Graphics: 4.75/5 Completely fantastic. The cars, tracks, and sense of speed are remarkable. The game even runs great to boot. My only itch is with the in-car review mirrors. What's up with the PS1 graphics there? Anyway, as said, great looking game. Every car looks different inside, too.
Sound: 4.5/5 The cars sound unbelievable. Try putting on some headphones, put the volume up, and go in-car view. What a great experience. The engines and crashes and different surfaces you race on sound great. The flaw with the sound here for me are the tedious line repeats over your inter-com. The acting isn't good and there are only five lines of seems; all of which you hear in every race.
Control: 4.75/5 I could only wish I had the 360 wheel... still though, the game controls really great. Each car controls differently, too, better yet. Not much else can be said about the controls except that they are virtually perfect.
Fun: 4.75 So much can be said about this game - I'll try to keep it a little short here. First, it should be known that you start needing a certain amount of money to fix up your car. After a few races, you'll raise enough money to get to the meat of the game. This all really works out well because Codemasters gives you a chance to really get familiar with the game. As you race, you get money for new cars and Rep in three separate regions: The US, Europe, and Japan. Reputation gets you more races and a higher rank, buy more on that later. US type tracks are generally more intimate and city-based. You'll find yourself racing through San Francisco, Detroit, Long Beach, and Washington DC. On Europe, you race on more open-sided tracks - Indy car races aren't uncommon. And in Japan, you will me doing a lot of one-on-one races down mountain sides, and drift races/challenges. Basically, all three regions vary pretty well and give this game some staying power. Anyways, back to the career really quick. Not to really "spoil" what happens a few seasons in (there isn't a story anyway) but you will eventually get a teammate. This teammate can be hired and fired by you. Depending on price, you can get a skilled or unskilled player, agressive or passive racer, and so on. This gives the game even more depth. Overall, GRID has to be my favorite racing game in a long while, if not ever. Think Burnout and Gran Turismo; a game with depth, great graphics, cool crashes, and more. GRID truly is a must play of you haven't played it yet - racing fan or not.
4.75/5
