Race Driver GRID, unfortunately, is one of those games that are painfully frustrating at the beginning, until you put in the time required to get used to it. That mightn't seem too bad, until you consider that most people will get too frustrated at the game before getting to the good stuff, which will inevitably hurt any future games from this series, or even the whole Codemasters company. After getting used to the game a little more though, it does become quite entertaining.
Realism (or Lack Thereof)
Prior to release, GRID was hyped as “Gran Turismo with damage”. Unfortunately, that is a tag that the game has downright failed to live up to. Sure, it has car damage, which is nice, but it is nowhere near the realism levels of Gran Turismo. Whereas Gran Turismo forces you to drive like a professional most of the time, GRID forces you to drive like a crazy person on ecstasy. This game is just like any other arcade game, fun in short bursts, but far from a classic.
Vehicle Handling
The handling in GRID isn't anything like real car handling, unless Codemasters were trying to copy the handling of an old banger driving 150 km/h on ice. Somehow I don't think that was their intention. What they ended up with is a handling system which takes far too long to get used to, and is so counter productive that it detracts from the in game fun for players.
Replays
When was the last time that we couldn't save our race replays? Seriously, I honestly can't remember and really want to know. Are Codemasters trying to go back and reinvent the wheel, and revolutionise replays? They give us flashback mode, but they can't let us save a simple little replay? Unbelievable.
Flashback Mode
Flashback mode isn't fundamentally a bad idea, it really isn't. But when you can finish a race after blowing your cars up 3 times (that's on expert, 5 times on basic), the game just seems a little too easy and pointless. Since when have real race drivers been able to blow up their car and just hop into a new one instantly? They haven't, and why the hell should we be able to.
Cameras
Where did the designers of GRID get the god-awful idea to hinge so much importance on the right analog stick in terms of camera angles? There is nothing more horrible than leading a race heading into a corner, moving to press the square button (ps3, yes) and brushing against the right analog stick. Suddenly your camera angle changes and you're wrapped around a wall and out of the race. When does that ever happen in real life? Have you ever heard of a driver brushing off his gearstick while braking and suddenly noticing that he's looking behind himself? If they got rid of flashbacks and made the camera system better, I'd be so much happier.
Lack of Cars
45 cars? 45 goddamn cars! That's horrible. I want some variety! I want to be able to own a different car for at least every single day in any given 3 month period. Is that too much to ask for? IS IT?
Race Driver does have a few astounding features, such as beautiful graphics, different race types etc, so I'm going to give this game a 7.4. Great game to rent, not so sure if it is worth purchasing though.
