GRID Review

GRID developed by Codemasters is now available on Xbox One, PC and PlayStation 4.

When GRID released on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, it was a hit with racing fans all over the world. GRID always felt like a slight arcade mix but also providing the realism to really provide an experience unlike any other that we’ve had in a while. After a long and quiet stretch of no GRID announcements or no news it finally got announced for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC.

GRID lets you live out your racing dreams in your living room, work or wherever you can fit a PC or Console. From a vast and expansive career mode that offers a massive variety of different ways to race, whether you like a bit of Nascar or American Muscle circuit racing, it has what you want. During the career you’ll earn points towards buying new cars, modifications and even items to customise your cars liveries. GRID has a lot of customisation to fit it to your style whether it be difficulty, track conditions, cars handling and much more. GRID definitely caters to every kind of player whether you’re a racing fan or a newbie to the genre or series. If you’d rather be in complete control the freeplay mode offers you a look at a massive selection of tracks, car types, weather selections and more. Freeplay is a lot of fun because it gives you the freedom to do what you want, I particularly enjoyed racing around in the beautiful rainy environments showing off what drifts I could pull off in my trusty Ford Mustang. If solo isn’t your bag the multiplayer options are just as content filled as the solo modes. Racing with friends has never been more fun, it really is fantastic.

What I really liked about GRID was the nemesis system, if you annoyed a racer too much they’d often become your rival, or using the new team play mechanics you could send your friends over to try distract them while you zoom past them. This was fun and in my first few games where I was getting used to the controls it made almost the entire track hate my guts. Sorry, not sorry. The controls were easy to get use to, I felt they were similar to those of Forza’s but a little better with turning on corners. GRID is a game that anyone can pick up due to it’s difficulty levels and options in helping you progress forward and stay ahead on the track. I found it very useful when I approached each corner and a coloured marker would reflect red if I was going to fast and green for perfect speed. My only negatives I really ran into was I wasn’t that good at the game and for some reason some races felt slow despite the speedometer saying otherwise, it took away from the adrenalin feeling you get when you’re whizzing round a track at a very fast pace.

GRID on the PC and PlayStation 4 looks incredible, from the lively city streets with fans cheering you on to the rain covered racing tracks it all looks so highly detailed. For a racing game, a lot of detail didn’t just go into the cars, it went into every little aspect of the game. I love a racing game with good looking car damage and GRID looks brilliant, if you smash up your car you’re sure to see the extent of damage on the exterior. The sound design is also on point, each car sounds similar to the real thing and I just love the drifting tyre screech when blasting round a corner.

Verdict

GRID is a brilliant racing game and really feels like it fits being entered into the October release time, it’s nice to see another highly sought after racing game get the sequel it deserves. Apart from a few little things here and there, GRID is a fantastic game for both newcomers and professionals alike.

8/10