Grid Review (Bountiful Bean Bonanza)
Grid is difficult. Exceptionally difficult. Even for a seasoned racing gamer such as myself. Needless to say, you will need some time to adjust to the challenge. Motion blurring is set to default, and I am still unsure what makes the game look better or more realistic. I have personally turned it off. GRID's general visual appearance seems to be hazy to begin with (from dust, smoke, etc), and this cannot be changed. Winning races or achieving podium finishes is desirable, but not mandatory, as you will still earn money for yourself and the team. The replay/flashback system works well and allows you to correct some of your driving mistakes per race. Personalizing your cars' colors, numbers, and patterns is limited but very nice. Sponsor decals placement is also fun and interesting to look at, as real brands are used. Unfortunately, you cannot upgrade your car parts. All you are allowed to do is purchase and sell cars, new or used. Some cars handle horribly, even if they are very expensive. GRID has some voice acting, and all I have heard was excellent. Depending on the person's origin, even their accent will be different and localized. Your team's employee and teammate will often relay important and informative radio messages to you. Damage received from driving is of great detail for all cars participating in the race. The damage incurred to the tracks are also vivid and lively, including tires, barricades, and railings. Even if you cannot get a podium finish at any race, you are allowed to retry it any time, for as many times as you would like. Although GRID is supposed to be more arcade style than a simulation, the way the cars and tracks feel surpass my expectations greatly. All competitions are challenging, requiring much effort from the player in order to win. As you go higher up the license levels, the difficulty becomes even more strenuous, if that was even possible. The difficulty makes the game so frustrating, that you will not bare to play for more than about two hours at a time. Because of the steep difficulty, winning gives you the experience of true accomplishment. Skill developing in this game is masterful and rewarding. Every single race is tense and exciting, every single time you try. There is a limited amount of tracks with alternative routes, but racing in them never gets boring. The rivalries you will develop between other drivers is a lot of fun. Scouting for and hiring teammates is also extremely interesting. If you hire a highly skilled teammate, he will be your biggest rival and toughest opponent in most races. Sometimes, your teammates become real nuisances, as they bang, scrape, and tip your car off the track. The Drift races are my absolute favorites. They are extremely fun, and are full of non-stop action at every turn. The game seems to have crashing issues during saving times and quitting times. As far as the starting grid goes, it makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. There are no qualification steps at all, and it seems that the starting grid is determined at random, which makes it rather silly, unrealistic, and as if you were excluded from a part of the competition. The career mode is somewhat incomplete if you expect GRID to be a total simulation. There are truly no means of securing your own earned starting grid position, nor are you able to tweak your cars. Once you win all events, become the number one driver in the world, and your team becomes the number one team in the world, the game presents you with a prestige opportunity to race against a famous driver from a famous team. This particular race is one-on-one and the difficulty setting is adjusted to Extreme and you are only allowed to flashback one single time. This makes the race close to impossible. The cars, tracks, physics, effects, sounds, and environments are beautiful. There is a lot of excitement and fun to be had with GRID. In the end, this is one of the most frustrating games I have ever played in terms of difficulty. The lack of preliminary race steps, qualification laps, vehicle tweaking, and customization leaves a lot of detail to be desired. There is a lot to love in GRID, but there is also enough frustration.
GRID is great.