It isn’t often that a game surpasses your expectations, in all honesty. There are times when you’ll be prepared for an awesome experience, and find that an awesome experience is exactly what’s delivered. However, when you’ve played a lacklustre demo of an upcoming title and decided that it really won’t be worth spending hours on when it comes out, you’ll occasionally receive a pleasant surprise.
That, my friends, is exactly what has happened to me with Race Driver: GRID. I sat down, expecting to be filled with the joys of an average game. Five hours later, when the controller was placed back down and the console was turned off, I realised that I had just experienced something a little bit special.
After racing for other teams in various events, and gaining the £40,000 required to start my own team, the game really came into it’s own. I felt pride in my team’s colours and frowned upon my failing CPU controlled teammates. Choosing the coolest brands and deciding whether the monetary payoff was worth selling my team’s soul to a random shock absorber company based in Dulwich meant that I was actually involved in the sponsorship decisions facing me, and it wasn’t just a futile action to pad my bank balance. And these are just the little “behind-the-scenes” affairs that whilst not too supermicro-management in style, provide enough of a feel of control for you to care about your team. Your car isn’t just a drawing on a screen; it’s a representation of your progress in the game, and of your style. That’s a winner, right there.
On the track, Race Driver: GRID doesn’t put in any shabby performances either. If you haven’t seen it running yet, go and get yourself hooked up. This game is absolutely stunning at times, especially when you’re just pulling away from the grid and everyone’s tyres are firing smoke right at your windscreen from every angle. On top of this, the fact that CPU controlled racers can spin, blow tyres, flip, roll and pretty much cause havoc like real-life opponents can, means that you aren’t ever bored as you’re burning up the tarmac. Firing around the final corner in 3rd place at Nurburgring is all well and good, but if your two superior rivals have clipped and are spinning all over the show, you’d better be damned sure that you have your wits about you to sashay your way through to pick up the win. Any dozing in this kind of situation will see you resorting to your…ahem…”flashback” controls.
Yes. Flashback controls. If you wreck your car, you get to head into the action replay screen and wind back in time – Prince of Persia-style – and restore the game back to before the accident occurred. I’m sorry, but if you consider that gaming is a purely reward-based activity, and that rewards taste so much sweeter when you’ve had to take a risk or two to get them, this functionality is absolutely pointless and something of an insult. Turn the flashbacks off BEFORE your first race. You’ll gain more in-game reputation points per race if you do, and you’ll feel like you’ve actually accomplished something when you win a championship or race. The same goes for the braking and cornering assist. Seriously. Did the developers expect me to just hold the accelerator down and feel really good about winning when I didn’t even have to steer or brake? Come on, guys…we aren’t all about to throw a paddy when we lose like gamers from some nations in the World would.
Aside from that, and the ridiculous comments that come from your pit manager and teammates during the race (“It looks like Ricardo Fraga has spun!” when Ricardo Fraga is actually side-by-side with you in a battle for the lead), there is little that falls under the column marked “bad” when it comes to summing up GRID.
The multitude of race types (including the decent “drift” race manifestations) mean that there is an absolute ton to do in game, and as mentioned, the looks won’t put you off either.
Race Driver: GRID is a solid, solid title with very few flaws – and certainly nothing to put you off a purchase. Love it.
