a megaton Boss 502 mustang whips into and out of a hairpin in one well timed slide. If said turn lands the car into a spinning ball of metal there is no worry as a replay mechanic is in place to set you back in action prior to the crash. I’m not complaining as I use the damn thing a lot, it just makes me feel a little guilty.

Besides some inconsistencies in gameplay, the game is amazingly beautiful. All 45 cars look pretty distinct from one another and fun to drive. Crashes though are by far the most fun to watch as a Burnouteque camera slows to let you watch the destruction then pans out on the wreckage you can spin out on later.

Codemasters tried to grab as many straws as possible here, which is why it's worth my love and. your purchase. Get Forza for a complete simulator or Burnout Revenge if you want to just smash shit, but get GRiD to feel out both types in a seamlessly crisp and enjoyable experience.