GRID 2 - What do you think?

[ZaO]

I didn't see any Grid 2 threads around here so thought I'd start one as I am interested to see what you guys think of it. I have just read through a few reviews and am a bit confused as to whether or not I should get the game. It sounds like it's a good and bad game at the same time. That is pretty much what the reviews say! I guess my main concern is the handling, track design and multiplayer.

Have any of you guys played this yet, and what do you think of it? Please discuss

Also does anyone know if there is a pc demo? I'm leaning more towards not buying this game right now. Would love to give it a... *puts sunglasses on*.. "Test Drive first"

[ZaO]

Well I guess not many people here bought it or something. I found it very hard to decide. The main reviews were generally pretty good when you look somewhere like Metacritic. But then the user reviews were looking pretty bad. I have also been looking at a couple threads on OCN that seem to paint a bad picture. So while I was definitely leaning more towards not buying it, I ended up just taking a risk purchase after a couple of days. Found somewhere to buy a Steam key cheap which made the risk easier to take.

So I gotta say that I'm actually enjoying this game and am glad I took the risk of buying it I like arcade and sim racers. But have always been more into the sim type racing games. And I would say this is a bit of a mix between the two types. Granted, it is definitely more towards the arcade style. But it doesn't feel cheap. I find the handling really enjoyable. But maybe that's because I like both drift and traditional racing styles. Because racing in this is a blend of the two. You pretty much power slide every corner in this game. And it is really quite satisfying when you're drifting at high speed and get the timing and control just right, so that you slide a whole corner without hitting the inside barriers. But of course, if you do not enjoy drift, then this probably isn't the game for you.

It seems that a lot of the people who have complained about the game have been fans of the original Grid game. I enjoyed that game to an extent. But I just found the handling was to sketchy so didn't stick with it for long. Although I've only played Grid 2 with an Xbox controller, I definitely prefer the handling. Though you can do basic upgrades, there's no in depth car tuning in this game which some people complain about. But then why would you have in depth car tuning in an arcade racer? It's not the point of these games. Also, some people moan about aggressive AI. Sometimes they're really annoying when they screw you up I agree. But honestly, they just don't compare to the players online.

Every online race I did was enjoyable in places. The sense of speed and danger made the racing really quite fun. Until some idiot blatantly spins you out on purpose! The standard of racing online was disgraceful lol.. Nothing like what I'm used to with Simbin games, like Race 07 or whatever! Then I also find myself getting a yellow mark by my name which means I am a cheap driver or something. Thing is, I never actually span anyone out. All that happened was people slammed into me which slams my car into someone else and causes crashes. Yet I am somehow marked as a cheap driver. Well I'm not gonna loose sleep over it or anything. I suppose it must be quite hard to implement a system like that!

But anyway! I need to play it some more to really judge the game properly as I'm sure I'll figure out some stuff that really annoys me after a few more days on this game. But so far I have to say I am enjoying it!
Also, there is a mod to enable cockpit view for anyone that's interested. I will have to try that out at some point as that is the view I normally use in racing games.

Would be interested to hear anyone elses thoughts on this game

[Koji]

Thanks for the detailed review.

I was a big fan of the original and enjoyed the different types of races and the overall style of the game.

Mainly enjoyed racing in the cockpit view and was annoyed that it was dismissed so casually by the developers (as I haven't purchased it yet). Though, the fact that there may be a mod to get it back sounds interesting. I would appreciate it, if you gave it a go and replied with your findings!

Cheers.

[ZaO]

Thanks for the detailed review.

I was a big fan of the original and enjoyed the different types of races and the overall style of the game.

Mainly enjoyed racing in the cockpit view and was annoyed that it was dismissed so casually by the developers (as I haven't purchased it yet). Though, the fact that there may be a mod to get it back sounds interesting. I would appreciate it, if you gave it a go and replied with your findings!

Cheers.

Hey no problem I think I could definitely go into a few more things but I will add them as peoples opinions progress in this thread. I will be happy to try that mod out and report back. I'm not sure when I'll be playing Grid 2 again yet. But most likely in the next few days so I'll do it then!

But for now, here is a random video I found showing the mod: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdNtZROVcDE

As you can see, the interiors look a bit low detailed and blurred. But I think that's something they'll probably improve on and maybe even release a texture pack in time Stuff like this makes me really glad I chose to stick with pc gaming over consoles!

[ZaO]

Well, I just gave that mod a go. I only tried it in the Silvia S15 but it seemed pretty good! There is a drivers side hood cam, an interior view with low res textures, then an interior view which is a little further back with blur on the dashboard area. The last one was my favourite as I preferred the blur to low res textures. You also have a wider FOV that way too. Mirrors didn't really seem like they were any use, but maybe they'll sort that later. But you can see the drivers hands on the wheel and changing gear which was cool. Saw my wipers come on for one swipe randomly as well. I think they've done a good job with this mod so far. And I'm sure it'll improve even more soon enough. To install it, all you have to do is drop some pre organized folders into your installation directory. The only files that are overwritten are some xml config files for camera angles. I just placed a backup of the "cars" folder in my game directory so I can easily switch back to stock if need be. I haven't tried this online yet, so I've no idea if it's safe for that. But I'm gonna try it this evening and see haha It's only a camera config file. Something that should've been in the game anyway. Couldn't they have just spent a little bit of time getting some artists to draw the interiors... So strange not to do this in a modern racing game. Well, thank god for the modders!

[Koji]

Modding has always been the solution to developers ****-ups.

Sounds like they have invested some time into creating this mod, I might just get this game once I setup my new system.

Thanks again for the update!

[ZaO]

Modding has always been the solution to developers ****-ups.

Sounds like they have invested some time into creating this mod, I might just get this game once I setup my new system.

Thanks again for the update!

no worries man obviously i can't promise you'll like the game. but as a fan of power drifting corners in racing games (even the sim ones), i am enjoying it quite a lot! racing lines do count for something as well. they have their uses. but yeh, lift off the throttle, turn hard, power down and enjoy the slide show

Edit: Another quick update.. Played online with the mod and there was apparently no problems

[abaxas]

PS3 version here.

Great game marred by huge loading times

[ZaO]

PS3 version here.

Great game marred by huge loading times

luckily i'm not having long loading times on my setup.. but how does it look on ps3? i noticed a few reviews saying the visuals were really impressive considering the ageing hardware of the consoles. even though this game isn't completely free of bugs (i get graphical artifacts when i crash into barriers, which is a common problem with this game. also the game ctd's whenever you try to spectate a race after finishing), i feel that codemasters as usual have optimized it fairly well and it feels quite polished overall.

[butter30]

Sweet graphics ^^

[Handykins]

I like it and it looks gorgeous, probably prefer Dirt 3 though..

[TeaAddiction]

I bought the original GRID for xbox 360 purely to try out that cockpit view. I didn't use it much after the novelty wore off and it was more of an arcade racer than a sim. I'll still buy GRID 2 purely because i enjoyed the original GRID multiplayer, and the fact that they've added customisation for multiplayer really attracts me even more.