Review: GRID Autosport

I think we can all agree that diversity is a thing that is certainly lacking in gaming. There’s a lack in the kind of protagonists we control and often a lack in the settings and worlds we explore.

It’s why I think you’d be glad to hear that GRID Autosport is all about diversity. You can choose to be either a male or a female driver (and your opponents are both male and female too). There’s a wide selection of racing disciplines to participate in, a large number of tracks to race on and a plethora of vehicles to get behind as well. There is though, just one problem – but more on that later.

Coming to this game, there was certainly a part of me that was skeptical. While I enjoyed the original Racedriver GRID, its sequel left much to be desired and I was wondering whether I’d have the same opinion for the now third installment in the franchise. I entered my first event, a three lap race around Brands Hatch, and was positively disappointed. The vehicle felt too light (as is the trademark feel of this series), it was hard to break through the pack and I was being nudged and pushed by my opponents at every turn. It honestly took about 5-10 restarts and rewinds before I managed to finish on the podium. I then jumped into the second event – the same track and the same vehicle but in reverse. After three attempts I gave up and turned the game off.

I figured though that it was probably important to return and give it a fair go.

For the past week I’ve been playing through the campaign, and I’d be lying if I said my opinions of GRID Autosport haven’t changed dramatically. Make no mistake, this game isn’t going to win any awards for revolutionizing the racing genre, but there’s one thing GRID Autosport does that so many racers in the past have failed to do – keep it fresh.

With five different racing disciplines to choose from – touring, open-wheel, endurance, tuner and street — GRID Autosport manages to keep racing fun and different. Just finished a six-event championship in a BMW M5 touring car and fancy something a little faster? Jump in a Formula Ford open-wheel vehicle instead. Tired of racing on circuits? Select the ‘Street’ discipline and try your hand on street circuits. While you need to finish a championship before proceeding to another, there is no restrictions on how you complete your career, which means that GRID Autosport is the racer you’d like it to be. Unless you want to participate in the GRID events, you can choose to finish all the races in one discipline and completely ignore those in another. There is also no need to purchase vehicles in the game either, as the XP you earn from completing events and meeting sponsors’ goals goes towards unlocking more events. It really is simple, yet enjoyable racing.

There’s just one problem. GRID Autosport is an old game.

Now I don’t mean ‘old’ as in classic, like an Aston Martin DB5 that you drive occasionally on the weekends as you appreciate the countryside. No, more so ‘old’ like a 1998 Toyota Camry, which, compared to the likes of a 2014 Mazda 3 or Mitsubishi Lancer, just seems irrelevant. The biggest source of hesitation I had towards this game was the fact it was being developed exclusively for last generation consoles, and as much as it pains me to say this, it shows.

From the moment you start the game the menus look uninspiring, and the level of detail that we’ve grown used to for the past few months on the Xbox One and PS4 just aren’t there. It’s nice that Codemasters included two in-car views, but you wonder how rushed the game was when everything inside the car is blurry and the dials don’t even work. Codemasters mentioned that they really wanted to push the boundaries of what was possible with the engine, but then you look at the side-mirrors on each of the cars and they’re just grey boxes. The engine notes are dull and uninspiring too.

Now people will read this and think, “graphics don’t make a game”, and yes, that was certainly true as I raced around Okutama in a Nissan 200SX with a grin on my face. The problem is though, when I’m standing in my room, with both the Xbox 360 and the Xbox One before me, the controller I’m going to pick up is the latest, regardless of how good a game might be on the 360. Codemasters might have made a fun and varied racer, and make no mistake – they have, but when it comes to what car I want to drive today, it’s going to be the shinier, faster and better-looking Ferrari every time.

Codemasters have made a good game, but it’s now July 2014 and the new consoles have been around for almost a year now. It’s well and truly time to move on.
 

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