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RACE DRIVER: GRID XBOX 360 REVIEW |
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When it
comes to racing, Codemasters is certainly no
stranger to tarmacs, asphalts, the wild outback,
and whatever comes in between. After all, the
company has made a name for itself developing
some very interesting titles over the years that
include highly recognized labels such as Collin
McRae, an off-road racing, and TOCA, a
circuit-racing game. Last year, Codemasters
produced a significant leap for the Collin McRae
series with its release of DiRT for the Xbox
360. And we still play that one occassionally.
We rated it as a solid performer being that it
combined the developer’s excellent racing
formula with amazing graphics and somewhat
lenient gameplay. Needless to say, it’s only a
matter of time that Codemasters would jump back
into circuit-racing again. And that transition
has finally become to be known as GRID.
GRID represents what there is to it in circuit
racing: gorgeous cars, amazing speed,
comfortable driving experience, and fantastic
wreckage! There are plenty of licensed cars for
you to drive but the emphasis here is not about
collecting, customizing, or upgrading your
vehicles. It’s about the thrill of racing! This
is one of the main reasons we like this game so
much. You can just hop into different events and
competitions, and just drive. The upgrade system
here is rather simple. Instead of buying new car
parts, you just go buy something better. In
fact, you have the option of buying either a new
one straight from the manufacturer or settle for
a secondhand on eBay Motors. The cool thing is
you can always sell the car back if you don't
want it anymore. What makes GRID such as a catch
is how light and responsive the controls are.
It’s quite obvious that the developer didn’t
just build a racing game around simulation
enthusiasts but for all racing fans alike.
Partly it’s because you can cut down on some of
the driving pressures by flipping on the
assisted braking, assisted cornering, or
whatever that suits your fancy.
Thanks to the responsive arcade mechanics, the
game lets you stay in control despite running at
top speeds. It gives casual players a sense of
traction on their vehicle and at the same time,
a way to maneuver around the tracks with some
degree of ease. Given today's standards for
racing game, it’s no surprise that GRID has also
included destructible vehicles. After a couple
of laps, we have managed to wreck different
parts of our vehicles, ranging from broken
windshield and busted trunk to twisted hood and
missing passenger door. Luckily the affects of
damage do not have an immediate influence until
the main components of your vehicles started to
go red. Crashing and cars spinning out of
control is a frequent sight in GRID and getting
into such accidents take you out of your lead
and you’d hate to start the race over again.
Fortunately, the game has included a very nice
flash back system that allows you to rewind
time, a few seconds back before your accident
happens, giving you a second chance to avoid
that costly mistake.
One thing for sure is that Codemasters is very
creative with the dynamic challenges they put
into the game’s artificial intelligence.
Depending on your difficulty setting, your
computer opponents make smart adjustments such
as using blocking techniques to keep their other
teammate ahead of the pack. Sometimes they will
play aggressive to the point of smashing you
into walls. It’s exciting to see how these
computers act much like humans; you’ll see them
make mistakes from time to time as they suddenly
swerve off the road during a sharp bent. These
types of dynamic challenges allow for a much
realistic behavior of racing experience, as
opposed to seeing your opponents drive the
perfect line with their pre-programmed robotic
instinct. In addition, you build up rivalries
with the other drivers; as you progress through
different stages in your racing career, that
drama between you and your competition becomes
more evident. |
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PRODUCT
OVERALL RATING: 8.8 OUT OF 10 |
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You’ll start
out your career as a lowly driver-for-hire and
work your way up to driving for prominent teams.
As you earn more cash, you’ll eventually be able
to build your own team, where you have the
ability to hire and fire teammates as well as
choose which sponsors to sign for your racing
club. The main goal of GRID is to increase your
reputation and buy new vehicles with the money
that goes with it. Every race you compete in
will take place in three geographical locations:
Europe, US, and Japan. Each has its own unique
racing style. The European segment focuses a lot
on track-based racing with Doninton Park and
Nurburgring as amongst its famous backgrounds.
The US competition centers largely on street
racing with courses in San Francisco, Detroit,
Long Beach, and Washington just to name a few.
The Japan section is ripped with winding courses
that are modeled specifically for drifting
events.
Of course, each geological stage will require
certain types of vehicles. For US circuit,
you’re going to be using muscle cars. For
Europe, it’s the GT and touring classes. And for
Japan, you’re going to be driving tricked out
Asian cars including Subarus, Toyotas and
Nissans. From pro-tuned races to demolition
derby, it’s great to see that GRID gives players
a wide range of different racing disciplines to
try from. Not only that but also at the end of
each season, you’ll be able to enter Le Mans 24
Hour Race. Don’t worry this particular race is
condensed into a 24-minute period but what’s
nice about it though is the fact that you’ll get
to see the full day and night transition! One of
the interesting features about the career mode
is that signing up sponsors comes with another
way of ranking up some money. The sponsors give
you details on how you can earn bonus, ranging
from finishing first to driving without any
damage.
Graphically, the game looks very clean and
highly stylized. Menus are laid out with a lot
of spectacular 3D effects and the details on the
cars are simply remarkable! The game runs at an
adrenaline pace of 30 frames per second with
incredibly smooth animation even during pileups!
The environment is lit up with interesting
visual accessories such as thousands of colorful
spectators that line up the racing circuits.
You’ve got great lighting effects with dynamic
rotation of night and day during the Le Mans 24
Hour Race. Too bad, the game has missed out on
some weather effects like rain and most notably
the ability to choose day and night options for
single races. The best of GRID’s presentation
are its destructible components and how the
camera pans out and captures that scene with
such intensity. These little camera tricks offer
not only a spectacular view of your driving but
also make crashes all the more impressive!
In the audio department, the game pretty much
excels in producing the best sound effects. The
sound of the cars revving up has a bona fide
racing engine noise to it. And the sound of
crashes are so freaking real that you can almost
feel its impact! The music rocks and its
fast-paced beats add to the thrill of high-speed
racing. The only downside to the audio is that
the commentaries can sometimes get repetitive
and somewhat annoyiing. At any rate, this is one
of the best circuit-racing games we have played
in a long time. Codemasters did an amazing job
with balancing the gameplay to work for both
hardcore and casual fans alike. It’s highly
realistic yet quite forgiving at the same time.
We can’t say enough about how brilliant the AI
and how spectacular the crashes are in this
game. GRID is all about you, your reputation,
and the thrills that come with pure racing. The
only question that remains is that are you
ready? |
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