Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #4883 in Video Games
- Brand: Codemasters
- Model: SGRIDX3US00
- Published on: 2008-06-04
- Released on: 2008-06-03
- ESRB Rating: Everyone
- Platform: Xbox 360
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: .50" h x
5.25" w x
7.50" l,
.31 pounds
Features
- Contains 3 distinct regions featuring US, Japan and Europe
- 3 distinct racing styles that include Muscle cars, city racing, drift racing, traditional circuit racing
- Progress and create your own race team, hire co-drivers, and attract real-life big sponsors
- 20 car grids, bigger than any other racing game, fully licensed cars and tracks, all fully damageable
- Slicker, sexier, presentation similar to a Hollywood film
GRID
Product Description
GRID is all about 40 of the most incredible race cars ever created with the finest AI. GRID is about revolutionary damage to vehicles and environments that affect your race and blow your mind. GRID is about the most complete replay packages, letting you relive the moments of your glory or destruction in jaw-dropping hi-res slow-motion.
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
31 of 34 people found the following review helpful.
By Strategos
There are racing simulators, and then there are racing GAMES. I read a preview and an interview in two issues of Edge magazine discussing the new direction Codemasters was taking in this game, and by the time I finished the preview I was so exited I knew I had to preorder the game and make the first full-price purchase I've ever made of a 360 game. The reason is simple. As one of the game's creators said, the racing genre has become a collect-a-thon with very little to do with the joy of racing. We've come to invest massive amounts of time into things like Forza and Gran Turismo without actually enjoying the races, just trying to win enough money to buy that next car or rank high enough to unlock that next track. The Race Driver series, like the Colin McRae Rally series, has been trying to gain a foothold in the west for some time. Personally I have no problem with TOCA or Rally (I love every Colin McRae game I've played except, strangely, Dirt), but everyone else seems to need some convincing. Codemasters have been trying to do this for years by throwing all kinds of crazy modes at you in the Race Driver series. With Grid maybe they'll finally get your attention.The first thing you will probably notice is the graphics engine that powers this game (the same one from Dirt). These are next next NEXT generation graphics. Flags wave in the breeze, crowds cheer and jump up and down, and huge clouds of smoke shoot from your tires when you spin your tires. At the starting line, there is a fog of exhaust from the idling cars. But when you start racing, you realize that everything is also faster than greased lightning, giving you that sense of speed previously only seen in the movies.When I first played the demo, the impression I got was that the developers watched The Fast and the Furious, Gone in 60 Seconds, and bunch more like them, and said "We need our game to look, move, and feel like THAT." Just before the race starts the camera does a lightning-fast zoom to the cars from an overhead view. On the replays, the camera shakes and rattles like it's a helicopter shot tracking your car, and your car is itself has the shake and blur of an object rocketing along at incredible speed. Nothing like the Sunday driver replays we've all become accustomed to. The sense of speed is really fantastic, and the game's controls will at first take some getting used to, because the cars are far more controllable than you are probably used to (resulting in a lot of spin-outs and wall-slams because you aren't expecting to turn so sharp). What this translates to is that when you get used the feel of this game it's a non-stop thrill ride as your car flies around corners and takes off from a stop like something out of a forth of July blockbuster.And let's not forget about the car deformation and physics engine. While I don't think it's possible to land upside down, I have wedged my car on top of wals, flipped end over end, spun my car 360 degrees in the air, and smashed my car till all that remained of the front was the engine (and I can't count the times I've seen my wheels fly off). Yes, this game has damage, and it's way better than the damage in any other game I know of. It's not realistic, but it is TOUGH. If you have a head-on collision at top speed, that's it. Your car is wrecked. Fortunately the new Rewind feature makes it possible to stop time and rewind to before the crash (ala Prince of Persia's innovative time-control system). Is it a cheap gimmick? No. It's a really cool feature and an absolute lifesaver. But of course, it also demishes your score, can only be used a certain number of times, and in higher difficulty settings and record score making can't be used at all. Think of it like the ideal line in Forza. It may be cheating, but it's a game, not real life. And there's no point in playing a game if you can't have fun. And a whole lot of fun Grid is.The A.I. in the game is also quite good, and not just because cars keep slamming into you and trying to force you off the road (in a couple of races one or two of the leaders kept trying to block the road to keep me from passing and when I got ahead harassed me continually from behind). The other drivers will actually fight each other, spin out, and crash all on their own. This makes everything enormously exciting because it stops feeling like you're racing a computer that never makes mistakes and instead feels like you're racing a wild pack of drivers jockeying for position (thankfully more Speed Racer and Nascar). Realism freaks will cry foul, but people like me who are TIRED of realism getting in the way of having fun will love the atmosphere of the races, where you feel rivalry and desperation in every race, and know that you could go from last to first or vice versa at any time (making every race feel like one of the greastest you've ever seen on TV, because crazy comebacks and smash-ups at the finish line do ocassionally happen in real-life).While most racing games stick with one mode, Grid has you doing all kind of crazy races, from destruction derby to drift challenges, to one-on-one mountain racing. You'll drive Formula 3, Super cars, and muscle cars. You'll drive everywhere from Long Beach to Le Mans. While I wish there were more tracks (I loved the destruction derby and wish there were a few more of my favorite European tracks), the limited car selection doesn't bother me at all, because all the cars are fast and fun and very usable. Similarly I'm GLAD there's no car tweaking and tuning because in the end it just distracts from RACING. Leave that adjustment stuff to my mechanic, thank you very much.The sound in this game is roaring, from tire screeches to the turbine-engine whine of your formula 3 at high rpms. The crashes and crunches come perfectly and the music is upbeat and heart-racing. There's also a manager and Crew Chief who talk to you through the game offering advice, and even address you by name (when you create your profile, you select what they should call you from a list).The only real snag I've hit so far is the unbalanced difficultly in the events. I can pretty much always hit a podium finished in the United States races, but the European track courses are REALLY hard, as is getting anything other than last place in Le Mans 24 hour (which in a really cool move is 24 minutes long). If playing on Easy meant I could always get at least 10th place I would have no complaints.There you have it. This is the game everyone's been waiting for. There's fast and furious racing action with the best replays in history. Glorious graphics at lightning speed, roaring sound with good music (for the first time in a racing game since I can remember), cool commentary as you race that addresses you by name (how cool is that!?), awesome physics and A.I. that results in cars trying to push you off the road and crazy smash-up crashes, and fun, fun, FUN racing events with lots of variety. If you love racing games you need to buy this one.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful.
By John Paquette
After playing this game for several hours, I slipped Forza Motorsport III into my XBox 360 to compare. Forza seemed shockingly tame by comparison. Forza's visuals seem artificially pretty, and they seem to be locked to a rock-steady tripod. By contrast, GRID's visuals are gritty and realistic, and the cameras seems to be hand-held. Forza's cars look like they are made of shiny plastic. GRID's cars look like real cars.Forza *is* a great game, of the type of game it tries to be: a classy racer.But GRID is all about *racing excitement*. In fact, I haven't played it for days, and I'm getting excited just thinking about playing it. No other game has captured for me so well the sense of urgency in racing a car.GRID, however, isn't your typical arcade racer. The driving model feels terribly realistic, even with all possible driving aids turned on. This is one game you must *learn* how to drive. Winning any race in GRID is an *achievement*. The very real possibility of serious car damage adds loads of excitement, while the "flashback" feature (the Omega-13 of racing games) gives you the ability to recover from serious errors (five or so errors per race). So you end up driving a bit more aggressively than you might otherwise.The result is a level of excitement in racing that I've never found elsewhere. The cars feel real, and the AI feels real, and the graphics look real. Where the game cheats reality is where reality is *boring*.There is no good reason this game is so cheap. It's a steal at under $20.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful.
By W. Carlin
Let me start out by saying that grid is an unbelievable game. the cars all look great, the tracks look amazing, and the game really gives a feeling that you have a race team. Being able to manage your team and sign sponsors and drivers adds to the realistic qualities. The controls are spot on, however the physics seem a little too forgiving sometimes. The ai makes up for the physics. Your competition will always race like real drivers and will try and win the race. An example of this would be that you hear over your intercom that a driver spun out trying to pass another driver. The intercom is one of the few small flaws. The intercom is mostly helpful but is sometimes deceptive. I've had the intercom tell me that my tires are toast and then five seconds later say everything is fine. Sometime when the car gets really messed up it doesn't say anything! The damage is very realistic and will have varied effects on the cars. Sometimes they will swerve to one side or just stop running or not go as fast. Another small flaw is that there are not that many tracks in each region so you have similar races alot. Bu thats not a big deal. The only thing that I really did not like about grid was the lack of mechanical customization. You cannot mechanically customize your cars whatsoever! Even with that flaw, there is a good variety of cars and they are all fun to drive. All three racing categories are enjoyable. I would say american muscle and japanese drift are easy and european touring is a lot harder. So if you are into racing games at all pick up grid, you won't regret it!
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