It’s a promise partially delivered. On
the track GRID is frequently thrilling,
less about pedal to the metal and
more metal to the other metal, as you
shunt and shoulder your way through
tightly packed crowds of aggressive
and occasionally
unhinged AI drivers.
Yet off the track the
game is lacking in
features and, in some
areas, conviction, with
several half-baked ideas
that merited deeper
exploration.
Initially you might
wonder what there is to complain
about. After an introduction, GRID
flings you into career mode,
presenting you with a wall of races.
There are four categories, including
touring cars, stock cars, and a
Fernando Alonso-branded supercar
category, each of which has 14 events
and somewhere between 40 and 50
races. Add to that the number of
‘Invitational’ events, which let you
race anything from Mini Coopers to
Ferraris, and you’ve got around 30
hours of racing ahead of you.The early Touring Car events
evoke pleasant memories of the
TOCA games from the late ’90s, as
you cruise around Silverstone and
Brands Hatch under quintessentially
British slate grey skies. From here
you can jump into a
grunting muscle car
and thrum along the
graceful arcs of the
Crescent Valley
speedway, or head for
the opulent GT
category and slam a
Porsche 911 along the
harborside of Havana.
Each car is distinct in its handling
and momentum too. When barreling
through a corner there’s a world of
difference between the sturdy grace
of a Vantage and the barely-
controllable grunt of a Ford Mustang.ROLLING START
For the first five-to-ten hours, GRID
is a delight, but that initial burst of
locations isn’t the start of some grand
tour, it’s all the locations thrown at
you within a handful of events, which
are then recycled for the following 20hours. There are different track
layouts, but Brands Hatch backwards
doesn’t lessen the disappointment of
returning to Brands Hatch for the
15th time when you’re not even
halfway through the career.
The career is little more than an
event selection menu. It’s unfortunate
because GRID boasts a couple of
potentially interesting ideas. The
most notable of these are the new AI
driver behaviors. Bump into a specific
car too hard or too often, and they’ll
become your ‘Nemesis’, hulking out
and attempting to run you off the
road.
Unfortunately vendettas only last
for the duration of the race and the
lack of any personality in either
individual drivers or the wider career
means this isn’t the Shadow of
Mordor of racing games—a lot of
potential is left dangling.
There are other curious issues too.
For example, you can hire new
teammates to drive with, but this is
never pointed out to you during the
career. Instead, the option is hidden
away on your profile page.
Finding a multiplayer game is
limited to private lobbies or public
matchmaking, with no public lobbies
or option to browse for servers. The
keyboard control layout is downright
bizarre, with button allocations
scattered all over the place.
This is still an entertaining racer,
one that looks lovely and runs
smoothly. But I can’t help but feel like
a premium-priced game like this
should be doing a bit more, especially
if you compare it to something like
Forza Horizon 4, a similarly arcade-y
experience, but with considerably
more to offer. Had GRID explored
some of its ideas in greater depth,
that might have given it the extra
boost for a podium finish.NEED TO KNOW
WHAT IS IT?
A ‘back to basics’
arcade racer that’s a
little too basic for its
own good
EXPECT TO PAY
$60
DEVELOPER
Codemasters
PUBLISHER
Codemasters
REVIEWED ON
AMD Ryzen 5 3600,
Nvidia GTX 2080 Super,
32 GB RAM.
MULTIPLAYER
Up to 16 player
competitive
LINK
codemasters.com/
game/grid68
Invigorating arcade
racing that’s let down
by lightweight
multiplayer and
campaign modes.VERDICTUnfortunately
vendettas only
last for the
duration of
the raceA
fter the precise simulation of F1 2019 and the outright terror
of the Dirt Rally games, GRID sees Codemasters promise a
return to the arcade joys of its beloved 2008 racer. Here,
slightly mistiming a turn isn’t going to ruin your race, and
taking the lead from the back of the pack is not just viable
within three laps, but actively encouraged. GRID is about enjoying the
fantasy of being a racing driver, rather than recreating the reality of it.PR ANG TURISMO
Exhilarating on the track, GRID is let down by barebones
game modes and half-baked new systems. By Rick Lane
GRID AUTOSPORT
Technically a spinoff, its
focus on realistic handling
and a wide range of race
types earns second place.GRID
It may be lightweight on
features, but GRID’s
finely-tuned driving is
worthy of a podium finish.GRID 2
GRID 2’s dynamic tracks
couldn’t compensate for
its wonky driving model
and lack of an in-car view.THE STARTING GRID
Where does GRID rank in the series?
RACE DRIVER: GRID
Still the strongest and
most well-rounded entry,
this is the landmark for all
of Codies’ arcade racers.POLEPOSITIONBA
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