Grid (360, PS3, PC)

[Bassman]

Borrowed this off a friend. Hated it to start with. The handling was a bit too arcadey and the early tracks felt somewhat confined. Having got beyond the early stages by the simple expedient of just hanging back in the race to avoid the other unguided missiles/cars on the track. I got the Appearance Fee and the bonus for not using flashbacks so it wasn't too much of a problem. Now racing "proper" I am admittedly disliking it less, bit the other drivers suicidal tendencies do wear a bit thin after a time.

My favourite events are currently the drift ones. On my first final, I somehow managed to score over 400,000!! I have been able to consistently outsocre the opposition on them since, the last event obtaining me the team win achievement.

I am certainly glad I didn't buy it. If the price comes down to about a tenner I may consider it!!.

[merf]

i was quite impressed with the demo and previously had a strong dislike of Dirt

I don't think i've played a racer with such a strong sense of actually being in a proper race, even offline. I'm very impressed with opponent AI, love the damage model and think graphically its stunning.

It feels so physical too, you really feel it when you slide a muscle car round an apex and clip a rumble strip.

Its definitely gone past PGR4 in my estimation as is far less sterile, also I know its horsess for courses but think racers like this really do show Gran Turismo up for the dinosaur that it is now.

Not really scratched the surface of it yet but loving the variety of open wheel, circuit, street and even destruction derby style events.

Well worthy of the critical plaudits its getting.

[ne0star]

I agree, I bought DiRT and sold it almost straight away. It didn't stick with me at all so I wasn't expecting much from this, but the demo really did impress me enough to purchase the full game.

Without getting into framerate discussions blah, blah, this is comfortably the most impressive racer graphically for me so far. The lighting gives it this warmth and realism.

I think this also shows how old fashioned the more arcade type racers are such as ridge racer. Its really good for the 'quick blast' mentality.

[merf]

yup, it just seems a perfect middle ground racer, the handling to my tastes is pitched bang on.

none of that silly ridge style power sliding and not full on sim but there is a real sense of connection to the road, friction and grip.

it is a short blast game but with I sense a lot of depth, I'm playing on normal skill with aids on and finding a decent level of challenge but can see I've got a big learning curve to go.

I like scores and always mentally rate a game after a few hours, this feels like a very strong 8-9/10 to me.

[MonkeyWrench]

Gutted to read this. I chose the 360 version due to the demo performance, and now all I am getting is constant screen pauses during racing, sometimes up to a full second pause. Rubbish. This will have to be shelved until its patched then (if at all)

Picked this up yesterday myself and I'm pretty disapointed with the pausing issue, very sloppy. However I just did a quick search and found this:

http://community.codemasters.com/forum/showpost.php?p=4081173&postcount=48

At least they're aware of the issue and are working on it. Might try whipping out the HD later.

[womblingfree]

silly ridge style power sliding

Get out!

[Hohum]

Having played the full version today (on PC) I can safely say one thing - that being don't bother racing online. The game is fun offline in short bursts, but online it's just a load of bollocks. I doubt it's much different for consoles either. Little sum up below:

• Everyone rams you and/or drives recklessly, no fair races to be found here. It's basically pot luck as to whether you survive the first corner, and if you do manage to scrape out with a car that's still running you can be sure it's been wrecked pretty good... thus taking the enjoyment of the rest of the race out, as you'll be veering to one side and whatnot
• You will frequently see people driving backwards around the track (as they stand no chance of winning, so want to ruin it for you aswell)
• You rely on the host's connection being half decent (which it usually isn't, so it becomes a warpfest - cars vanishing, driving straight through them etc)
• Interface seems a bit meh... can't seem to specify a track/laps, just a race series from what it seems.

I also should reiterate my dislike for the regular touring car races/tracks, I just find them incredibly boring and uninteresting to look at. Bit of grey road, bit of grass, bit of sand here and there and some barriers - thrilling!

I guess I should have expected it to be pants online, but having not played a racer in a good while I guess I just forgot how rubbish it can be unless you play with friends only.

[Eight Rooks]

Tried the demo and I'm very impressed - though not so much with the drifting. Rice rockets on ice, methinks. I'm humming and hawing over whether to give it some more time, since I did/do quite like both other styles and I could see myself getting better the more attention I paid.

Other than that, looks and sounds staggeringly good, and it frequently feels an absolute joy to play, even when I'm not doing so well. Count me in with the "GT is an abomination lacking a sooooooul" crowd; I have no interest in any kind of truly realistic driving simulation and the presentation here just reinforces my belief a strong visual and aural aesthetic should be part and parcel of anything involving shiny phallic substitutes going very, very fast.

(Although Forza 2's decal editor is a thing of beauty. Shame I find the actual game an exercise in unremitting tedium, for all its obvious class.)

[ChrisF]

Tried the demo and I'm very impressed - though not so much with the drifting. Rice rockets on ice, methinks.

I was absolutely terrible at the drifting on my first race - probably because I tried to drift like you would in Ridge Racer or any other game like that - ie. full throttle all the way. But after working out that you need to ease of a little it became a delight to play and I was soon racking up the points

[Eight Rooks]

I was absolutely terrible at the drifting on my first race - probably because I tried to drift like you would in Ridge Racer or any other game like that - ie. full throttle all the way. But after working out that you need to ease of a little it became a delight to play and I was soon racking up the points

Eh, I did give it some more time after posting and while I was getting better I still can't chain drifts beyond 2x or 3x, nor can I get a feel for exactly how the handbraking works. Far too many times it still feels utterly random. Not to mention flashbacks are not really any help when every single corner might require one. The AI gets well over 700,000, I get about 200,000.

Annoying. It's got some kind of a hook, and the other two races were excellent - far more "realistic" than I normally go for (I'm very, very much in the WipEout/Ridge Race/NFS camp) but polished enough I really wanted to keep trying. But I'm wary of buying the full thing if I'm never going to be able to master an important element of it without a great deal of swearing and aggravation - I got burnt like that with Midnight Club 3. (Bikes. Oh, God, the bikes! Take them away! )

We'll see, I guess.

[saturn-gamer]

I think this game is my favourite Ps3 racer in terms of atmosphere and feeling. And although the AI feels natural and makes humanly mistakes, I do have the feeling there is some sort of rubberband involved. Sometimes you leed by a big margin, and suddenly they start to reel you in. I even saw the CPU braking after the last corner, which almost felt like he GAVE me the victory. This was on Serious difficulty.

But it doesn't bother me that much as the stupid GT5 AI, or the incredibly cheap Motorstorm AI.

GRID is imo the best of all, RR7 and PGR4 as close 2nd.

[ChrisF]

I do have the feeling there is some sort of rubberband involved. Sometimes you leed by a big margin, and suddenly they start to reel you in.

Totally know what you mean - have had that exact same feeling. Infact, the one time I did experience a particularly bad case of it was on Le Mans when I head my group by some way - then I could see the computer approaching rapidly on the radar then slowed right down when he was behind me! Going at the speed he was going at, he should have had no problems over taking me.

[saturn-gamer]

That should be lead

Anyway, yeah they do seem to catch up but they don't really overtake. Its the same way in those Touge races. You mess up but still end up right behind them. Definetely a wonky AI thats being saved by the fact that they make mistakes like a human player.

It could be slipstream, but I doubt it is. Then they would also easily overtake, plus, I've also seen them increasing distance when I was already past a corner.

[merf]

I am sure this has some rubberbanding but it doesn't take away from the game for me

had a couple of hours on this today and it really is my fave racer at the moment, cant see me going back to GT5 as I hear all the tech aguments but this is not too shabby looking and just feels like I'm racing a car.

can't say i've noticed the streaming glitch either and put few hours in total now

[ChrisF]

That should be lead

In my head it was a combination of "lead" and "ahead"

Recruited a second driver last night. Makes sponsorship a very tricky task! I used to just have all the sponsors that were "£xxxx for coming 1st", but obviously if you're first, then your wing man isn't going to meet his sponsorship requirements, meaning you earn squat! Tough balancing act

Loving it so far. Oddly though - my stalling problems have all gone now. No idea why. I didn't run the system clear up or anything, they just went away