Video Games : Race Driver: GRID (Xbox 360)

Rating: - Aljo1
Wow!! Wow!! Wow!! A must buy... for the serious gamer to the "just play a quick race game" player. It is stunning... the graphics are breathtaking, you could actually be driving. The damage is so real that you just want more. I just could not stop playing the game. As for the demolition derby, well I almost passed out from laughter it generated... I must be the only demolition derby driver that destroyed his own car without hitting anyone else, useless or what. This is truly a fun game and extremely addictive. This is definitely a game to buy; have fun!!!!

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Rating: - Grid Review
Grid is an amazing racing game, it simulates racing action, speed and effects very realistically. This is the first of many of racing games to be in this layout, so we will soon see updates and impressive changes to the games, overall the game is for people who don't get annoyed when they end up in a wall. i would give this game, 5/5 for graphics 4/5 gameplay 5/5 overall.

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Rating: - The ultimate racing experience so far
Just when you think racing games can't get any better along comes grid. This is simply the best racing game ever, the flashback feature is ingenious (If you drive into a wall at speed you total your car. Instead of bouncing off as in other less good racing games, but your race isn't other you get up to 4 flashbacks per race a chance to rewind the action 4 or 5 second and try again.) With varying game difficulties, all driving options drift, open wheel, touring cars, muscle cars, demolition derby (great on Xbox live) and the le mans 24 hour where you drive through a sunrise and sunset this game has it all. Including the oppurtunity to hire and fire a team mate to race with you. Graphically amazing, a real must have. When inevitablly Grid 2 comes along lets hope they add bikes.

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Rating: - A Frustrating Experience
I bought this game as an alternative to Forza; I wanted something that wasn't too arcade, but at the same time was easily accessible if I wanted to just pick up and play without having to worry about setting a car up. Codemasters have done this brilliantly in the past - something halfway between a sim and something arcade, but this isn't one of their triumphs.

I have two main problems with the game that have led me to get rid of it. The first one is the total lack of practise and qualifying for whatever race you are about to take part in. This is incredibly daunting when you start your career and you are literally flung into a strange car on a new track, somewhere in the middle of the grid. It might sound exciting, but it isn't fun being passed by everything because you've never seen the layout before.

The second problem I have is far more damning. The handling of the cars is dreadful. The cars themselves feel incredibly numb, as if you aren't really a part of the driving experience. This happens in every vehicle, from the single seaters right up to the Le Man racers. You press the brake and nothing, nothing, nothing... then it stops on a sixpence. LIkewise, steering the cars feels like you are trying to drive it with four flat tyres. You're never entirely sure when the car is going to start turning and then, when it is going to stop. It isn't simulation handling and it isn't arcade either. It's just.. nothing. It feels like someone sitting next to you is controlling it and you are shouting directions.

There are other flaws, as well as a few good points. The tracks ARE very pretty, although they are ridiculously smooth and lacking in bumps. A couple of them (Spa-Francochamps in particular) even seems to have had some of the gradients watered down. A lot has been made of the car damage model, but the cars are much too strong, and when you finally do wreck it, you get a bit of slow motion to tell you that you've destroyed it, and ten seconds of a replay. If I want to try and crawl across the line with three wheels because I happened to have clipped a barrier on the last lap, I'd like that to be my decision - I'd rather not be sucked into a multi-camera angle replay telling me my race is ended even though the engine is still running.

However, the career mode is engaging and rewarding. The range of cars and tracks is commendable. And for the first time in any racing simulation I've ever heard of, you get a decent voice-over race engineer, even if he does come out with helpful snippets like "You're in fourth place.. one more place and you get a podium!" The AI of the drivers isn't too mad either. They don't drive on rails like on the MotoGP games, and they don't drive through you as you sometimes get on Forza.

But unfortunately, I cannot recommend this game, either to someone who wants a casual thrash around some tracks, or to a simulation fan looking for depth. Everything else I have named and shamed, I could.. could possibly put up with, but the numb handling of the cars is unrewarding when you take a corner well, and frustrating when you plough into the gravel.

If, like me, you are looking for a fun game that bridges arcade and sim, stick with Codemaster's previous effort for XBOX - the 360 is backwards compatible after all - and go with Toca Race Driver 3. You can probably pick it up for a fiver.

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Rating: - Definitely not as good as Forza.
You will love this game if you have never played PGR3 or Forza2 - and if you think sliding or "drifting" as the youngsters call it "looks cool".
Unfortunately I loved PGR3 and Forza2 and thinking drifting is as lame as it is pointless. I only bought this game because my Nephews didn't have the finnesse and patience required to play FORZA2 well, I started to beat them so they bought GRID instead. Be warned: in GRID there is no RV mirror on out of car views so collisions - and arguments - will increase. There is barely any force feedback on a standard 360 controller. The HUD is way too small and in the RH bottom corner of the screen with the gear indictator furthest out of line of sight. I am older so my eyes do not appreciate the clutter of the detailed street circuits, and I detest the bright sunlight and shadows which (while very impressive) are just as annoying in real life.