Race Driver GRID [2008]

For those who don’t know already ^{Race Driver} GRID is a racing simulator developed by Codemasters. If you are familiar with Codemasters, then you have a pretty good idea of the amount of detail that this game already comes with, awesome graphics, excellent physics engine, and realistic car crashes and simulated damage.

But GRID takes it up another notch. The game adds excellent visual effects that intensify the feel of high speed racing and super realistic sounds that make you feel as if you are really there. The A.I. is pretty good too, it's behavior can vary from aggressive to technical. This adds a great element of challenge, since the computer will no longer just take your abuse; it will retaliate! If this proves to be frustrating, then you can simply changed the level of difficulty to best fit your skill level at the beginning of any race. However, keep in mind that the more difficult the settings the greater the rewards.

If you ever played Gran Turismo then you are already familiar with GRID's career mode. You race to win extra money and get better cars, unlock/qualify events, etc; however, GRID takes it even further. They attempt to simulate a real race car driver climbing up the latter in the field. So essentially you are a "real" race car driver trying to get sponsor for your races. The more races you win the more lucrative the sponsors get. This means lot’s of cash (and decals) for meeting the sponsors requirements (e.g. Castrol requirement; finish in top 3 position and you get $10,000). Selecting sponsors for certain kinds of races add strategic elements to this game. If you are pretty sure that you will not be able meet the requirement, then go for a sponsor whose requirement you are more likely to meet.

GRID is awesome, but it has its negatives. There are nowhere nearly as many cars or tracks as you would like (Gran Turismo really spoiled me with that one). And… that’s about it. Excellent graphics, reasonable A.I., high quality sounds, and superior game engine it’s really hard to say anything bad about this game. GRID is a must have for any racing game fanatic.

If you haven’t played it, then do yourself a favor and play it.

Graphics	10/10
Sound	10/10
Gameplay	9.5/10