Review
Played on: Xbox One X
Released: 2019
Released: 2019
Introduction
Reboot or remake, it's hard to tell, but Codemasters have re-introduced us to it's urban based racer, Grid. It lends a lot to the first iteration of the series, that had a sequel, and a sort of halfway third one too. It begs the question as to why they needed to reboot, but I guess it falls in line with their Dirt Rally success, where they let the numbered Dirt series fade away.
Grid, I feel, was never the massive success like it's rallying stall mate Dirt was. However, they've always been solid racers and I've played them all. With the bold advertisement line, and social media hashtag, of "Like No Other", will this reboot hold up well against the current generation of racers on the market and truly be like no other?
Grid, I feel, was never the massive success like it's rallying stall mate Dirt was. However, they've always been solid racers and I've played them all. With the bold advertisement line, and social media hashtag, of "Like No Other", will this reboot hold up well against the current generation of racers on the market and truly be like no other?
Let's hit the tarmac!
Plot and setting
Grid throws you into the career of a racer that delves into various genres, from street races to famous racing tracks across the globe. There's a grid layout, no pun intended, of increasingly longer cups to enter within each car type. A fairly large, but extremely simple completion layout. Cars range from European touring to massively powered American muscle. It's a varied package for sure, while the actual number of cars is fairly sparse.
The famous race tracks need no introduction, but what I like most about all the Grid games is the set of street tracks. Speeding around the streets of San Francisco, Barcelona or Shanghai. It gives me a throwback all the way back to the Project Gotham Racing titles, where cars battle it out around sharp corners surrounded by massive cities.
The famous race tracks need no introduction, but what I like most about all the Grid games is the set of street tracks. Speeding around the streets of San Francisco, Barcelona or Shanghai. It gives me a throwback all the way back to the Project Gotham Racing titles, where cars battle it out around sharp corners surrounded by massive cities.
The amount of racetracks though, is a large problem in Grid: they're far too few, making the career mode a repetitive affair. In hindsight, they've added a new location, Paris, but this doesn't add itself to the career mode and thus remains much unplayed.
They already had a healthy amount of locations from the previous games to remake in the new graphics engine, would be nice to see more of them return. The lack of the drift areas like the Tokyo dockside in the very first Grid is a sad omission and missed opportunity too.
They already had a healthy amount of locations from the previous games to remake in the new graphics engine, would be nice to see more of them return. The lack of the drift areas like the Tokyo dockside in the very first Grid is a sad omission and missed opportunity too.
Gameplay and features
When it comes to the realising the advertised sensation of intensity and aggression on the track, Grid does a good job. While the handling lies between sim and arcade, leaning mostly to the latter, I would've preferred more weight to the cars and a strong sensation of grip feedback. Crash physics are great, though, and some of the, I suspect scripted, crashes and car spin-offs done by the A.I. drivers are fun sights to behold. There's nothing like seeing a major crash in front of you and then being able to quickly manoeuvre around the carnage and win the race.
Such moments of dramatic scenes and drivers building a revengeful grudge against you for bumping into them, makes Grid stand out a somewhat. I appreciate the offering of a nice selection of car camera angles and weather types for the tracks too.
When it works, Grid's driving works well and feels satisfying, but it also lingers with some a sensation of simplicity. Lacking the polish and refinement of the recent Dirt Rally 2.0.
Such moments of dramatic scenes and drivers building a revengeful grudge against you for bumping into them, makes Grid stand out a somewhat. I appreciate the offering of a nice selection of car camera angles and weather types for the tracks too.
When it works, Grid's driving works well and feels satisfying, but it also lingers with some a sensation of simplicity. Lacking the polish and refinement of the recent Dirt Rally 2.0.
Video
Once again there's a major difference for the upgraded consoles and the standard ones: PS4 & XB1 wander in the land of 1080p@30fps, while the PS4 Pro and XB1X version go for higher framerate and resolutions. X comes out on top with a dynamic resolution that resides near 1800p and a 60fps target. Both can drop, resulting in some blurrier looking visuals at times. I've played it on a TV and a PC monitor, that both support Freesync (VRR), and as a reault haven't noticed the framerate drops as much. I would've appreciated some more polish to the visuals.
Artistically, Grid can look very pretty indeed, mostly on the city street tracks, combined with some orange sunsets. On the other hand, racing circuits look a little bland compared to other racers with the same famous tracks. I did enjoy the night racing, it boasts some great lighting, with neon colours on roadside lighting, but why doesn't the HDR have sliders to tweak it? A visually strong package but not quite up there with Forza Motorsport 7.
Artistically, Grid can look very pretty indeed, mostly on the city street tracks, combined with some orange sunsets. On the other hand, racing circuits look a little bland compared to other racers with the same famous tracks. I did enjoy the night racing, it boasts some great lighting, with neon colours on roadside lighting, but why doesn't the HDR have sliders to tweak it? A visually strong package but not quite up there with Forza Motorsport 7.
Audio
Strong and growling engine sounds with cool fire pops from the exhaust pipes and distinct crunching bangs for the crashes. Perhaps, some more distinction between the sound of various vehicles would have been nice. Radio chatter is just an annoying and unnecessary feature that luckily can be turned off.
Music in the menus is nothing unique, but it's upbeat and energetic, suiting the genre well.
Music in the menus is nothing unique, but it's upbeat and energetic, suiting the genre well.
Summary
"Like No Other" is bold advertisement statement, but at the end of the day it's a bit of an ignorant one. There are great racing alternatives and they're better in many ways. On the Xbox One platform the competition of the Forza Horizon and Motorsport games is quite brutal on Grid. They're far better performing, looking and handling racers and boast way more value for money with a ton more content. PlayStation users, however, are a little more scraped for good racers, so it'll probably be more worth it if you're stuck on that platform.
Don't get me wrong here, I may sound harsh in my review, it's just that I like the franchise and kind of hoped Codemasters would offer a more fleshed out experience. I've had many hours of fun with this racer, after all, when it all clicks, it feels great. Pushing massive muscle cars, past lots of competitors, while tackling the sharp and ruthless bends of city streets really is entertaining.
Don't get me wrong here, I may sound harsh in my review, it's just that I like the franchise and kind of hoped Codemasters would offer a more fleshed out experience. I've had many hours of fun with this racer, after all, when it all clicks, it feels great. Pushing massive muscle cars, past lots of competitors, while tackling the sharp and ruthless bends of city streets really is entertaining.
It's not a racer you'll regret to spend time with but as it stands, with the fairly sparse amount of content, it deserves to be bought on a sale and not at full price.
