Review: GRID (XBOX 360)

Okay, so I'm a Racing game fan. I admit it. I enjoy both simulation and arcade racing games. The idea of playing a game that does BOTH well has always been an ideal for me. Unfortunately, GRID fails miserably to achieve that grand desire.

I will begin by saying I didn't play the game in its entirety. That's because I won't waste my time on trash. What I did play was wrong on so many levels that I can't bother to bring myself to pick up the controller again.

Whatever you do, don't buy this game; fortunately for me, I Gameflied it and will be returning it promptly.

The menus are reminiscent of Project Gotham Racing 3 (PGR3), with similar fonts and menu structures. This was comforting for me, even though I'm not a huge PGR fan. The familiarity induced feelings of intuitiveness that set me at ease. I figured this would be a good racing game right off the bat.

Total controller customization is another great feature that belongs in every good game. I was surprised to see I could assign any button to any feature I desired. More games need controls like this. Some gamers are older or differently-abled, so being able to setup your own control scheme is a definite plus.

All of my feelings of joy were dashed, however, after my very first race.

Let me say that the graphics in Grid are splendid and lush and the camera is exceptionally good at following your car and positioning itself at just the right moment to make cornering enjoyable, rather than an exercise in prayer. Having said that, the camera does get a bit jumpy if you corner and error (e.g. hit a wall or other car), which happens often in any racing game worth its salt. This jumpiness, however, wasn't enough to make the game awful.

Sadly, random glitchiness and stoppages totally ruin the racing experience. Hopefully, Codemasters will fix this in future updates. Otherwise, it's a game breaker for me and most people who enjoy good racing games. In this day and age of decent Q&A, games shouldn't be released with this type of bugginess.

Cars handle like butter on a hot pan, slipping and sliding all over the track. Is this adjustable via car customization? NO! What is this, Grand Turismo? Or just about every other good racing game that's out there right now? Nope, this is Grid. And you're supposed to just accept that Porsche that slides all over the road like a greased piglet at a county fair slipping through your fingers. Drive assists are somewhat of a misnomer. Even though I turned them all on, it made my driving experience only mildly better.

Spinouts are legendary. The instant your tire goes off the road, you can expect to do an almost perfect donut that will move you from first place to last. And while the crashes and car damage feel great, this overindulgent physic totally destroys any semblance of a good racing game so as to make it unplayable. Once you get tapped a few times resulting in total spinouts, you will dismiss this game for good.

Pair this problem with aggressive AI and it's a recipe for disaster. See, if you try to run an opposing driver off the road, you will fail. More than likely, your own car will spin out, defying physics so drastically that you'll want to throw your controller through the screen. After this happens half a dozen times, you will lose all faith in this game. For Grid tries to mimic the driving and crash physics of a simulation game, while straddling the joy of arcade speed. And it just can't do it, I'm afraid.

There is an annoying Replay option called Flashback. I don't understand how it's supposed to work. The controls for it are cryptic and unintuitive. And I didn't get a manual with my copy of Grid, since I Gameflied it, nor do I think any great game should need a manual. If the game itself cannot explain how to use its features, it's an epic fail right out of the gate. As for a racing game that allows Flashback, I don't think that's the point of a racing game. In true racing, there are no do-overs in the middle of a race. That's just plain cheating! It defies the very nature of a racing game and totally trashes the experience.

Grid has a difficulty level that needs some serious adjustment. If you're new to racing games, this is no place to start. Even on the easy settings, races are challenging for seasoned racers. Difficulty ramps up way too quickly for the average gamer to keep up or enjoy. Experienced racers will be unenthusiastic about how easy it is to spin out and lose winning races. In other words, this game misses the mark for pretty much everybody.

See, this is a great game that has been ruined by some overindulgent physics and asshole AI. When one spinout is race-ending, you're left feeling that this game really sucks.

Sifted: 7/10

7 for good graphics, camera work and menus. Unfortunately, this could have been a 9 or even 10 rating if the crash physics and AI were better.

Game: Need For Speed: Carbon (PS2)

EA's latest release in the Need For Speed franchise is an improvement over it's last, befuddled attempt to further its position in the smothered field of Arcade Racing games. The market is glutted with Arcade racers right now, thereby causing the studios to release games that aren't quite ready for prime time. Fortunately, the gameplay in Carbon is adequate enough to make the experience worthwhile.

Gameplay - Just like EA's last release, Need For Speed: Most Wanted, Carbon continues the old routine of trying to make racing mean something. I don't know why they've decided racing games require all the drama of vindication and revenge, but so long as it doesn't hurt the gameplay, I can live with the cheesy plot devices.

Drift racing is back this time around, but it's a real disaster and ruins this game's chances of achieving gaming perfection. The cars are difficult to control and ultimately, this seems like a tacky add-on that should have been scrapped to retain the game's integrity.

Controls have improved since the last release, with 10 options for controller layout. Cars are more responsive and actually drive with the physics one would expect. There are additions to the gameplay that hint at something much grander coming down the pipe with this genre. Something called "Crew" racing seems to be on the minds of the developers at EA, and I think they're really onto something. In Career mode, you now race with a "Wing man" who can assist you in three different styles: by Colliding with competing racers, by Scouting ahead for secret pathways, or by giving you speed boost via Drafting. The Wingman concept is really strong and would allow for some incredible racing via XBox Live, but this is PlayStation 2 I'm reviewing because my Xbox is, sadly, down with the flu, so I don't even know if it's an option for Xbox players.

Career Mode also requires you to choose your favorite style of car from the start, so you can expect to be behind the wheel of a Tuner, an Exotic, or a Muscle Car from the beginning. Not sure if that's such a good idea, since some racers like multiple car types and being locked into one may seem confining. In addition to all these new concepts, racing now involves capturing and defending territories against rival racing teams (racers who also race with a wingman). This requires more strategy than one is accustomed to in a standard racing game, which is very interesting.

As always, you can customize your car to your heart's content, and the new Autosculpt feature gives you even greater control over your artistic bent, allowing you to customize your car in millions of different ways.

Interface & Graphics - The Interface of Carbon is really not too different from the last release. There has been a marked improvement in the ability to jump directly to races via the WorldMap. This saves a lot of time and releases the player from having to deal with the tedium of avoiding cops all the time, as we did in Most Wanted. Graphics seem the same, but for some reason the cars look more realistic, less cartoony. The backgrounds are quite an improvement from Most Wanted. The cut scenes are similar to Most Wanted, with live action which has been altered to resemble animation. However, there are some serious frame rate issues this time around that were not present in the last release. Not sure if the developers were rushed to get this out the door before Christmas, but gameplay can get choppy/glitchy at times. Not sure if this is merely a PS2 problem or if it affects all consoles similarly.

Artificial Intelligence - The AI in Carbon is leaps and bounds ahead of what was presented in Most Wanted. Cop chases are remarkably realistic from the start and their chase patterns seem much better coordinated and challenging, bordering on belligerent. Rival racers are also more apt to cause frustration early on in the game, which is actually a welcome addition for a racing game of this type.

Sound - As always, the soundtrack in this Need For Speed release is superior to what you will find in most racing games. Whoever is in charge of licensing the music for this deserves a raise. You can always count on a Need For Speed game to have some of the freshest music out there. My only complaint is that I wish there was more than 30 or so songs here. Why not include all that older music you have licensed from earlier releases of the game? After a while, hearing the same collection of songs can get tedious, even when they are great songs. The Sound Effects are first rate, as always. The cars seem to have their own distinctive engine sounds, although, I did not notice much change in sound when changing muffler tips. The voice acting is good, but the new Crew racers can get a bit grating, as they are somewhat repetitive (but also entertaining at times).

Utilities - The mechanics of the game are almost identical to Most Wanted. Being able to jump to races eliminates the tedious need to free roam through the city and that's a good thing, since most of the city is empty until you defeat bosses from recently conquered districts. There is a new card collecting feature, but it's a bit of a mystery that doesn't immediately present itself.

Problems -

• Glitchy frame rate problems.
• Cops are very persistent from the start, bordering on relentless.
• Drift Racing is back, but it's a complete and total disaster. Controlling your car on a sheet of ice would be more fun.
  
• This is not a racing game for beginners or the faint of heart. If you have not played a racing game before, you would be better off starting somewhere else. If you are a fan of the Need For Speed franchise, this is an excellent title to add to your library. Much better than the annoyance that was Most Wanted.
  
• Licensed cars for this release seem really scattered. On the one hand, you have licenses for Porsche and Ferrari, but old staples of the Need For Speed franchise, like the Dodge Neon, are nowhere to be found. There are no SUVs or Pickup Trucks. Want to race your own whip? It's unlikely you'll find it among the roughly 50 cars licensed in this release.

Sifted: 8/10

Video: Iraqi Boys Race for Water

Game: Need For Speed: Most Wanted (PS2)

I have a love of racing games that could best be described as obsessive compulsive. I have favorites in each category of racing. Yes, there are more than one.

There are the simulation racing games, which try to make the driving experience as close to the real thing as possible (think Gran Turismo, or Forza Motorsports); then, there are arcade racers, which are far more interested in creating the illusion of speed (Midnight Club); there are rally racers (Colin McRae) and Sport Racers (Nascar, Grand Prix Challenge) the genre I like to call the Crash racer (Burnout, or Flatout), where your goal is actually to demolish your car or other objects; there are even the futuristic racers, or anti-grav racers (a personal favorite).

This brings me to the latest in a long line of arcade racing games I have briskly enjoyed and inevitably retired after a few short months of feverish play. Need For Speed: Most Wanted (PS2 - because my XBox is still broken). Now, I love the Need For Speed series. Don't get me wrong. When it comes to furious, arcade-style racing, with an excellent illusion of breakneck speed, it's really difficult to beat. This particular release, however, is nowhere near the masterpieces that were its recent predecessors.

Graphics have taken a step down, it would seem. Buildings look painfully 2-dimensional, even compared to the recent Need For Speed: Underground series. The illusion of speed has been reduced to comic-like draft effects that hang off the back of your car in the form of a few simple lines. And lastly, the views seem to be less effective. When it comes to racing games, being able to see the road and oncoming obstacles is key, but I found myself constantly having my view of the road obscured by the car itself! A shift in camera would have gone a long way to improving this game tenfold. Oh, but the maps have drastically improved, actually making it possible to know where you're going! That's a plus.

Another kudo: the actual video cutscenes are well-done, with decent acting. The marriage between games and films seem to be happening faster in Racing games, for some reason (SRS actually included cutscenes featuring unlockable girls). I don't know why the porn industry hasn't figured this out yet, because merging with a gaming company would revolutionize their product. Imagine a game where your goal would be to seduce different people, culminating in unlockable film clips. Astonishing.

Gameplay is fair. The controls seem more jumpy and the racing seems to have taken on a more arcade feel, ala the Burnout series. The problem here is that crashes have no effect on car performance (even head-on collisions leave nothing but scratches and a few measly dents). I know, it's an arcade racer, but there's simply nothing intriguing about accelerating the entire way through a race without having to worry about the outcome of a wreck. In addition to this peculiar oversight by the developers is the inclusion of cop cars and annoying police chases. It's not enough that they're present, but now they actually have become part of the gameplay! In order to increase your reputation, you have to engage and evade the cops (time and again). This, of course, gets old after the third time, if you're easily entertained, like I can be. Lower levels are way too easy, while the higher levels are too difficult. I could swear the game was cheating when a slight smack against a wall sent my car reeling. The AI is punishingly gamed. You can cause a semi to wreck and lose its payload, yet cars on your trail will not be slowed at all. You can walk away from the game, come back, and still catch up to your competition on the final lap. I'm sorry, but that just sucks.

Sound effects are solid, but the soundtrack is weak. Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition and the Remix version have Need For Speed beat when it comes to music.

What made the Need for Speed franchise stand out from the rest was the ability to customize your car beyond belief. You could trick out your Hyundai until it actually looked fast. Imagine that. Indeed, that was one of the major parts of the fun of this game. But now, every other game out there is doing it too, and some are even doing it just as well (Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition).

Need For Speed: Most Wanted seems like it's trying to straddle the fence between arcade and simulation and doing a poor job at both. Car customization was what made NFS such a good game to begin with. And while cop car chases make for interesting races, they shouldn't be part and parcel to a game of this calibre. It's like a copout on their quest to be innovative. In a world that's now oversaturated with racing games, Need For Speed needs to churn out something better or run the risk of being left behind.

Sifted: 6/10