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Thread: Grid (PC)

  1. #1
    ATX Mental Case Cookies N' Milk's Avatar
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    Default Grid (PC)


    Grid (PC)

    For sometime now many have been looking forward to playing this game. I’ve been waiting for it ever since saw a preview on YouTube not too long ago. Grid is an intense professional racing game, think Need For Speed: ProStreet for grown ups. Grid is currently on three of the major systems, Xbox 360, PS3, and PC. I will be reviewing the PC version.

    Installation:
    Installing the game was fairly simple, although I was surprised by the game not prompting me for a CD key. It took roughly 7-10minutes to install.

    Minimum PC Specs are as follows:
    - Windows XP/Vista. (if running Windows Vista SP1 is recommended)
    - DirectX 9.0c
    - Pentium 4 @ 3.0GHz or Athlon 64 CPU
    - 1GB RAM.
    - Graphics Card: GeForce 6800 / Radeon X1300 or above
    - DirectX Compatible Sound Card
    -*Dual Layer Compatible*DVD-ROM Drive
    - 12.5 GB Hard Drive Space


    First Impressions:

    Upon starting the game I was greeted by a very nice intro. I liked it so much that I watched it a second time before attempting to play. The start up screen requires you to create a profile, as do most games. So I enter in my name and then I have to select an alias or something like that. I went with "Goose." Top Gun anyone?

    Once that was done I was ready to race, only problem is the game would not get past the loading screen. Crap, it froze. I rebooted the game several times and finally had to checkout the Grid forums. Turns out SkullTrail system have some problems with Grid. Fine, I edited a few game files that would "fix" the problem. I start up the game and this time I am able to race, or so I thought.

    The game was getting, no word of a lie, about 1frame every 5 seconds. What the frick! Once again I find myself on the Grid forums looking for a fix. I find out that Vista SP1 is recommend. Let me just say this, SP1 is REQUIRED to run Grid. So I spend some more time installing SP1. After about 5 hours of trying to get the game to run I am finally able to play.

    I start up my first race, graphics look sick and the sounds are awesome. I get a good start off the line and hit my first corner, literally. I plowed face first into several cars and then spinning into the wall, totaling my car. I couldn't figure out what happened, maybe I hit the breaks too late or something, so I try again. Nope same thing, only this time I noticed the problem. To turn the car you BARELY touch the analog stick on the 360 controller. I think this is what then mean by a learning curve.

    As far as first impressions go, I was pissed. Bugs, glitches and cars that like to spin, way to go Grid.

    Graphics:
    Oh hell yeah! The graphics are extremely good. It has to be one of the better looking games currently out. The cars, tracks, people, and everything look spot on. Bump into the wall or another car and your paint becomes scuffed or hit something hard enough and watch fenders, hoods and wheels fly off only to end up bouncing down the track.

    Some tracks have night modes which adds a whole new level of difficulty as you can not see far ahead of you. There is a problem with night races that I have noticed. It seems that frame rates drop a fair bit during them. I'm not sure why this is but it is rather annoying.

    Sounds:
    The car sounds are great, however the music isn't the best. Once in awhile it will switch music to make the race more dramatic, like at the last three hours of the Le Mans race.

    Your spotter calls out events on the track for you such as upcoming spin outs, where you are in the race and so on. The idea of a spotter is great, if he wasn't so useless. Half the time he calls out a spin out that you passed 20seconds ago, or he will say you have some damage to your car "but it is nothing serious" even though you have totaled it. The idea is great however it needs a lot of work to improve it to the point of being semi-useful.

    Controls and Game play:
    I think this game hates me. First it didn't like my dual processor system, then it didn't like my OS version and now it makes me feel like a horrid driver. Never have I been so hard pressed to finish a racing game. The controls will send you spinning at the slightest mistake and the AI hates you with a passion, it loves to bump you causing your car to skid into a wall. To turn most corners you barely move the 360's analog stick. There is no way to change the sensitivity either, meaning you either get use to it or get out.

    I figured since this game's cars are so touchy maybe a proper control system is in order. So I pop on down to the local computer store and pick myself up a Logitech G25 racing wheel set, at a rather pricey $300. If there is one thing that will give me a chance at avoiding the walls it is an over priced controller. I was shocked to find out it really did help, a lot! For once having a racing wheel paid off over the 360 controller.

    Once you get the controls down you are really able to enjoy the game. The first few races are for other teams until you make enough money to start your own. Once you start your own team the money begins to roll in. After awhile you are able to hire a team mate and increase your chances of winning a race.

    After winning races you are offered deals from sponsors which include bonuses isf you finish a race, and higher bonuses is you get first place.

    There are several different disciplines of driving ranging from stock cars to GT1. My favorite so far seems to be the pro muscle with GT1 in a close second. Each discipline has different cars, tracks and so on. Grid only has three race modes, your standard race, drift racing and everyones favorite demolition derby!

    Upon completing races and winning them you gain reputation. This reputation goes towards unlocking new licenses in America, Europe and Japan. Unlocking licenses allows you to enter more races, and make more money. Once you unlock enough licenses and 1 million reputation points a global league will open up that is much more challenging than the ones before.

    One feature that I really like is the flashback. If you wreak your car you can use the instant replay to go back in time a few seconds and avoid wreaking. I found it to be very useful in the early races when I was still getting used to the controls and wreaking a fair bit.

    Customization:

    Other than being able to choose between a few patterns and paint colors there is not a lot of customizing you can do with you car, but if you have the PC version it is a different story. You can edit the textures of Grid fairly easily allowing you to create new paint jobs for your car. The only down side is you need Photoshop, a dds editor and some time. Other than cars you are able to change a few things with your team such as name, your team mate and sponsors. After that there is nothing you can do out side of heavy modifications to the game like editing the HUD, light effects and so on.

    Replay Value:
    If you are able to get use to the controls then the replay value could be very high for Grid. The single player is a lot of fun. Winning all the events could take some time to do and could prove to be quite the challenge to complete them all on the hardest setting.

    Multiplayer:
    In this day and age multiplayer is very important for a game to have. Grid allows you to play online against others as expected as well as download other peoples times. the multiplayer seems to be decent aside from the few glitches expect for one thing that made me question the developers.

    While troubleshooting Grid on the forums I came across a topic that said that people could pirate any version of Grid and play online because it does not use CD keys. I didn't really believe it and I decided to check it out. I downloaded Grid (not going to say where I got it from) and installed it on a second computer. Turns out it is true. Those who mod their Xbox360 or PS3 or download grid illegally can play the game online.

    With no sort of security or validation to keep pirated copies of the game offline, I feel ripped off. I spent my money on a game only to have some kid download it for free and race beside me online. Not cool at all.

    Review continued in next post.
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  2. #2
    ATX Mental Case Cookies N' Milk's Avatar
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    Default Re: Grid (PC)

    Ratings:

    Graphics: Stunning graphics. Cars look amazing, the HDR lighting looks great with the sunlight beating down in between buildings on to the track, and wet roads reflect the city lights. 10/10

    Sounds: The limited music in the game is just fine with me because the sounds of the cars, cheers of the crowd and radio chatter from team mates makes up for it. 8/10

    Controls and Game play: If I wasn't able to get use to the controls of this game I would have taken a hammer to the disk. After a few races I figured out the steering and I was able to have fun playing that game. Playing with a mouse and keyboard is out of the question. You need a controller of some sort, a racing wheel being the best choice.

    Even with the limited types of racing there are many different classes within them. Demolition derby has to be one of the funnest things to do.

    The idea of unlocking new licenses is not new but Grid pulls it off very well. Gaining reputation is not new as well but once again Grid pulls it off very well. 8/10

    Customization: Very limited customization. Even on the PC version customization is very limited unless you are skilled with editing DDS textures and so on. 7/10

    Replay Value: I will be doing the single player races at least once more after I complete the game this time around. I've been playing on the first few difficulty levels and can't wait to try the higher up ones. 8/10

    Multiplayer: Being able to download the game illegally and having the ability to play online? Way to ruin multiplayer. I don't see how it can be fixed either since there is no product key or anything to add validation. I give multiplayer a 0/10. It isn't that it is a bad multiplayer game, I just don't see how it is a fair multiplayer with pirated versions able to play.

    Overall: I really like this game even with its bugs, nasty controls, evil AI and security holes in its multiplayer. After a few patches I'm sure the glitches will be fixed, but the multiplayer seems to be a hard one to fix.

    Overall Score: 6.8/10*

    *In a way I feel bad giving the game a 6.8 because the game is far better than that. If you exclude multiplayer it gets an 8.2/10.

    Pros:
    Looks great
    Also sounds great
    Good selection of cars

    Cons:
    Glitches, bugs, more glitches
    Steering has a huge learning curve
    Multiplayer holes

    More Information, Screen Shots and Videos: http://www.codemasters.com/gridcommunity/
    Current Project: Resistance
    My New Super Sexy WorkStation Specs:
    2x Intel Quad-Core Xeon E5420 2.5GHz 12MB Cache @ 3.0GHz, 4x2GB Kingston FB-DIMM 800MHz ECC, Intel SkullTrail Board, 4x WD Raptor 74GB HardDrives in Raid 0, 2x Seagate 320GB HardDrives, ATI FireGL V8650-Switched back to an 8800GT for now cause of driver problems, ThermalTake ToughPower 1200Watt PSU, Blackmagic Intensity Pro Capture Card

  3. #3
    . Spawn-Inc's Avatar
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    Default Re: Grid (PC)

    yes i got this game and love it, i just wish the logitech G25 would support it, i was going to get the G25 just for this game but it doesn't support it so i will pass on it for now.
    CPU: Q6600 G0 3.5GHz@1.4v (4.2GHz max) / 4790k 4.8ghz @1.265v
    GPU: 9800GTX /GTX780 hydrocopper
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    Mobo: EVGA-NF68-A1 680i (P32) /AsRock Extreme6
    PSU: Enermax Galaxy 850Watt /EVGA 850 G2
    HDD: OCZ 120GB Vertex4, Samsung evo 840 250GB
    LCD: Samsung 32" LN32A450, Samsung 226BW 22" wide
    Sound: Logtiech Z 5500
    CPU & GPU: 3x Swiftech MCR320, 2x MCP655, MCW60 R2, Dtek Fuzion V2, 18 high speed yates @ 5v

  4. #4
    ATX Mental Case Cookies N' Milk's Avatar
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    Default Re: Grid (PC)

    Quote Originally Posted by Spawn-Inc View Post
    yes i got this game and love it, i just wish the logitech G25 would support it, i was going to get the G25 just for this game but it doesn't support it so i will pass on it for now.
    My G25 worked out of the box but when I was reading the forums it seems that some people have problems with it while others don't.
    Current Project: Resistance
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  5. #5
    . Spawn-Inc's Avatar
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    Default Re: Grid (PC)

    Quote Originally Posted by Cookies N' Milk View Post
    My G25 worked out of the box but when I was reading the forums it seems that some people have problems with it while others don't.
    did the clutch and 6 speed shifter work with it?
    CPU: Q6600 G0 3.5GHz@1.4v (4.2GHz max) / 4790k 4.8ghz @1.265v
    GPU: 9800GTX /GTX780 hydrocopper
    Ram: Samsung 4GB /gskill 16gb DDR3 1600
    Mobo: EVGA-NF68-A1 680i (P32) /AsRock Extreme6
    PSU: Enermax Galaxy 850Watt /EVGA 850 G2
    HDD: OCZ 120GB Vertex4, Samsung evo 840 250GB
    LCD: Samsung 32" LN32A450, Samsung 226BW 22" wide
    Sound: Logtiech Z 5500
    CPU & GPU: 3x Swiftech MCR320, 2x MCP655, MCW60 R2, Dtek Fuzion V2, 18 high speed yates @ 5v

  6. #6
    Ride on, Bucko. FuzzyPlushroom's Avatar
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    Default Re: Grid (PC)

    Hmm. I guess I don't get what you mean, having had problems in the past with various games that had special "requirements" to play online. (This includes the CD key method.)

    Aside from that, though, good review. Maybe I'll check it out...
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  7. #7
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    Default Re: Grid (PC)

    If you buy the game, wouldn't you be serious about it and get the skills neccessary to school all the punks who just downloaded it because they could? I don't see how being able to pirate a game makes the multiplayer bad.

    The game seems to be built for a wheel, then. This is good. It's highly realistic, then. Your small movements on the analog stick would translate into pretty large movements on a racing wheel, I'm assuming. A full push on the analog stick to the left or right would turn your wheels all the way left or right in the game, rightly so too. But no sensitivity? I guess it's built to be played on a wheel, but wheel or not there should definitely be some other control methods. Maybe the people who made it should've made a wheel required. Then, oh man, it would be the most hardcore simulator game ever. That would be awesome.


    I would really like to get this, but I don't have the computer, the wheel, or the money to buy those things to do it. I have been a fan of simulation racing since gran turismo 2. Too bad I don't have the job to support seriously getting into it. FPS's for now, I suppose.
    You love my sig.

  8. #8
    I come from a land down under. simon275's Avatar
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    Default Re: Grid (PC)

    I have have a friend who bought this and took it back it was so bad.

    The best description of how the cars drive is the cars are stuck on a popcicle stick and you turn the popcicle stick to turn the car instead of turning the front wheels.
    Need a sig

  9. #9
    Project: Elegant-Li The boy 4rm oz's Avatar
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    Default Re: Grid (PC)

    I found the game quite realistic however not as realistic as Test Drive: Unlimited.

    I have heard mixed emotional about the overall quality of the game and I have to say that once I downloaded the demo I was hooked. My friend bought it for his laptop and I can really see what you guys mean about the steering, it was a bit...well I guess the word is square. I borrowed the game from him and I had no suck problems. With low graphics settings you really get a jittery pic which makes the cars and the races look crap but pumped up on max on my PC I can't tell the difference between GRID and GT5: Prologue.

    One of the best racing games I have played. Far better then the more recent NFS games.
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