Now that I have been playing for a week, it was time to give the game a proper review. I won't be getting into any type of story telling, but this game is fun online and off because out right, Codemasters did well on Grid Autosport. There are no pictures or video in my review, you can find plenty of that on the interwebs.
Pros:
Lots of cars and different classes - there are plenty of different cars (even a classic mini) and with recently announced DLC there are more on the way. Plenty of content to enjoy offline in single player, and if you want to jump right in to online racing, loaner cars are available in all classes and car types, so you are never left out.
Lots of different tracks - Circuits (with different routes)and City courses (not my favorite but still fun) all well designed. Looks like there might be drag strips with future DLC.
Great AI - these guys are fast and fun to race against with adjustable difficulty. OK sometimes they can get a bit crazy and rough but that is better than dull lifeless AI (::cough:: GT6 ::cough::) So the offline career is great fun.
Having Practice - that you can also skip or use all of it, and it has a time limit so you don't spend too long. Gives you long enough to tune your car, change options, and get a feel for the track if it is new to you.
Having Qualifying - This is good, being able to run a few hard laps and improve your starting position, and get an idea of how fast or slow you are vs the AI.
The sound - The engines sound good, the voice over is good, the tire noises are good. Well done except for when the sound glitches. Does not happen very often but sometimes the motor sound is completely gone for a full race.
Different view options - Having all the different driver views is always good, and this game takes it one step further allowing you to remove the steering wheel animation in the game. Why do you want to see your hand and gaming wheel and then another set on the display? I find that distracting and has always led me to use a different camera view. Well done!
Race Clubs - Not into creating your own livery? Want an easy way to find like minded races to race with? Then these race clubs are for you. You can check who is online racing and join them easily.
Racenet - This is not new for this game or managed by it either. It is a website based tool. The support Codemasters has added for Grid Autosport is very nice. It adds a weekly set of challenges to earn money and xp. Also you can compare yourself in online leader boards, check race club info, and review stats. Racenet is also the tool used to apply for and join those race clubs.
Custom Liveries - Though the customization is no where near the levels of Forza, this is still a nice feature. It allows you to change how your car looks and elect different sponsors for rewards. If you manage a race clubs you can create one for it as well, but players have the choice to use the clubs or their own on any car in their garage.
Wheel Support - Lots of different wheels are supported and the DFGT (which I have) works great. At first I did not like the force feedback but once I got my settings dialed in and got the feel for the game, I really like the way it feels and responds to what the car is doing.
Cons: Take in mind, none of these out weigh the pros..
No working mirrors - My biggest issue with the game - The mirrors don't show cars.. and when you use the bonnet cam there is not even a virtual mirror.. Really? mirrors in racing games are basic and should be a given. Codemasters really dropped the ball on this one. It wouldn't be all so bad if the indicator letting you know a car was close by worked really well, but it does not. I often find out a car is there because I turn in on it or it bumps me. - They plan to update this for the PC version and add working mirrors and a virtual mirror - I really hope this comes to PS3 as well. Update - an employee of Codemasters who frequents the GTPlanet forums has stated they will not be adding mirrors to the PS3 or Xbox360 version.. BUMMER!
No text chat while online - This is a.. well yeah it is also a bummer. I often play online late at night wearing headphones and don't want to talk as my voice carries. Shhhhhh... the wife is sleeping. Consoles can use keyboards and have chat pads.. people like to text chat so why not let them?
No wall or board for race clubs to communicate on - so just like the lack of text chat.. you have to go in game and put on a mic to communicate with your race club unless they have a forum. This is why I joined the GTPlanet race club as they have a very active forum for all popular racing games.
Limited garage space for cars purchased for online racing - No idea why Codemasters did this... you can add more slots by buying them but I do believe the max number of spaces is less than the total number of cars possible to own. Not that I will get that deep into it but there are those out there that will and why limit your biggest fans?
No shift light - Not sure why this is left our either. Shift lights are simple to program, considering they already have a tachometer, and take little to no resources. Since there are a lot of different cars with different RPM ranges and sounds, having that simple indicator light that comes on when you are at the ideal shift point for straight line full throttle acceleration helps. If you watch any real life motorsports or participate in any, you will see them in all different forms.
Conclusion - Well it is really early in the games life, but I can say Codemasters has done a good job creating a fun challenging racing game, with good visuals, and sound. All this will keep racing game fans happily busy for quite some time. I just really wish they would add working mirrors to the ps3 version, when basics like that are missing I am not likely to fork over more money for DLC or pre-order their next racing game. Grid Autosport is still worth the $50 it cost at launch and fans will get their money's worth for sure. Anyways, I don't have any type of rating system but will tell you to go buy it, grab a
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